Cam Heyward has a message. Put some respect on Mike Tomlin’s name. No matter the obstacles of the season — injuries, a tough schedule, digging out of a seemingly impossible hole — the Pittsburgh Steelers are always in the mix. Playoff victories have been fleeting, that’s a concern, but Heyward wants Tomlin to receive credit for what he’s doing in the regular season.
On the latest episode of his Not Just Football podcast, co-host Hayden Walsh asked if Tomlin should receive more consideration for Coach of the Year following comments from ESPN’s Mike Greenberg they should rename the trophy after Tomlin (despite him never actually winning it).
“You look at what Coach Tomlin has done year in and year out, I don’t think he gets enough credit…when are we going to look at the body of work that he does year in and year out?” Heyward said. “I could’ve made the argument last year. Or the year before. Even the year we started 11-0, Coach Tomlin wasn’t thought of Coach of the Year candidate.”
Last year, Pittsburgh went from being one of football’s worst teams at the halfway point of the season, sitting at 2-6, to making an incredible second-half push and nearly making the playoffs. Tomlin never lost the locker room and kept the team buying in, going 7-2 after the bye and needing just a bit of football luck to make the postseason. In 2020, the Steelers were the league’s last undefeated team before fading down the stretch. And in 2019, after losing QB Ben Roethlisberger six quarters into the season, Pittsburgh finished the year 8-8 with a combination of Mason Rudolph and Duck Hodges at quarterback. If anything, that’s been his most impressive coaching performance.
Of course, ask Tomlin about Coach of the Year and he’d brush it off. He gets out of bed each morning in the pursuit of a different trophy.
“One of these days, he’s going to get his due,” Heyward said. “I know his main goal is to win the Super Bowl with us. If we take care of that, he could care less about winning a Coach of the Year award.”
Heyward’s defense of Tomlin is admirable and there’s reason to be frustrated at how the Steelers are being viewed, an overachieving 6-3 whose downfall will happen sooner than later. But that mantra can only be repeated for so long as Pittsburgh continues winning before it becomes hard to believe.
Still, what Tomlin and the Steelers must do is something they haven’t accomplished since 2016: win a playoff game. Pittsburgh is mired in its longest postseason victory drought since the early days of Chuck Noll. While they’re in a tough division and conference, winning at least a Wild-Card game would go a long way in proving the Steelers are headed in the right direction.
Check out the full episode below.
