Despite not always having the best roster situation, both Mike Tomlin as head coach of the Pittsburgh Steelers and Pete Carroll as head coach of the Seattle Seahawks always have their teams fighting for a spot in the postseason until the very end of the regular season. The two of them get a lot of criticism in their own cities, though, and while both of them have a Super Bowl victory with their current teams, the lack of recent success has led to some dissent among the fanbases. Announcer Kevin Harlan, who calls the NFL for CBS, talked about Carroll and Tomlin during an appearance on 950 AM KJR in Seattle and said it’s impressive how Carroll and Tomlin are so consistent in an inconsistent league.
“It’s a testament, it’s probably not fair that the expectations in a business that just fluctuates so dramatically from year to year where a four-win team one year becomes an 11-win team the next,” Harlan said. “These guys, year after year, have their team ready to go, in playoff contention, and it may not be exactly what you imagine they should be, and there may not be the glittering name at quarterback, and there may not be that superstar that’s so captivating, but they’re still plugging away, and they’re going after it, and they know how the game is played,” Harlan said.
Harlan said it’s more turbulent in Pittsburgh because they still have an unsettled quarterback situation, while the “lines of demarcation” are a lot clearer in Seattle. That’s because Drew Lock led Seattle to a big win on Monday Night Football over the Philadelphia Eagles, while the Steelers struggled with Mitch Trubisky under center. And while they got a really impressive performance out of Mason Rudolph in Week 16, he’s going to have to carry it over into a tough road environment in Seattle for Week 17.
It is a testament to Tomlin and Carroll that their teams are always competitive, but at some point, at least in Tomlin’s case, just being 9-8 every year isn’t good enough. Yeah, records fluctuate around the league, but one of the worst places you can be stuck in is NFL purgatory, which is consistent mediocrity with eight and nine-win seasons. You aren’t bad enough for a good draft pick, yet you aren’t good enough to actually be a threat in the playoffs.
It’s where the Steelers have been over the past few years, and they need to be better. They have the talent to be better, and right now, I think it comes down to really figuring out their quarterback situation. But it would be a shock if they didn’t roll with Kenny Pickett for one more season.
It’s fair to recognize that it’s impressive to be as consistent as Pittsburgh and Seattle have been while admitting that expecting more is also reasonable when it’s been seven years without a playoff win. Kids are in first grade now who have yet to see Pittsburgh win a playoff game in their lifetime. That has to change.
