It seems there is a push every year by some sector or another to promote the idea of the Pittsburgh Steelers parting ways with head coach Mike Tomlin. While those most in the know seem to find it more likely he gets a contract extension next offseason, others have taken to suggesting that some other team should try to trade for him.
“The whole thing is absurd. It’s ludicrous”, said NFL reporter Aditi Kinkhabwala on 93.7 The Fan yesterday with Andrew Fillipponi and Chris Mueller. Kinkhabwala covered the Steelers for many years and has worked in the rival cities as well. She knows Tomlin well, including the fact that he is not without fault.
“Mike Tomlin can be an absolutely phenomenal, elite, wonderful coach and also could use a little boost in certain areas”, she said. “Cannot Mike Tomlin be A through X, but not necessarily Y and Z? And maybe strong ownership would get Y and Z in order”.
She offered two particular areas of criticism, citing a lack of “accountability for certain players” and the lack of a quality coaching staff, suggesting that it would make more sense for the organization to help him in these areas.
“We know that Mike Tomlin believes grown men are grown men and they can police themselves, and maybe that doesn’t work in this day and age”, she said about the issue of accountability, for example. “But you know what? He has a boss. He does ultimately have a boss”.
While I think too much has been made of the idea that Tomlin has never developed a “coaching tree” over the years—other teams hiring his assistants to more prominent jobs in which they later go on to find success—it does become a struggle sometimes to find much to compliment about the coaching as seen through the on-field product.
Tomlin’s boss is, of course, Art Rooney II, the principal owner of the franchise. He has gone on record in pretty much saying that Tomlin will be his head coach for as long as the man wants the job, a message he’s repeated annually, but that doesn’t mean things can’t change.
Personally, I would be surprised if Rooney were to fire or trade Tomlin any time in the near future, barring a dramatic negative turn. But could he take on a larger role behind the scenes, stepping on the man’s toes to some degree? That seems more likely.
The next hire at offensive coordinator will be one of the biggest decisions for this franchise to make in recent years. For one thing, the Steelers have to make a hire that will help them clearly answer the question of whether QB Kenny Pickett is a franchise quarterback.
But could Rooney intervene in this area more than he might have in the past, as former QB Ben Roethlisberger referenced? And might Tomlin get a lecture about doing more to police his players than it appears he does to the public eye?
