The Pittsburgh Steelers have rightfully been under fire the past two weeks after dropping back-to-back games against two bottom-dwelling teams, the Arizona Cardinals and New England Patriots. In the last 13 days, fans and the media have called out virtually every member of the organization, including head coach Mike Tomlin.
On The Jason Smith Show with Mike Harmon, radio host Mike Harmon said that Tomlin’s non-losing season streak is meaningless when the team hasn’t won a playoff game and that having a discussion about firing him isn’t outrageous.
“When we talk about Mike Tomlin and the Steelers, do I think they fire him? No. But I think it’s a realistic conversation to have at least of, how long is ‘I haven’t had a losing season,’ how long does that play out when you’re not winning playoff games” asked Harmon. “At some point, you want to be playing for more than ‘we played an extra game in January,’ and that doesn’t seem to be changing anytime soon.”
While it is impressive that Tomlin has yet to have a season without a losing record, a big problem is that it doesn’t seem like Pittsburgh is close to making noise in the playoffs or sniffing a Super Bowl. Winning games is great. At the end of the day, you need to win to have a chance to win a ring. But like Harmon said, it seems like the best-case scenario for Pittsburgh is to simply make the playoffs every year. That’s a problem.
With six Super Bowls, the standard in Pittsburgh has always been championships. But in the last few years, it has felt like the standard is not championships, but finishing with a winning record and making the playoffs. Now, part of the reason the Steelers haven’t been a very good team in recent years is that former QB Ben Roethlisberger was aging, and there was a lot of turnover from the “Killer B’s.” But right now, it does not seem like Pittsburgh is close to competing with teams like the Kansas City Chiefs or San Francisco 49ers, two of the top teams in the NFL.
Does this mean it is time to fire Tomlin? Maybe, maybe not. But it’s not crazy to have that conversation now like it would have been a decade ago. Poor coordinator hires, more bad losses, and an offense that has consistently gotten worse since 2018 has to have more people at least questioning if there needs to be a head coaching change in Pittsburgh.
While the two back-to-back losses have left a very bad taste in people’s mouths, the season is not over yet. Tomlin and Pittsburgh are still in the playoff hunt and control their destiny. The narrative could change if Pittsburgh turns it around and makes a run, even though it sounds unlikely at the moment. However, that has to start today in Indianapolis against the Colts. If Pittsburgh loses, the conversations surrounding Tomlin will only get louder.
