When the clock hit 0:00 in Seattle on Sunday afternoon, Pittsburgh Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin made it 17 straight non-losing seasons with the 30-23 win over the Seahawks. The 2023 season has been anything but smooth. It certainly felt like a losing season was definitely in the cards after dropping back-to-back games to teams eight games under .500 at kickoff. Yet the Steelers are still in the playoff hunt with one game to go.
Some are quick to compliment Tomlin like former NFL CB Richard Sherman while others, especially Steelers fans on social media, are quick to point the finger at Tomlin for the team’s struggles this season. The detractors will point to hiring and then keeping former offensive coordinator Matt Canada for too long. They’ll point to those two egregious losses, first to the Arizona Cardinals and then to the New England Patriots in the span of five days.
Yet every single Tomlin supporter will point to the incredible feat of 17 straight seasons without a losing record as a testament to Tomlin’s ability. You can add former NFL DL Chris Canty to that list. On Wednesday’s episode of UnSportsmanLike with Evan, Canty, and Michelle, Canty stepped up to the proverbial plate and questioned everyone questioning Tomlin.
“Coaches with longest streak of non-losing seasons: Tom Landry, Bill Belichick, George Halas, and then Mike Tomlin,” Canty said. “That’s the list. Think about the coaches we’re talking about in that list. Mike Tomlin is included in that. It’s absolutely ridiculous to question his ability as a head coach.”
That’s a pretty strong word of support from the 11-year NFL vet who spent his last three NFL seasons playing for the Baltimore Ravens. So Canty has seen Tomlin up close and personal. Yet Canty’s response begs the question: If Tomlin isn’t at fault for the Steelers’ struggles this season, then who is?
“I think if you’re going to point the finger of blame anywhere in Pittsburgh, it has to be at the front office,” Canty said. “From taking a lot of risk with guys that have sketchy sports character and taking a big swing at the quarterback spot that has yet to pan out in Kenny Pickett. That is the biggest issue in Pittsburgh. To me, it’s the personnel, the personalities in the locker room, much more so than Mike Tomlin. The reason why they feel like they can take those chances is because you have a head coach in Mike Tomlin that always finds a way.”
So Canty is making the argument that Tomlin is elevating his team to a higher level that it otherwise would be incapable of reaching due to personality conflicts and Pickett’s lack of progression in Year Two. If you are concerned about the front office continuing to make questionable choices, you can point to the fact that this was the first offseason with general manager Omar Khan fully in charge. The majority of the players he has brought in have been impactful in positive ways.
Now do front office mistakes fully excuse some of Tomlin’s decisions, especially around Canada? No, but no one is perfect. You can also point to the lack of playoff success recently. However, if Canty is correct that Tomlin has elevated the team’s level of play, then he simply didn’t have enough to work with for extended playoff success.
Just remember. If Pittsburgh fans expect perfection, then they will be looking for an impossibly long time. Meanwhile, people like Canty will continue to appreciate the fact that Tomlin continues to do something most people would view as impossible: Winning consistently in a league that sees teams regularly go through cycles of losing seasons.
