At one point just a few weeks ago, there were questions and criticism as loud as they’ve ever been regarding Mike Tomlin during his 17-year tenure with the Pittsburgh Steelers.
Those questions and pointed criticism came in the midst of a three-game losing streak that saw the Steelers lose two games in five days to a pair of two-win teams in the Arizona Cardinals and New England Patriots at home. Then they went on the road and allowed 30 unanswered points in an embarrassing 30-13 loss to the Indianapolis Colts, all but torpedoing the Steelers’ season.
Funny how things change in just a few short weeks.
Now, after two big-time wins over the Cincinnati Bengals and Seattle Seahawks, the Steelers are 9-7 and in the thick of the AFC playoff picture. And players and coaches are making sure credit goes where it needs to with the latest resurgence: Tomlin.
“He sets the trajectory and it’s his vision, our words, and we ride with whatever he’s saying and we’re selling,” interim offensive coordinator Eddie Faulkner said regarding Tomlin’s message and how he’s gotten the team back on track, according to video via the Tribune-Review’s Chris Adamski on Twitter. “I feel like the guys have been buying into it pretty good.”
It certainly seems as if the players are buying into Tomlin’s messaging quite well. The question remains if that message was losing its juice there in early December when the Steelers went off the tracks on and off the field, losing three straight, seeing a key young player not give effort near the goal line on a block and then tell the media he didn’t want to get hurt.
Questions about buy-in and the ability to control the locker room only grew louder during that stretch for Tomlin and the Steelers, but that noise is quiet now. Winning does that.
Steelers star outside linebacker and team MVP T.J. Watt made it pretty clear Tuesday why the Steelers were back on track, stating two words in a response to a question from a reporter: Mike Tomlin.
“Everything T.J. said I concur with,” said Faulkner, who first joined Tomlin’s staff in 2019 as the running backs coach. “Coach T is special. That’s just really all I can really say about it. I mean, he’s a special leader of men and I’m happy to be part of his staff.”
He remains a special coach. Sure, he has his warts in-game and sees his team lose games it shouldn’t, but that happens elsewhere around the league too. It’s nothing that is specific to Tomlin. What is specific to Tomlin though at this point is the non-losing seasons streak, something that is quite impressive.
No matter what, Tomlin and his teams find a way to have at least a .500 record. That’s pretty remarkable, especially in today’s NFL where players come and go year after year.
It’s been a trying year for Tomlin and the Steelers for a number of reasons, but once again he’s got them with a winning record and potentially a playoff spot.
