With the Pittsburgh Steelers’ season coming to an end with yet another one-and-done playoff failure, we turn to the offseason, and speculation about Mike Tomlin’s future is rampant. After Tomlin stormed off the podium when asked about his contract situation, his future in Pittsburgh makes for perfect fodder for the daily talk shows, and at least one analyst doesn’t think Tomlin should stay in Pittsburgh. In an impassioned rant on ESPN’s First Take, former NFL tight end Shannon Sharpe thinks Tomlin hasn’t won enough and that the focus on “not losing” has taken away from what the Pittsburgh Steelers mean, which is winning championships.
“They keep saying Mike Tomlin has 17 non-losing seasons. It’s not about not losing, it’s about winning, dammit. The Pittsburgh Steelers are about winning championships, and Mike Tomlin hasn’t won one in a very, very long time,” Sharpe said.
He then went on to say if Kenny Pickett isn’t the answer, the odds of the Steelers finding a quarterback in this year’s draft are low, and that Tomlin should want to start over elsewhere.
“The likelihood of them going into the draft and getting another C.J. Stroud, like the Texans got C.J. Stroud last year, is not very likely. So with that being said, yes, he should want to move on. Sometimes, it’s just time for a change of scenery. A new voice,” Sharpe said.
He also thinks the Steelers should be considering making a change due to Tomlin’s lack of playoff success.
“I ask the Pittsburgh Steelers, at what point in time does not losing justify someone still being in place? Because it shouldn’t be about not losing, it should be about winning,” Sharpe said. “And the Pittsburgh Steelers haven’t done enough of that to justify Mike Tomlin still being up there.”
For a franchise with such a rich history and six Lombardi Trophies, four straight one-and-done playoff exits is embarrassing. And it’s not as if the Steelers are just running into a buzzsaw every time, either. They’ve come out flat in each of their last four playoff games, including yesterday as they fell behind 21-0 against Buffalo before clawing back into the game. It’s not fair to pin all of that on Tomlin, as turnovers were a major culprit yesterday and that’s not Tomlin’s fault. But the fact that his teams have gone into the playoffs and not been very competitive at all, allowing an average of 40.4 points over their last four playoff games, is an indictment of him.
The Steelers aren’t going to move on from Tomlin. It’s not what they do, and this year’s team was bogged down by injuries on defense and poor quarterback play all season long. Their three-game winning streak to close the regular season and make the playoffs ensures that if he leaves, it will be on his own accord. But Sharpe has a point. At what point does just making the playoffs not matter? Sure, it’s an accomplishment, but it feels like fans can now mark the Steelers’ first playoff game down on the calendar as the end of the season.
For this franchise, it’s simply not acceptable. With a big question mark at the quarterback position, this offseason is going to be crucial for the Steelers to figure out a way to actually become a contender again. And there’s at least a chance that it could happen without Tomlin at the helm.
