Full disclosure, I’m a big Jim Rome fan. Have been for years. His old ESPN show, his current show, and Frank Caliendo doing Jim Rome impressions (a guaranteed belly laugh each time he says ‘A-rug-ula’).
But Rome offered up one whale of a take on his Wednesday show. Commenting on the news of Mike Tomlin’s return in 2024, shooting down reports he considered exiting the coaching ranks, Rome said it was good news for the Steelers future. Pushing back on fan criticism that Tomlin hasn’t won enough, Rome believes Tomlin doesn’t deserve the blame.
After getting bounced in the playoffs by the Buffalo Bills and their franchise quarterback Josh Allen, Rome noted the Steelers simply lack the firepower at the position to compete.
“Buffalo reminded us Monday that Mason [Rudolph] is a good backup and a good dude and a good soldier,” Rome said. “But he’s not a playoff-winning quality quarterback. And yet you all continue to kill Tomlin. You’re killing this guy for decisions the front office makes. He’s not the one who drafted Tiny Hands.”
“Tiny Hands,” referring to QB Kenny Pickett, as if that “joke” hasn’t been repeated enough. No question a guy like Rudolph can’t stack up to the four quarterbacks who remain in the AFC playoffs: C.J. Stroud, Patrick Mahomes, Josh Allen, and Lamar Jackson. All first-round picks, three MVPs, and a (soon to be) Rookie of the Year in Stroud.
But Rome seems to think Tomlin isn’t involved in roster-building. As if a 17-year head coach, now the longest-tenured in football, who has his fingerprints all over the organization lets the GM pick all his groceries. Not true. The team always refers to their choices as “Steelers’ decisions” made by three people: head coach, general manager, and owner. Art Rooney II tells the team what meal to make while Tomlin and the GM (Kevin Colbert then, Omar Khan now) do the cooking with the specific players. This isn’t Dallas, where the head coach goes along with management. Somehow, Rome misses that.
On a case-by-case basis, there can be arguments made as to who pushed hardest for a player. It feels like Colbert didn’t want to leave the team without a franchise quarterback, leading them to take Pickett in the first round in his final draft as GM. But Tomlin has a heavy hand in how this roster looks and has for years.
“Tomlin was not the one who signed Mitch Trubisky…Tomlin is not the one who keeps drafting questionable character dudes, but he’s the one who gets blamed when these guys act exactly how they’ve always acted,” Rome went on to say.
Again, Rome is just wrong. Tomlin plays key roles in all roster-building moves. Maybe even more so since Khan replaced Colbert, who isn’t quite the old-school tape-watcher like Tomlin is. He’s not Bill Belichick. Tomlin doesn’t have free reign to build the entire team, but he’s earned quite a bit of power over the years.
And as for the “questionable character dudes,” the Steelers have drafted? Outside of WR George Pickens, who had no legal or off-field issues, Pittsburgh takes guys with the cleanest of resumes. Comb through their last five draft classes, and you won’t find anyone who entered the draft process with a well-known character concern. Rome’s take is wildly incorrect.
“Is anybody going to look at Pittsburgh’s roster and say, ‘That’s a Super Bowl caliber team?'” he added.
Rome’s assertion became the “we’re all trying to find the guy who did this” meme. Yes, the Steelers lack the star power at quarterback. Yes, there are holes in the roster. And all of that falls at Tomlin’s feet. Pittsburgh’s front office doesn’t work independently of him. If there’s someone Tomlin doesn’t want signed, he doesn’t get signed. How the roster is constructed is his responsibility, and he doesn’t get to hide from that.
There’s still an argument to be made for Tomlin to return. Rome can have a pro-Tomlin stance. But Rome makes the worst possible case in favor of Tomlin, showing a complete lack of understanding of how the team runs and who makes the final decisions. It throws Rome’s entire outlook off-kilter, though I imagine he’d still support Tomlin if corrected.
