Just a few weeks ago, all of the media landscape — or so it seemed — was discussing how it was time for the Pittsburgh Steelers to move on from head coach Mike Tomlin. The team was on a three-game losing streak, which included losses to a pair of 2-10 teams. Just about every aspect of his job performance was under attack as there were questions of culture, football schematics, and whether Tomlin had lost the locker room.
Fast forward just a couple weeks and the Steelers have clinched their 20th consecutive non-losing season with two-straight wins, and they are once again firmly in the playoff hunt entering the final week of the regular season. Prominent figures in the media, including former Steeler Ryan Clark, have done a 180, walking back their statements on the need for a mutual divorce of Tomlin and the Steelers.
You also have current players like T.J. Watt crediting Tomlin for the team’s turnaround. He has coached the team for 17 seasons and has never once finished with an under .500 record. Perhaps even more impressive, he has only played in a meaningless game once in 2012 when the Steelers were already eliminated entering the final week of the season.
Travis Kelce and Jason Kelce talked briefly about Tomlin on their New Heights podcast posted on YouTube.
“With the Steelers’ Week 17 win, they secure head coach Mike Tomlin’s 17th consecutive non-losing season,” Travis Kelce said.
Since it has become an annual occurrence with Tomlin and the Steelers, it has lost its luster among the fan base, but anytime you hear a player or former coach talk about it, they are in awe of the accomplishment. That is because winning is hard in the NFL, and those involved with the league know that all too well. Even if you have a team that has expectations of going over .500, injuries and other variables throughout the season can make it extremely difficult. Even in the season where Ben Roethlisberger got injured early in the year and did not return, Tomlin kept his team competitive behind the likes of Duck Hodges.
“They were talking about firing him, what, seven weeks ago,” asked Jason Kelce. To which Travis Kelce responded, “The media is so dumb. Why do we do the media? Just a bunch of jackasses…one of the best coaches the NFL has ever even seen.”
It is almost comical how quickly the tides have turned back in favor of Tomlin when it was just a few weeks ago that the media was piling on from every angle. In Week 18, the Steelers will have a chance to qualify for the playoffs. If they do so, they will enter as a dangerous team coming off three-straight wins behind QB Mason Rudolph and the revitalized offense.
