Stephen A. Smith isn’t going scorched Earth on Mike Tomlin the way he railed against Matt Canada last season. But Smith is skeptical of Tomlin’s ability to do what he was contractually extended to do. Lead the Pittsburgh Steelers to a Super Bowl.
“This man is something special and he deserves his bag and I’m happy for him,” Smith said on ESPN’s First Take Tuesday morning. “I’m proud of him. I’m proud of who he is and how he represents everything he represents. Having said that, um, it’s no knock against him that I don’t see the Steelers winning the Super Bowl in three years. I hope I’m wrong.”
While it might not be intended as a “knock,” it’s not an encouraging statement for one of the NFL’s highest-paid coaches. The Steelers may have stability at head coach but they’re lacking it at quarterback. Pittsburgh will head into 2024 starting four different quarterbacks the last four years, something the franchise hasn’t done since the 1980s. Which weren’t exactly remembered as the team’s Super Bowl contending years.
Until the Steelers can find stability and excellence at quarterback, it’ll be hard to compete for a Lombardi. In an AFC full of elite arm talent, Pittsburgh will constantly be at a disadvantage. But their first step is simply winning a playoff game, something Tomlin and the Steelers haven’t done since 2016. Losers of its last five, Pittsburgh holds one of the league’s longest active playoff loss streaks and its seven-year stretch without a postseason victory is the team’s longest drought since the 1970 merger.
Smith thinks they can break that drought. But hoisting a Lombardi is a different story.
“I can’t look at that and say, ‘I see a Super Bowl.’ But I do see them as a playoff team,” he said. “I do see them contending and I’m happy that Mike Tomlin has got his extension.”
And that’s the rub. Tomlin has been able to keep Pittsburgh in playoff contention, a team forever in the hunt. And they’re capable of pulling rabbits out of their hat, seemingly at their best when the rest of the football world has given up on them.
But even if the Steelers win a postseason game the next three years, not coming close to Super Bowl contention will be disappointing. It means their time in quarterback purgatory has likely continued. Winning in the NFL is hard, championships even tougher, but Tomlin must show tangible signs of progress of getting this team there over these next three seasons.
