Pittsburgh Steelers HC Mike Tomlin is back on track for the NFL Coach of the Year award, it seems, following a minor blip in the snows of Cleveland. After coaching his team to a shootout win over the Cincinnati Bengals, Rich Eisen once again pushed the narrative. And he had a particular reason for doing so this time, thanks to one mercurial target.
“Guess what? [Mike] Tomlin’s doing his Coach of the Year stuff, too. Because George Pickens is Russell [Wilson]’s DK [Metcalf]”, Eisen said. “He always needs those physical receivers where he utilizes them very well. Pickens now leads the NFL with receptions of 30 or more yards—he’s got 12 of them. But he had two more silly mistakes, unsportsmanlike conduct penalties. Tomlin, he is not treating that lightly at all”.
Eisen went into Tomlin’s postgame remarks about Pickens and how he needs to grow up in a hurry. Of course, this isn’t the first time or the first year that Tomlin has made similar comments about Pickens. One can argue that the fact Tomlin still needs to say these things in public is a critique of his coaching ability rather than a merit.
Of course, the real reason Mike Tomlin is in the thick of the Coach of the Year discussion is otherwise. It is the simple fact that the Steelers are 9-3 when many thought they would be 6-6. They have a 1.5-game lead in the AFC North, and a path to the No. 1 seed still exists. They can’t do it without help, but they only need one outside loss by the Chiefs and Bills. And, of course, they would have to win out, which is unlikely.
In fact, the final five-game stretch could really tamp down any discussions about Mike Tomlin as Coach of the Year. Or it could give him the distinction in a runaway. If he could manage two wins against the Eagles, Chiefs, and Ravens, and handle the Browns and Bengals, then we’re cooking with gas. You’re talking about a 13-4 season, or 12-5 at worst.
But we could also be talking about 11-6 or even 10-7 at this point. And that might still be enough to win the division. But what Mike Tomlin needs is victories in the postseason, even if that is not what the Coach of the Year Award is about.
By almost anybody’s measure, it is fair to say the Steelers have exceeded expectations up to this point. And Mike Tomlin has undoubtedly been the driving force behind that. He was the one, for example, behind the switch to Russell Wilson, and they are 5-1 since then. Most people thought he was crazy to do it, but as he said, that’s why he is well-compensated.
