The national and local media engaged in plenty of hand-wringing over who Mike Tomlin would start at quarterback at a critical juncture of the season. Stick with Justin Fields, who had led the Pittsburgh Steelers to a 4-2 start? Or switch to Russell Wilson and roll the dice that the offense could reach new heights?
Ultimately, Tomlin went with Wilson. But as he tells it, the decision wasn’t nearly as difficult as the media made it out to be.
“From my perspective, it wasn’t as controversial a decision or as difficult a decision is maybe from the outside,” Tomlin said during a Thursday appearance on The Pat McAfee Show. “But I get the benefit of watching him operate every day. Not only in terms of his throwing talents and throwing the football but the unofficial things or the intangible qualities that he brings to the role.”
Wilson never technically ceded his job as the team’s starting quarterback, named as such prior to the regular season and remaining atop the depth chart during the six weeks he rehabbed his calf injury. During that time, Tomlin consistently declined to discuss who would start once Wilson was fully healthy and cleared, deferring that decision to when it became relevant.
That came in Week 7 when Wilson replaced Fields in the lineup. Tomlin took plenty of heat for the decision from the national and local media. So far, he’s been proven right. Wilson has shined for the Steelers and transformed the offense into a top-10 unit for the season, one scoring 28 points per game with Wilson in the lineup.
Even before the points began rolling in, Tomlin had the vision for Wilson being able to elevate everyone.
“I just knew that not only he had the talents to do it, but I thought he had the capabilities of maybe bringing out the best in the individuals that he worked with,” he said.
As Wilson noted earlier this year, Tomlin and GM Omar Khan were the first people to contact him after the Denver Broncos cut him. Wilson’s resume stuck out to Tomlin with the Steelers in need of a veteran quarterback in the post-Ben Roethlisberger era.
In typical Tomlin fashion, he marched to his own beat. He benefitted from the stability of the Steelers’ organization and his new contract to give him the security to take whatever risk the in-season change brought. If it didn’t work out, Tomlin could switch back and his job wouldn’t have been on the line. Now, Wilson and Tomlin will look to capture the playoff success that’s eluded them for several seasons.
