Mike Tomlin has been the Pittsburgh Steelers’ head coach for 18 seasons. His streak of non-losing seasons to begin an NFL head coaching career is the best in history. And the Steelers are headed back to the playoffs for the second season in a row.
But most people are not happy with Tomlin’s recent work. The Steelers haven’t won a playoff game since 2016. And they’re entering this year’s playoffs on a four-game losing streak. That’s something that hasn’t been done since the 1986 New York Jets.
But there is another area where people aren’t impressed by Tomlin. That’s the lack of a coaching tree. For someone who’s been a head coach for 18 years, you’d expect to see coaches under him having graduated to bigger and better things. But you don’t really find that with Tomlin.
“I think that he is terrific at so many aspects of NFL coaching, I mean elite at most of them,” Sporting News columnist Mike DeCourcy said Sunday night on the #1 Cochran Sports Showdown on KDKA. “But that’s his weak spot, that’s his blind spot. I think now there’s an insecurity there. He doesn’t want anybody, he doesn’t seem to want anyone, to be elevated over him. And the best coaches don’t worry about that. They just worry about do we win.”
Tomlin’s first offensive coordinator, Bruce Arians, did go on to win a Super Bowl as head coach of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. But Arians started his NFL coaching career with the Indianapolis Colts and was even the offensive coordinator of the Cleveland Browns before joining the Steelers’ coaching staff in 2004.
And Arians is the only coach under Tomlin who went on to bigger and better things. Former offensive coordinator Todd Haley was the head coach of the Kansas City Chiefs before joining the Steelers as OC. That’s much the same as current offensive coordinator Arthur Smith.
So does Tomlin simply want to be the star of the show in Pittsburgh? That’s what DeCourcy’s suggesting. That Tomlin doesn’t want to be overshadowed by stellar coordinators. But perhaps that’s what’s holding the Steelers back from being true contenders recently.
Yes, Arthur Smith has been an upgrade over Matt Canada. Even with the recent offensive struggles, the Steelers finished 16th in the league in points per game with 22.4. That’s up 4.5 points per game from last year when the Steelers ranked 28th in the league.
And defensively, the Steelers are one of the best teams when it comes to taking the ball away. They finished the season with 33 takeaways, first in the NFL. But they were 25th in passing yards allowed (3,876). They also allowed 14 rushing touchdowns, 15th in the league. The defense is feast or famine, allowing 20+ points in eight games this season.
Despite Tomlin’s longevity and regular-season success, he has not developed coaches over time to be better coaches. He’s focused on developing his players into the best human beings he can. And players love him and want to play for him.
That’s earned Mike Tomlin the reputation of being a player’s coach. But he certainly doesn’t have the reputation of being a coach’s coach. Sure, Arthur Smith was excited to work with Tomlin. But Tomlin doesn’t develop coaches like he develops players.
Could the Steelers be even better if Mike Tomlin focused on putting together the best coaching staff possible? It certainly feels that way. But who knows if that will ever change.
