Once again, Mike Tomlin is under fire because the Pittsburgh Steelers lost in the first round of the playoffs. Not all their issues are his fault, but he is not blameless. One of the most common defenses for Tomlin is that he overachieved this year. The point here is that Tomlin dragged the Steelers to the playoffs, even though their roster wasn’t great. However, according to former Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger, Tomlin’s voice carries much weight in those discussions.
“I know Omar Khan is the general manager here,” Roethlisberger said Tuesday on his podcast, Footbahlin’ with Ben Roethlisberger. “Mike Tomlin makes decisions. Now, at the end of the day, Mr. Rooney might end up, he could veto things, obviously, if he chooses to.
“But Mike Tomlin has decisions and makes most of the decisions in Pittsburgh. He can say he doesn’t and this, that, and the other. We all know that he’s got a lot of pull. He’s been here for 18 years. You wouldn’t be here that long if you didn’t have pull and say.”
Roethlisberger makes a good point. Khan is the general manager and likely has a say in any decisions made, but Tomlin has been with the Steelers for almost 20 years. He’s got his hand in everything. Khan probably doesn’t draft or sign players without getting the okay from Tomlin.
That can be seen on the field, too. Tomlin has received praise for his ability to keep the Steelers competitive without a quarterback. However, he’s probably partly to blame for their issues there, too. Tomlin seemed comfortable attacking this season with Russell Wilson as the Steelers’ starter, and it doesn’t seem like he’s going to be their long-term answer.
Like most things, the Steelers’ roster construction issues aren’t all on Tomlin, but he’s part of the problem. Criticizing their players to defend Tomlin isn’t as strong of an argument as many people believe it is.
That isn’t to say Tomlin is terrible. He’s still one of the best head coaches in the league. However, he deserves some heat because of the Steelers’ playoff issues. The Steelers aren’t overachieving. They’re surpassing people’s expectations, but Tomlin and the team don’t walk into any season believing they will lose games. Their ultimate goal every year is to win the Super Bowl.
Tomlin will be with the Steelers in 2025, and we’ll see if he can silence his doubters. Franchise quarterback or not, if the Steelers make the playoffs next year and immediately get bounced again, the questions about him are only going to get louder.
