For the Pittsburgh Steelers, the standard is the standard, and that means competing for championships. Obviously, they won’t win the Super Bowl every year, but as one of the NFL’s most prestigious organizations, the Steelers don’t want to live in mediocrity. Unfortunately, they’ve been doing exactly that for the last few years. Despite this, former Steelers corner Bryant McFadden is still defending Mike Tomlin, although he’s acknowledging the head coach’s flaws.
“He held onto Matt Canada way too long,” McFadden said recently on CBS Sports HQ. “Matt Canada should’ve been gone, but [wasn’t] because of the loyalty, in which I respect. But at some point in time, confrontation is something that a head coach has to address.
“He held on to Matt Canada too long. He held on to Kenny Pickett too long. Kenny Pickett should’ve been on the sideline earlier than what happened with that injury when Mason Rudolph jumped into the lineup.”
McFadden is correct that Tomlin and the Steelers have been too slow to make changes in recent years. Canada is a prime example. He became their offensive coordinator in 2021, and it was clear from the beginning that he wasn’t suited for that role. Still, the Steelers stuck with him until halfway through the 2023 season. That decision undoubtedly set them back.
Tomlin’s loyalty isn’t necessarily a bad quality, but it can hurt the Steelers. The situation with Pickett actually wasn’t as bad as it could’ve been. The Steelers moved on from him after only two seasons. However, part of that could be because Pickett requested a trade after the Steelers signed Russell Wilson.
McFadden explained why he believes those kinds of decisions have hurt the Steelers.
“These are things that have kept the organization back a little bit from doing things that they need to do, and hopefully these things are addressed moving forward,” he said. “I’m one that believes Mike Tomlin is good enough to be the head coach for the Pittsburgh Steelers, but I also must admit the standard has not been the standard in years past from what we’ve seen.”
The Steelers have fallen well short of the standard recently. They haven’t won a playoff game since 2016. Not only that, but in most of their playoff appearances since then, they’ve gotten blown out. Forget being a Super Bowl contender, the Steelers have barely been a playoff team.
They haven’t had great quarterback play, which is part of the problem, but that shouldn’t absolve Tomlin from blame. The Steelers have undergone significant change, but they’ve finished with the same results. At this point, it’s becoming a pattern.
It’s clear that Tomlin isn’t going anywhere. However, things do have to change. The Steelers can’t be satisfied with stumbling into the playoffs and getting destroyed immediately every year. They might not have a franchise quarterback, but they’re still a talented team. There’s no reason a player as good as T.J. Watt should go through his career without a postseason victory.
Tomlin made it evident that he’s just as unhappy with that as everyone else. He has to show that with his actions, though. McFadden is right that he’s made several missteps in recent years. To turn things around, that can’t happen as often as it has, or the Steelers might find themselves not even making the playoffs.
