Another playoff berth, another one-and-done trip for the Pittsburgh Steelers, who lost in rather embarrassing fashion to the Baltimore Ravens Saturday night, 28-14. In that loss, the Steelers were outmatched right from the start and had no answer for Baltimore physically.
With that loss, the Steelers closed the season on a five-game losing streak, and now head coach Mike Tomlin is on the verge of tying an NFL record in futility, having lost five straight games in the playoffs, too.
Saturday’s season-ending loss in Baltimore now has many questioning if it is time for the Steelers to move on from Tomlin after 18 years, or if it’s time for Tomlin to move on from the Steelers. For ESPN’s Damien Woody, who played 12 years in the NFL with the New England Patriots, New York Jets and Detroit Lions, he believes it’s time for the Steelers to move on from Tomlin as all good things come to an end.
“I was going to like have this big unveiling on Get Up on this, but why not just get into it right now? I think it’s time. And let me say this: Mike Tomlin’s a great coach. I, in no way am I disparaging Mike Tomlin. But I look at it in the same vein as like when Andy Reid came to his end in Philadelphia. Sometimes things run its course,” Woody said, according to audio via ESPN Radio.
In recent years with the lack of playoff success and there being no real, clear succession plan post-Ben Roethlisberger, there has been quite a few comparisons between Tomlin and current Kansas City Chiefs head coach Andy Reid, harkening back to how Reid’s tenure in Philadelphia came to an end with the Eagles moving on from him.
Things turned out just fine for both parties. Reid went on to win multiple Super Bowls in Kansas City while the Eagles have had plenty of success, too, and even won a Super Bowl as well.
In Woody’s eyes, it’s time, and it’s because the standard has fallen in Pittsburgh as getting into the playoffs and going one-and-done just isn’t good enough.
“And I look at Pittsburgh and even Mike Tomlin talked about, it says this all the time: The standard is the standard. The Pittsburgh Steelers are one of those blue-chip franchises, one of the few blue-chip franchises that we have in the league,” Woody added. “This organization plays for championships. It’s not good enough to find a way to barely get into the postseason, then you get eliminated, you’re one and done.
“What does Mike Tomlin have? Like five one and dones now, six, whatever it is. Six one and-dones. That’s not the standard in Pittsburgh. And so I just think that it’s time for a new voice in the building for the Pittsburgh Steelers.”
Tomlin does talk all the time about the standard being the standard. In the past, that standard was competing for Super Bowl titles. For much of Tomlin’s tenure from 2007 through the 2017 season, that standard was accurate as the Steelers were consistently one of the better teams in the league, one that many considered true, bona fide title contenders.
They haven’t been able get over the hump in the playoffs since 2010, though, coming up short in the AFC title game in 2016 in New England. Since then, they haven’t won a single playoff game.
Fans are frustrated, players come and go, and things aren’t really changing. That puts the focus on the one man who has been in charge for 18 seasons and counting.
Pittsburgh has no plans to move on from Tomlin this offseason, as has already been reported multiple times. Changes from an assistant coaches standpoint could occur, but Tomlin appears safe for at least another year.
But that won’t stop the calls like the one Woody made Monday morning from occurring when it comes to Tomlin and the Steelers.
