Unfortunately, the Pittsburgh Steelers have again failed to win a playoff game. They lost four straight games going into the playoffs, and things weren’t much better in the postseason. After that collapse, frustrations are high with Mike Tomlin. Even though the Steelers were on top of the AFC North for much of the year, it felt like they came crashing back down to Earth over the last month. It doesn’t sound like Tomlin is going anywhere, though, and former NFL head coach Rex Ryan believes that’s the right decision.
“Give me a break,” Ryan said Sunday on ESPN’s NFL Countdown. “This man right here is going nowhere and shouldn’t go anywhere. He’s one of the best in the league. Nobody thought this team was gonna win four games, and he gets them in the playoffs.
“I get it. They lost five in a row, and that’s absolutely atrocious. They gotta look at it this way. This ain’t the same defense. They may have to make some changes, but it sure ain’t gonna be Mike Tomlin, and it shouldn’t be.”
Ryan is correct that, before this season, most analysts believed the Steelers would not be competitive. They quickly proved everyone wrong, looking like they would win the AFC North. However, to end the year, they did look like the team everyone thought they would be. Part of the blame for that should be on Tomlin.
While he is likely one of the best coaches in the NFL, this playoff drought is a serious issue for Tomlin. The Steelers’ standard is competing for championships, and they haven’t done that in a long time. Indeed, they haven’t had a franchise quarterback since Ben Roethlisberger retired, but their roster is still full of talent. Despite that, they haven’t even been close to winning a playoff game for years.
Whether fans like it or not, Tomlin’s job is safe. However, after the way the Steelers looked to end the season, maybe there should be more pressure on him than Ryan is applying. It might be a little extreme to outright fire him, but acting like he isn’t part of the problem might not be the right route to take either.
It doesn’t seem like Tomlin is going anywhere, but Rex Ryan is correct that the Steelers still need to make changes. What those changes are remains to be seen, but it doesn’t feel like running things back will get them any closer to winning in the postseason.
