With the Pittsburgh Steelers’ season over, it feels like all anyone wants to discuss is whether or not Mike Tomlin should remain their head coach. Despite the Steelers continuing to succeed in the regular season, Tomlin is catching some flak for their lack of playoff success. The Steelers haven’t won a playoff game since 2016, and that’s starting to grind people’s gears. Former Steelers offensive lineman Willie Colon thinks that’s a bad idea and wants to know who the Steelers would replace Tomlin with.
“No,” Colon said Monday on The Zach Gelb Show. “It’s dumb. Okay, then who?”
That’s a fair question. Would the Steelers be able to find a head coach better than Tomlin? Maybe, but maybe not. Under Tomlin, the Steelers may have struggled in the postseason recently, but they haven’t hit rock bottom. They’ve remained competitive even though they don’t have a franchise quarterback.
Still, it’s curious whether Tomlin’s time with the Steelers has run its course. Colon vehemently disagrees with that, but it’s not a crazy idea. Yes, Tomlin has never had a losing season, but that’s not the Steelers’ goal every year. They want to win Super Bowls.
During that same segment, Gelb used the New England Patriots firing Bill Belichick as an example of why the Steelers could move on from Tomlin. In response, Colon made it clear he doesn’t believe that situation is the same as the one the Steelers are currently in.
“The last three years with Bill Belichick, they looked like the Bad News Bears. They just weren’t good. You couldn’t even recognize the Patriots. You can still recognize the Pittsburgh Steelers. I just don’t think getting rid of Mike Tomlin is the answer.”
During his last few seasons with the Patriots, Belichick did see much less success. Three of the four years after Tom Brady left, the Patriots finished with a losing record, including going 4-13 in 2023. The Steelers have not been that bad after losing their franchise quarterback.
However, there’s still an argument to be made that you can’t recognize the Steelers. The team’s standard is championships, but they haven’t competed for one of those in a long time. They’ve been more prone to late-season collapses over the last few years while also getting dominated in the playoffs. Those problems can be traced back to Tomlin.
It seems extremely likely that Tomlin will be back with the Steelers in 2025. However, with the Steelers continuing to be plagued by the same problems, it feels like he deserves some scrutiny. Maybe the Steelers will struggle without Tomlin, but doing the same thing over and over again isn’t working either. If next season is just as disappointing, maybe the Steelers will seriously consider moving on.
