With the Pittsburgh Steelers losing in the first round of the playoffs again, Mike Tomlin is facing a lot of criticism. The Steelers looked like one of the best teams in the NFL for much of this season, but they completely collapsed to end the year. Despite that, it doesn’t sound like Tomlin is going anywhere. That isn’t stopping people from calling for his job. Former NFL corner Richard Sherman believes that Tomlin is the least of the Steelers’ problems, though.
“I don’t think getting rid of Tomlin is the answer,” Sherman said Monday on his podcast. “I don’t think that’s going to solve anything. I think it’s just gonna make the problem worse. It’ll be like a Band-Aid on a broken leg. It’s like, ‘Oh yeah, let me appease you.’ At the end of the day, you’ve got bigger problems than Tomlin. If you get rid of him, the problems are gonna magnify and they’re gonna be exponentially worse.”
It’s fair to say that the Steelers have problems outside of Tomlin. Their offense has been a mess for years. Since Ben Roethlisberger retired, consistent quarterback play has eluded the Steelers. Arthur Smith shined at times this season, but he still was far from perfect as the Steelers’ offensive coordinator.
However, it isn’t like Tomlin has been perfect. The Steelers have undergone several changes over recent years, and yet, some of the same problems have continued to plague them. That includes slow starts, late-season collapses, and getting dominated in the playoffs.
Although it seems highly unlikely that Tomlin is going anywhere, it would be curious to see what the Steelers looked like if the two sides did part ways. The argument for Tomlin is that he raises the Steelers’ floor and that he’s a big reason why they consistently make the playoffs in the first place. That might not be good enough anymore, though.
The Steelers would likely be hard-pressed to upgrade from Tomlin. Perhaps if the Steelers managed to find their next franchise quarterback, they’d be more competitive in the postseason. That would probably require the Steelers to either lose enough games to pick near the top of the draft or trade up in the first round. All of that is easier said than done.
Maybe the Steelers would be worse if they fired Tomlin. However, at this point, taking that risk might be better than continuing this cycle of mediocrity. The Steelers clearly have a number of issues they need to work through.
With Tomlin almost certainly returning in 2025, we’ll see if he’s able to prove his doubters wrong. He’s a proven winner in this league. He just needs to translate that to the postseason. Otherwise, putting that Band-Aid on might start to look very enticing.
