Monday on NFL Live, former Pittsburgh Steelers safety and current analyst Ryan Clark cautioned the Steelers about moving on from Mike Tomlin, and in an interview with TMZ Sports, Clark reiterated that Tomlin shouldn’t be fired. However, he added that he thinks Tomlin should consider if a move elsewhere would be best for him.
“Coach Tomlin should not be fired. Coach Tomlin is too good of a football coach, Coach Tomlin has accomplished too much, his resume is too long and is still too strong to be fired,” Clark said. “I’m saying that Coach Tomlin should look into whether or not his voice is better suited somewhere else. Whether or not the cache that he will carry from what he’s done in Pittsburgh will help another locker room more than it’s helping the locker room in Pittsburgh.”
Clark compared the situation to Andy Reid finding success in Kansas City after being fired by the Eagles, when his “voice seemed to have lost a little steam” in Philadelphia.
“I believe that could be an answer for Mike Tomlin. I’m no GM, I’m no owner of every football team, but some of these teams that don’t have a coach right now, if you tell them there’s a way to get Mike Tomlin in your building, I’m sure they would be more than willing to listen,” Clark said.
If Tomlin wanted to leave, most of the organizations around the NFL would have interest in him. For teams with a current head coach opening, he’d probably be the No. 1 candidate given that he’s a Super Bowl-winning coach and hasn’t had a losing season. In Pittsburgh, an eight-year playoff drought that the Steelers are experiencing is unacceptable given what the organization has been built upon, which is winning and winning Super Bowls, but elsewhere, Tomlin could be a new voice in a locker room and likely find some measure of immediate success and likely playoff success.
Sometimes, no matter how good a coach is, the same voice and messaging can wind up getting a little stale. While Pittsburgh’s players have defended Tomlin since their playoff loss against the Baltimore Ravens, the lack of success has led to real consideration of whether Tomlin is best suited for the Steelers. The players seem to love him, and it doesn’t necessarily seem like they’re getting sick of his message, but the fact they haven’t won much of anything lately is problematic.
Some of Pittsburgh’s issues can be pointed to roster construction, although Tomlin also has a hand in that, but if he were to leave and go somewhere with a stable quarterback room, it’s not inconceivable to suggest that he might have more success elsewhere. While Clark thinks that’s what he should consider, Tomlin seems to have zero interest in leaving Pittsburgh, telling teams that might’ve been interested in trading for him to “save your time.”
So while Tomlin might not want to leave, Clark’s thought that Mike Tomlin could have more success elsewhere isn’t off base and very well may be the case.
