Stephen A. Smith has stood by Mike Tomlin for years. But staring down the barrel of another one-and-done season, the Pittsburgh Steelers heavy underdogs Saturday night against the Baltimore Ravens, even Smith is wondering if change is brewing at the top of the coaching staff food chain. So much so that Smith endorsed the idea of Tomlin moving on to become the Chicago Bears’ next head coach.
“The answer to that question would be yes,” Smith said when asked if Tomlin should consider it during ESPN’s First Take Thursday morning. “I love Mike Tomlin. I hope he doesn’t leave. But I want to make sure I emphasize what I’m saying here. There does come a point in time, and I’m not saying that is the case yet with the Pittsburgh Steelers, but there does come a point in time where you have to ask yourself a question. Is a new voice and a new vision required?”
Such questions surfaced late last year during the Steelers’ three-game losing streak and led to similar speculation. Could Tomlin be traded? Would the team move on from him? Would he hang up his whistle and slide into a broadcast booth? Those questions were silenced after the Steelers won their final three regular-season games and snuck into the playoffs even if they were quickly dispatched by the Buffalo Bills in Round 1.
Speculation about Tomlin being traded or eyeing other jobs has picked back up during this season’s four-game losing streak. It’s largely been contained to day-time fodder though ESPN’s Adam Schefter noted at least one team seriously explored the idea only to be shut down by Tomlin’s no-trade clause.
“We move on from players every single time,” Smith said. “They moved on from Joe Montana. This is what happens. And so I look at it, they moved on from Peyton Manning. This is what happens. So why is it sacrilegious to bring that up when it comes to a coach?”
Should the Steelers fall to the Ravens this weekend, extending their playoff drought another year and capping a historic collapse, Tomlin may no longer be viewed in the favorable light the national media has painted him in for years. And certainly not by the local media with fans starving for signs of progress. Like it or not, Tomlin remains a sure bet to return in 2025 thanks to the three-year extension he signed last offseason. But he might not enter it with the pomp and circumstance those like Stephen A. Smith have given him over the years.
