Though fans, pundits, and even former players have criticized Mike Tomlin in the wake of another one-and-done playoff season that extended the Pittsburgh Steelers’ playoff drought to eight seasons, not everyone has turned on him. Joey Porter Sr. took time Wednesday to defend Tomlin, citing negative comments as the product of a city with lofty expectations.
“That’s just the price of doing business in Pittsburgh,” Porter said on NFL Network. “I’m sorry that we’re not sorry that we’re spoiled to a point to where 10 games ain’t good enough. So he’s been on a hot seat in their mind, the city’s mind. Not Mr. Rooney’s. Mr. Rooney know exactly what they have in a good coach of Mike Tomlin. But the city do this to him every year.”
While Tomlin hasn’t raised the Steelers’ ceiling, he has raised their floor. He consistently beats oddsmakers’ expectations that predict his first losing season, and there are already calls for it to happen in 2025, Pittsburgh finds a way to routinely win 8-10 games. That held true in 2024 thanks to a hot start that provided cushion for a four-game regular-season losing streak, the team still getting into the playoffs.
But the season ended like so many recent ones. A quick postseason exit. This time, the Steelers were embarrassed in their Wild Card loss to the rival Baltimore Ravens. RB Derrick Henry and the Ravens’ rushing attack set playoff records for yards against the Steelers in what was another uncompetitive contest.
Still, Porter knows Tomlin is the right man for the job.
“Did we finish the way we want to finish? Absolutely not,” he said. “The five-game losing straight hurts. But are we that disappointed? Because I don’t think they had us winning 10 games and being close to winning the division. Because we had a chance to win a division before it was over.
“At the end of the day, we didn’t finish where we wanted to. But him being on the hot seat is just a Pittsburgh thing. They do this to him every year.”
Tomlin and the Steelers surpassed the 8.5 wins Vegas projected for them in 2024, but Porter’s comments speak to a continual lowering of the standard. From Super Bowl contenders to winning the division, now simply winning 10 games and making the dance is “good enough.” Winning games is hard, and the Steelers haven’t found a long-term quarterback, which puts them at an obvious disadvantage. But Tomlin and the franchise’s mission is to find that answer and it doesn’t excuse losing to the likes of Baker Mayfield in 2020 or Blake Bortles in 2017.
