The Pittsburgh Steelers dealt with a ton of quarterback drama in 2024. First, it looked like Russell Wilson was going to be the starter. Then, he got injured and Justin Fields got a ton of work as the number one. Wilson was eventually named the starter, but his injury flared up, and Fields answered the call for the first six games. When Mike Tomlin benched Fields for Wilson after that, he received a lot of criticism. According to Calvin Austin III, some players might have felt just as uneasy about that decision, but Tomlin quickly assuaged their worries.
“There was probably people in the locker room maybe questioning, thinking the same thing,” Austin said Wednesday on the radio show Jason and John on 92.9 ESPN. “But that’s why Coach Tomlin is the Hall of Fame coach that he is.
“The beginning of that week, the first team meeting, he came out there and was like, ‘We’re gonna do this.’ He told us why, and after that, that was the last we talked about it. At that point, it was, ‘Okay, let’s build with Russ.'”
While Austin doesn’t say it definitively, it wouldn’t be surprising to hear that players were just as confused why Fields was being benched. At the time, it seemed like a crazy decision. Yes, Fields wasn’t perfect, but he had the Steelers sitting on top of the AFC North. They were just coming off of a dominating win over the Las Vegas Raiders, too. Benching Fields felt like the wrong move.
Doubters were quickly proven wrong, though. Wilson proceeded to help the Steelers rip off four-straight wins. He looked like an upgrade over Fields. Part of that is probably because the team bought in to the switch. That’s a credit to Tomlin’s leadership.
Say what you will about him, but Tomlin is an excellent leader. He’s shown that time and time again. Most coaches would crumble in the face of all the pressure that decision brought. Not Tomlin. He took it all in stride, being resolute and getting the entire team to buy in.
Unfortunately, things eventually took a turn for the worse. Wilson’s play got worse, and the Steelers lost their final four regular season games. That seemed to be a disaster that not even Tomlin could handle. It shouldn’t take away from the masterful way he handled benching Fields, though. That was a tough call, and the Steelers didn’t miss a beat.
Hopefully, Tomlin’s leadership can lead the Steelers to a playoff victory this year. They haven’t won a playoff game since 2016. No matter how well he’s managed the Steelers during the regular season, things have to change in the postseason. The Steelers’ standard is championships, and they haven’t even come close to a Super Bowl in almost 10 years.
