At the conclusion of the 2008 season, Mike Tomlin became the youngest head coach in NFL history to win a Super Bowl. In only his second year with the Pittsburgh Steelers, he helped them capture a championship. It was remarkable, helping to build Tomlin’s legacy. However, things have been a little uglier for Tomlin recently. The Steelers haven’t won a playoff game in eight years, and fans are getting frustrated with Tomlin. Analyst Gregg Rosenthal believes Pittsburgh’s issues aren’t all on Tomlin, though.
“He’s a little like [Bill] Belichick, in that like Belichick needed [Tom] Brady to unlock how special of a coach on some level as a head coach Belichick was,” Rosenthal said Monday on his NFL Daily podcast. “It doesn’t mean that Belichick wasn’t special. If you dropped a great quarterback into Tomlin’s lap the last six years, we’d be talking about him differently.”
Belichick is arguably the greatest head coach in NFL history. With the New England Patriots from 2000-2023, he won six Super Bowls, often having one of the best teams in the league. Although he was involved in a few controversies, Belichick’s legacy of winning cannot be denied.
However, Belichick wasn’t the only reason for the Patriots’ success. Brady, the best quarterback of all time, was just as crucial for those teams. His greatness was cemented when he won a seventh Super Bowl with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Without Brady, it’s doubtful that Belichick would’ve had as much success as he did.
Similarly, Brady likely wouldn’t have won as much as he did without Belichick. The legendary head coach has a masterful defensive mind, helping the Patriots have balanced teams during their championship runs.
While Belichick and Tomlin are very different in some ways, their wisdom when it comes to the defensive side of the ball is great. Like Belichick, Tomlin’s background is rooted in defense. That’s been a blessing and a curse for the Steelers.
Since Ben Roethlisberger retired after the 2021 season, the Steelers’ offense has been anywhere from middling to dreadful. They’ve been unable to field a consistently competent unit on that side of the ball. That was an issue Belichick had after Brady left the Patriots, too.
Obviously, replacing an all-time great quarterback is usually tough for every team. However, for defensive head coaches who don’t have a history of developing quarterbacks, it might be a little more difficult.
If Tomlin’s Steelers had Roethlisberger’s successor in place, the conversation around him would probably be different. Unfortunately, that’s only a hypothetical. As it stands, Tomlin’s coaching abilities are coming into question, although his job doesn’t seem to be in danger. However, if the Steelers continue to fail to win a postseason game, maybe that will change. Tomlin is an amazing leader, but like Belichick, he has flaws.
