When he was hired as the Pittsburgh Steelers’ head coach in 2007, Mike Tomlin was a relative unknown. He had only spent one year as an NFL defensive coordinator. Since then, Tomlin has built a legacy worthy of the Pro Football Hall of Fame. He’s won a Super Bowl, and he’s never had a losing season as a head coach. Despite that, some believe that Tomlin has underachieved. Steelers announcer Rob King thinks that couldn’t be further from the truth.
“I think fans don’t understand how difficult it is,” King said recently on The Manchild Show with Boy Green Digital. “I have lots of friends from upstate New York who are huge Buffalo Bills fans, and I think that they’ve done a phenomenal job. I think Sean McDermott is a great coach. I think they’ve got a great organization going. They have Josh Allen at quarterback.
“But they had to go through 20 consecutive losing seasons. 20 straight losing seasons, I think it was. That’s a long way to go with no chance as a football team. Mike Tomlin and the Steelers organization, the Rooney ownership, it was Kevin Colbert, now it’s Omar Khan. It’s a very much of a check-your-ego-at-the-door organization. To be able to do what they’ve done, I just think it’s incredibly remarkable.”
To be clear, the Bills didn’t have 20 losing seasons in a row before drafting Allen. What King is likely thinking of is their 18-year playoff drought. That ended in 2017, with Buffalo making the postseason for the first time since 1999.
That lack of success would likely make Tomlin’s streak of non-losing seasons appealing. However, some Steelers fans hold their favorite franchise to a higher standard. They believe that just making the playoffs shouldn’t be good enough for the team. Their goal every year is to compete for a championship.
However, it’s important to note that Tomlin’s goal is also to win a Super Bowl. Just having a winning season isn’t enough for him. He’s just been competent enough to help keep the Steelers from hitting rock bottom.
That is impressive. No matter the playoff losses, Tomlin’s ability to keep the Steelers in the playoff conversation is incredible. Even since Ben Roethlisberger, Pittsburgh’s franchise quarterback for almost 20 years, retired the Steelers have continued to make the playoffs.
Unfortunately, they’ve stood no chance in most of their recent postseason appearances. Those games have mostly been blowouts. The Steelers haven’t been able to stand up to some of the better competition in the AFC.
Look at who their quarterbacks have been during that time, though. Kenny Pickett, Mason Rudolph, and Russell Wilson have all played significant snaps for the Steelers. Most teams wouldn’t make the playoffs with those players starting.
Tomlin hasn’t been good enough recently. He’s flawed, making mistakes that have hurt the Steelers. However, he’s also still an excellent coach. Both things can be true. That’s likely why his job isn’t in much danger. If he continues to come up short in the playoffs, maybe that will change, but for the foreseeable future, he’s not losing his position.
