While Mike Tomlin commands respect around the NFL, his detractors like to point out his absence of a coaching tree. We can debate the merits and validity of this as a criticism of a coach, but it’s also a fact. Tomlin does not have a robust track record of mentoring coaches who have gone on to do significant things elsewhere.
Part of that is related to the types of coaches he hires, which at times are older, or simply loyalists. But even when Tomlin has had some young coaches who generated some excitement, the Steelers moved on from them. There was some buzz about Grady Brown, for example, but both he and Aaron Curry are gone.
Even former Steelers S Ryan Clark isn’t impressed with Tomlin’s history, especially with coordinators. “I do believe, and I can be honest, I never really thought about replacing Bruce Arians and Dick LeBeau What I’ll say about that is, those actually weren’t [Mike Tomlin’s] hires, per se”, he said on the Green Light podcast with Chris Long.
“Honestly, picking your coordinators is a big deal. Especially when you don’t call plays, because he doesn’t call defense for the team”, Clark added. It’s worth noting that it is believed Tomlin does call plays for the defense, at least sometimes. Outgoing DC Keith Butler revealed that Tomlin started taking over in LeBeau’s final seasons. They had already moved on from Clark by then, however, so he may not be aware.
Mike Tomlin cut his teeth as a defensive coach, starting in the secondary. He worked his way up to a defensive coordinator post in Minnesota in 2006, and earned the Steelers’ head coach job the very next season. At the time, he didn’t want to rock the boat, and left much of the coaching staff intact. Most notably, he retained Dick LeBeau, who ran a 3-4 rather than his preferred 4-3.
Tomlin made arguably one of the worst coordinator hires in recent NFL history with Matt Canada, the Steelers’ former OC. Eventually, he had to fire Canada in-season, unprecedented for the organization. As he later explained, he basically made that move to put Canada out of his misery.
“If there is a criticism of him, the conservatism is a part of it”, Clark said of Tomlin. “There has been some late-game mismanagement at times, But yes, he hasn’t found two guys on each side of the ball that has learned to excel in the most important moments”.
Right now, Mike Tomlin has Arthur Smith and Teryl Austin as his coordinators. Most perceive Austin as largely a rubber-stamper for Tomlin’s defensive agenda, but Smith presumably has more autonomy. He said he expects to run more of his offense this season, having more pieces in place to do so.
Arthur Smith and Teryl Austin, though, both served as coordinators before Tomlin hired them. Smith, like Tomlin, quickly ascended the ranks to head coach, only the Falcons fired him. That’s when Tomlin swooped in. While they showed some promise, however, the 2025 season will be critical for the sustainability of this particular offensive staff.
