Mike Tomlin Has Lost The Steelers

Jan 11, 2025; Baltimore, Maryland, USA; Pittsburgh Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin looks in the third quarter against the Baltimore Ravens in an AFC wild card game at M&T Bank Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Tommy Gilligan-Imagn Images / Tommy Gilligan-Imagn Images

PITTSBURGH — The light went dark, the crowd cheered and the Pittsburgh Steelers season came to and end. 

With eight years of no playoff wins, the Steelers enter an offseason with more questions, and louder noise than they ever have. Attention has turned right toward how they plan to fix things, and who need to get rid of. And at the top of that is Mike Tomlin, who many want to be gone before the start of the 2025 campaign.

Fire Tomlin

— Andrew Fillipponi (@ThePoniExpress) January 12, 2025

At one point in time, Tomlin was considered one of the top two, maybe three coaches in the NFL. He has never had a losing season, remains one of the best motivators the game has ever seen, and wins tight games in big moments – or at least he used to.

Lately, that’s not the case. In the Steelers’ eight-year drought, they’ve put up some unthinkable downfalls, highlighted by a 73-0 score between all playoff opponents in the first quarter over the last six games.

Adding even more to the questions surrounding the head coach was the utter collapse to end the season. After starting 10-3, the Steelers ended the year on a five-game losing streak where they failed to score more than 17 points in a game, fell to the Ravens twice and watched both their “cooking” quarterback and their star-studded defense fall to their knees.

Updated tallies-1st quarters of Steelers past 6 playoff games:Opponents 73, Steelers 01st quarters of Steelers past 5 overall games:Opponents 47, Steelers 3Combined Qtr1 yardage deficit in the ongoing streaks:

1,017-231

— Chris Adamski (@C_AdamskiTrib) January 12, 2025

They close the year needing to remodel their approach. Pittsburgh must make changes to the defense, which likely includes removing well-known names at all three levels. They have a massive decision to make at quarterback, and anyone thinking Wilson is the answer stopped watching in Week 14. They do not hold a high draft pick and have over a $100 million salary cap hit against their defense alone.

This all only adds to the choices Tomlin has made throughout the season. Multiple times, you questioned why the Steelers did or did not call a timeout in a critical moment, or why they stuck with certain players on the field when they weren’t doing much to contribute. Then, highlighted by it all, is Wilson, who Tomlin had everyone gushing over in Week 7 when he explained he was the one who made the decision to bench Justin Fields after a 4-2 start.

“That’s why I’m well compensated,” Tomlin said.

At the time, it was a real stunner of a quote. One that made the head coach look like the baddest man in the room. Today, it looks like the pinnacle of a coach underachieving and starting to watch it all catch up to him.

Sometimes, it’s not about being “good.” Tomlin is a great head coach. Sometimes, it’s about not being in the right place. Sometimes, it’s about getting stale. Tomlin’s once dominant run in Pittsburgh may have run dry, and if so, it’s time to admit it.

The questions are big. The answers seem non-existent right now. And maybe, just maybe, the Steelers first step toward returning to glory is moving on from the head coach they once thought would always be their best option.

Right now, it feels like he’s not.

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