From his column today......
Not a Tomlin fan. From Ed Borkowski: “As a 50-plus year Steeler fan I wish you media guys would stop exalting Mike Tomlin. It’s like a parent bragging about a child never failing elementary and secondary school with a C average. He has no coaching tree, can’t win a challenge, plays down to the competition, waits three years to replace a useless offensive coordinator, wastes more talent than any head coach ever. Has had no playoff success except with Bill Cowher’s team. All I want is to replace my dinosaur head coach with an aggressive younger head coach who has some creativity.”
Ed, I was in Pittsburgh Thursday for the Steelers’ loss to New England, and you’re certainly not alone. Listening to talk radio a bit on my trip and feeling the fans there Thursday—with a second straight home loss to a bad team—I wonder if owner Art Rooney might be thinking of changing coaches. But I’m shocked, overall, at the lack of respect for a coach who has averaged 10.9 wins per year in 17 seasons. A “C average”? That’s insane. If Tomlin hits the open market, you’ll see how many owners in the NFL would be chasing him. Having said that, after seven years without a playoff win, and with the struggles now, and with the loafing you see on multiple plays from would-be star receivers, I do think it’s a legit question about whether he’s reached his expiration date with this franchise. But I’ll tell you why—if Tomlin would be on board with hiring an aggressive and cutting-edge offensive coordinator this off-season—I think he should stay.
One: He has not lost the team. The players still respect him, though he’s got to get more consistent effort from Diontae Johnson and George Pickens.
Two: It’s hard to win in the NFL. That sounds elementary, but it’s odd to me that so few people respect how hard it is to keep a team in contention every single season, and the Steelers have been first or second in the division in 13 of his 16 full seasons. Bill Belichick has eight losing seasons in 29 years of head coaching. Tomlin has zero in 16 seasons, with this one still in the balance.
Something else in the Tomlin column:
Tomlin post-Ben Roethlisberger: 16-14, .533.
Matt LaFleur post-Aaron Rodgers: 6-6, .500
Belichick post-Tom Brady: 28-35, .444
Arthur Smith post-Matt Ryan: 13-17, .433.
Joe Judge/Brian Daboll post-Eli Manning: 24-39-1, .383.
No one cares about the history, which I get. Do people care about free agents who come to Pittsburgh, in small or large part, because they want to play for Tomlin? Patrick Peterson did. I do think Tomlin’s got to have a plan for the offense that isn’t just cosmetic, and for trying to save Kenny Pickett. If he does, I’d vote for a contract extension for Tomlin. That’s important, in my mind. If he doesn’t, if he just wants to shuffle the current offensive staff without choosing an overhaul, then it might be time to move on.
Not a Tomlin fan. From Ed Borkowski: “As a 50-plus year Steeler fan I wish you media guys would stop exalting Mike Tomlin. It’s like a parent bragging about a child never failing elementary and secondary school with a C average. He has no coaching tree, can’t win a challenge, plays down to the competition, waits three years to replace a useless offensive coordinator, wastes more talent than any head coach ever. Has had no playoff success except with Bill Cowher’s team. All I want is to replace my dinosaur head coach with an aggressive younger head coach who has some creativity.”
Ed, I was in Pittsburgh Thursday for the Steelers’ loss to New England, and you’re certainly not alone. Listening to talk radio a bit on my trip and feeling the fans there Thursday—with a second straight home loss to a bad team—I wonder if owner Art Rooney might be thinking of changing coaches. But I’m shocked, overall, at the lack of respect for a coach who has averaged 10.9 wins per year in 17 seasons. A “C average”? That’s insane. If Tomlin hits the open market, you’ll see how many owners in the NFL would be chasing him. Having said that, after seven years without a playoff win, and with the struggles now, and with the loafing you see on multiple plays from would-be star receivers, I do think it’s a legit question about whether he’s reached his expiration date with this franchise. But I’ll tell you why—if Tomlin would be on board with hiring an aggressive and cutting-edge offensive coordinator this off-season—I think he should stay.
One: He has not lost the team. The players still respect him, though he’s got to get more consistent effort from Diontae Johnson and George Pickens.
Two: It’s hard to win in the NFL. That sounds elementary, but it’s odd to me that so few people respect how hard it is to keep a team in contention every single season, and the Steelers have been first or second in the division in 13 of his 16 full seasons. Bill Belichick has eight losing seasons in 29 years of head coaching. Tomlin has zero in 16 seasons, with this one still in the balance.
Something else in the Tomlin column:
Tomlin post-Ben Roethlisberger: 16-14, .533.
Matt LaFleur post-Aaron Rodgers: 6-6, .500
Belichick post-Tom Brady: 28-35, .444
Arthur Smith post-Matt Ryan: 13-17, .433.
Joe Judge/Brian Daboll post-Eli Manning: 24-39-1, .383.
No one cares about the history, which I get. Do people care about free agents who come to Pittsburgh, in small or large part, because they want to play for Tomlin? Patrick Peterson did. I do think Tomlin’s got to have a plan for the offense that isn’t just cosmetic, and for trying to save Kenny Pickett. If he does, I’d vote for a contract extension for Tomlin. That’s important, in my mind. If he doesn’t, if he just wants to shuffle the current offensive staff without choosing an overhaul, then it might be time to move on.
