Prediction for the off season

[POP]

I think it's time to bring in some fresh blood. Unfortunately the league is now a fantasy football fallacy of high yardage,arm tackling and high scoring. Most games I turn on are painful to watch. It's hard to go back to the old way that is now dead.... smash mouth football..R.I.P.

I would love to see Seattle win it all again with smash mouth and defense, to slam a stick into the eyes of those who pursued the agenda of all offense and no smash mouth. I would love to see the champion win old school, once again, to screw those douche bags over.

 

[ExUSAF]

The problem is that Tomlin's failures are largely based on perception, and not reflected in the results to date under his tenure. If the Steelers do go 7-9 this year, it'll be the first season below .500 under Tomlin's watch. Tomlin will still have an overall winning record in the regular season, and would still be one of a relative few active head coaches that can claim to have won a Super Bowl. I think we all see that the line is trending down right now (obviously), but the Rooneys traditionally haven't been disposed to react quickly to these kinds of things, and I think being their "Rooney Rule" hire will give Tomlin some added insurance. I will not be surprised at all (disappointed, maybe, but not surprised) if they extend his contract after this season, in keeping with their usual pattern of extending a coach with one year left. At worst, if the Rooneys really don't have a lot of confidence in him, the extension will be a short one. If they offer him one additional year, that might be the signal that he has limited time to turn things around. But if they extend him for a more typical 3-4 years (I think that's typically been how they've done it over the years), he's almost guaranteed to stick around for the duration and probably get extended again several years on if the decline doesn't continue.

You know and I know that he makes horrible in-game decisions, poorly manages the clock, doesn't make adjustments well, and hasn't been able to keep the team in line in terms of discipline. Now weigh that against the fact that he's 78-46 (.629) in the regular season, and 5-3 in the post-season with a SB win. Coming into this season he was ranked in the top 10 on the coaches' power ranking. And finally, seriously ask yourself who would be available to replace him and be expected to do better? In a vacuum, where you don't consider lots of inter-related issues or worry about realistic solutions moving forward, yes, a 7-9 season should absolutely demonstrate that Tomlin is sliding the wrong way and maybe it's time to part ways. I think the Rooneys take a bigger-picture view, though, so I don't see Tomlin going anywhere.

Based on perception? I perceive that the team has, in fact and in record, gotten worse under Tomlin's watch. I perceive that this team, in fact and in record, consistently loses to bottom feeders. How long do we hold up his 1 - 1 record in Super Bowls and front-loaded success against the abysmal effort this team has put forth the last three seasons? How good do you think he will be doing after Roethlisberger is gone - if he is extended another 3 - 4 years you can be sure that Ben will be retired sometime in that time period. There was a debate early on when Mark Malone was stinking the place up and someone mentioned that Bradshaw stunk the place up early. The question was then asked to the effect "Do you see Mark Malone as another Bradshaw" and the answer was obviously no. The same thing applies to those that hold up the fact that Cowher had a bad playoff record run - does anyone see Tomlin improving as Cowher did. That question is left as an exercise for the student.

 

[deljzc]

I think Lebeau finally retires.

Butler is about 90% likely to get the job.

We will sign a mid-range free agent in the $4-5 million/season range and four or five $1-$2.5 million guys for depth before the draft.

Same old, same old....

 

[bmoritz]

I swear to God if they extend Tomlin, I'm done with football.

 

[xjx]

Unfortunately, nothing will change and we will be 7-9 again next year. But hey, on the positive side.....we have a black coach, so we are cool.

 

[miiike]

I think it is too early for this. We have four weeks left with a reasonable chance of making the playoffs. So, it is possible that the Rooneys and most fans will be reasonably happy after the season/playoffs end. That said, regardless of the result, the team should look hard at Colbert and Tomlin. They need to determine whether there are issues there. Are there philosophical differences that are resulting in erratic drafting (i.e., great receivers, good o-line, bad defensive players and some flat out weird picks) and creating other issues? The Rooneys also need to get a sense of how the team views both. If there is an issue, dig into who has been making which calls and why and based on that decide whether one needs to go or at least put him on a very short leash.

Of course my real prediction for the off season is

1. If we win the Super Bowl, threads explaining how we won in spite of Tomlin, that Tomlin only won because a couple of players from Cowher are still on the team or because Ward or Cowher called out the team as soft;
2. If we lose in the 2nd or 3rd round of the playoffs, threads on how Tomlin blew the game and how we only got there because of Ben;
3. If we miss the playoffs, thousands of “fire everybody” threads, hundreds of “I told you so” threads, dozens of “trade Ben” threads and the occasional “I no longer care” threads.

 

[JupiterBnG]

Based on perception? I perceive that the team has, in fact and in record, gotten worse under Tomlin's watch. I perceive that this team, in fact and in record, consistently loses to bottom feeders. How long do we hold up his 1 - 1 record in Super Bowls and front-loaded success against the abysmal effort this team has put forth the last three seasons? How good do you think he will be doing after Roethlisberger is gone - if he is extended another 3 - 4 years you can be sure that Ben will be retired sometime in that time period. There was a debate early on when Mark Malone was stinking the place up and someone mentioned that Bradshaw stunk the place up early. The question was then asked to the effect "Do you see Mark Malone as another Bradshaw" and the answer was obviously no. The same thing applies to those that hold up the fact that Cowher had a bad playoff record run - does anyone see Tomlin improving as Cowher did. That question is left as an exercise for the student.

As I said, EVERYONE can see the downward trend, but even with the last three years, he's still got a .629 regular season record over his career as the head coach here. Noll's career regular season record was .566, and Cowher's was .623. As much as we both agree that the last few years have sucked, A) he still hasn't had a season under .500, and B) when you look at his cumulative body of work to date, he's better than both Noll and Cowher. If you compare just their first 8 seasons, Cowher's record was .601 with two losing seasons and Noll's was 585 with three losing seasons. I guess eight years into either of their careers, you were screaming for their heads too?

Ultimately, the Rooneys are not known to make knee-jerk decisions when it comes to coaching staff. Looking at a bigger picture and not just a "the sky has been falling the last few seasons" perspective of the fans, Tomlin is a better coach, at least on paper (and it makes me gag to even write that). Although I don't expect to make the playoffs, I also don't think we fail to win at least ONE game the rest of the season, and Tomlin still doesn't have a season under .500, which can't be said of either Noll or Cowher.

 

[CoolieMan]

I think it is too early for this. We have four weeks left with a reasonable chance of making the playoffs. So, it is possible that the Rooneys and most fans will be reasonably happy after the season/playoffs end. That said, regardless of the result, the team should look hard at Colbert and Tomlin. They need to determine whether there are issues there. Are there philosophical differences that are resulting in erratic drafting (i.e., great receivers, good o-line, bad defensive players and some flat out weird picks) and creating other issues? The Rooneys also need to get a sense of how the team views both. If there is an issue, dig into who has been making which calls and why and based on that decide whether one needs to go or at least put him on a very short leash.

Of course my real prediction for the off season is

1. If we win the Super Bowl, threads explaining how we won in spite of Tomlin, that Tomlin only won because a couple of players from Cowher are still on the team or because Ward or Cowher called out the team as soft;
2. If we lose in the 2nd or 3rd round of the playoffs, threads on how Tomlin blew the game and how we only got there because of Ben;
3. If we miss the playoffs, thousands of “fire everybody” threads, hundreds of “I told you so” threads, dozens of “trade Ben” threads and the occasional “I no longer care” threads.

this....................

 

[ExUSAF]

As I said, EVERYONE can see the downward trend, but even with the last three years, he's still got a .629 regular season record over his career as the head coach here. Noll's career regular season record was .566, and Cowher's was .623. As much as we both agree that the last few years have sucked, A) he still hasn't had a season under .500, and B) when you look at his cumulative body of work to date, he's better than both Noll and Cowher. If you compare just their first 8 seasons, Cowher's record was .601 with two losing seasons and Noll's was 585 with three losing seasons. I guess eight years into either of their careers, you were screaming for their heads too?

Ultimately, the Rooneys are not known to make knee-jerk decisions when it comes to coaching staff. Looking at a bigger picture and not just a "the sky has been falling the last few seasons" perspective of the fans, Tomlin is a better coach, at least on paper (and it makes me gag to even write that). Although I don't expect to make the playoffs, I also don't think we fail to win at least ONE game the rest of the season, and Tomlin still doesn't have a season under .500, which can't be said of either Noll or Cowher.

Do you honestly believe Tomlin will ever, in your wildest imagination, put together a winning team the way Noll or Cowher did? Remember, neither of them had a franchise QB when they started - Noll had nothing, and Cowher the barest of cupboards. Tomlin started with a team two seasons removed from a Super Bowl run.

 

[Troglodyte]

We don't know who made what defensive personnel decisions between Colbert and Tomlin. For all we know Tomlin got his way and is keeping his coaching job in spite of himself as the Rooneys excuse the mediocrity because of defensive personnel.

But yeah, someone deserves to be fired or have their power stripped for the current state of the defense.

 

[antdrewjosh]

I think it is too early for this. We have four weeks left with a reasonable chance of making the playoffs. So, it is possible that the Rooneys and most fans will be reasonably happy after the season/playoffs end. That said, regardless of the result, the team should look hard at Colbert and Tomlin. They need to determine whether there are issues there. Are there philosophical differences that are resulting in erratic drafting (i.e., great receivers, good o-line, bad defensive players and some flat out weird picks) and creating other issues? The Rooneys also need to get a sense of how the team views both. If there is an issue, dig into who has been making which calls and why and based on that decide whether one needs to go or at least put him on a very short leash.

Of course my real prediction for the off season is

1. If we win the Super Bowl, threads explaining how we won in spite of Tomlin, that Tomlin only won because a couple of players from Cowher are still on the team or because Ward or Cowher called out the team as soft;
2. If we lose in the 2nd or 3rd round of the playoffs, threads on how Tomlin blew the game and how we only got there because of Ben;
3. If we miss the playoffs, thousands of “fire everybody” threads, hundreds of “I told you so” threads, dozens of “trade Ben” threads and the occasional “I no longer care” threads.

Great post!!!

 

[Omar10213245]

I think it is too early for this. We have four weeks left with a reasonable chance of making the playoffs. So, it is possible that the Rooneys and most fans will be reasonably happy after the season/playoffs end. That said, regardless of the result, the team should look hard at Colbert and Tomlin. They need to determine whether there are issues there. Are there philosophical differences that are resulting in erratic drafting (i.e., great receivers, good o-line, bad defensive players and some flat out weird picks) and creating other issues? The Rooneys also need to get a sense of how the team views both. If there is an issue, dig into who has been making which calls and why and based on that decide whether one needs to go or at least put him on a very short leash.

Of course my real prediction for the off season is

1. If we win the Super Bowl, threads explaining how we won in spite of Tomlin, that Tomlin only won because a couple of players from Cowher are still on the team or because Ward or Cowher called out the team as soft;
2. If we lose in the 2nd or 3rd round of the playoffs, threads on how Tomlin blew the game and how we only got there because of Ben;
3. If we miss the playoffs, thousands of “fire everybody” threads, hundreds of “I told you so” threads, dozens of “trade Ben” threads and the occasional “I no longer care” threads.

The Superbowl, he says!!!

 

[JupiterBnG]

Do you honestly believe Tomlin will ever, in your wildest imagination, put together a winning team the way Noll or Cowher did? Remember, neither of them had a franchise QB when they started - Noll had nothing, and Cowher the barest of cupboards. Tomlin started with a team two seasons removed from a Super Bowl run.

You seem to be confused. I don't like Tomlin. I'm not defending him. I'm simply saying four things:

1) Statistically speaking, whether Tomlin is responsible for it or he's just riding this team's coattails, he has a better record than either Noll or Cowher had at this point in their careers.
2) He has yet to have a losing season, and odds are he will at have at least a .500 season again this year. Cowher's and Noll's jobs weren't in jeopardy when they had losing seasons.
3) The Rooneys aren't likely to give ANYONE the boot unless things get MUCH worse. We went through many years of not making the playoffs before without any radical coaching moves.
4) Looking at the potentially available pool of head coaching talent that is likely to be available next year, who is really a better choice?

I agree 100% that Tomlin is a ****** gameday coach, he's a ****** talent evaluator... he's just generally ******. But he's paradoxically a ****** coach with a strong winning record and a couple of Super Bowl appearances to his credit. Again, hard to see the Rooneys making a bold move where he's concerned until things get a lot worse, and stay that way for a lot longer.

 

[Ghost of Frenchy Fuqua]

Colbert is fired. Or "retires" like Bruce did.

Very unlikely.

 

[steelpride]

You seem to be confused. I don't like Tomlin. I'm not defending him. I'm simply saying four things:

1) Statistically speaking, whether Tomlin is responsible for it or he's just riding this team's coattails, he has a better record than either Noll or Cowher had at this point in their careers.
2) He has yet to have a losing season, and odds are he will at have at least a .500 season again this year. Cowher's and Noll's jobs weren't in jeopardy when they had losing seasons.
3) The Rooneys aren't likely to give ANYONE the boot unless things get MUCH worse. We went through many years of not making the playoffs before without any radical coaching moves.
4) Looking at the potentially available pool of head coaching talent that is likely to be available next year, who is really a better choice?

I agree 100% that Tomlin is a ****** gameday coach, he's a ****** talent evaluator... he's just generally ******. But he's paradoxically a ****** coach with a strong winning record and a couple of Super Bowl appearances to his credit. Again, hard to see the Rooneys making a bold move where he's concerned until things get a lot worse, and stay that way for a lot longer.

First of all your premise is wrong and stupid at best. Noll took over a terrible franchise and went 1-13, 5-9 and 6-8 before 13 straight playoff seasons and winning 4 Super Bowls, so where exactly were the losing seasons that Noll even sniffed a potential firing.

Cowher took over a team that hadn't won anything for a decade and immediately went to 6 straight playoffs , getting to a Super Bowl and doing so with journeymen QBs,He exceeds anything Tomlin has ever dine and won a Super Bowl one year after getting a franchise QB.

With the same franchise QB Tomlin has run a great team he inherited into the ground, he has missed the playoffs 3 times in 7 years, going on 3 straight years, hasn't won a playoff game in 5 seasons and has a team on the downside and yet he is still employed. He is the George Siefert and Barry Switzer to the great Bill Walsh and Jimmy Johnson. Switzer and Siefert like Tomlin had better won loss records than Johnson, Walsh and Noll, of course they didn't build the teams and have to suffer through the 1-15 season Johnson did when rebuilding the Cowbous or the 3-13 season Walsh suffered through when building the 9ers, just like Noll had the 1-13 season building the Steelers. Do you seriously think Tomlin, Switzer or Siefert are anywhere in the same class as the great coaches whose teams they inherited and won with .

 

[JupiterBnG]

First of all your premise is wrong and stupid at best. Noll took over a terrible franchise and went 1-13, 5-9 and 6-8 before 13 straight playoff seasons and winning 4 Super Bowls, so where exactly were the losing seasons that Noll even sniffed a potential firing.

Cowher took over a team that hadn't won anything for a decade and immediately went to 6 straight playoffs , getting to a Super Bowl and doing so with journeymen QBs,He exceeds anything Tomlin has ever dine and won a Super Bowl one year after getting a franchise QB.

With the same franchise QB Tomlin has run a great team he inherited into the ground, he has missed the playoffs 3 times in 7 years, going on 3 straight years, hasn't won a playoff game in 5 seasons and has a team on the downside and yet he is still employed. He is the George Siefert and Barry Switzer to the great Bill Walsh and Jimmy Johnson. Switzer and Siefert like Tomlin had better won loss records than Johnson, Walsh and Noll, of course they didn't build the teams and have to suffer through the 1-15 season Johnson did when rebuilding the Cowbous or the 3-13 season Walsh suffered through when building the 9ers, just like Noll had the 1-13 season building the Steelers. Do you seriously think Tomlin, Switzer or Siefert are anywhere in the same class as the great coaches whose teams they inherited and won with .

Looks like you're confused too.

This has nothing to do with whether Tomlin is a good coach. It has everything to do with the Rooneys. The Rooneys don't act hastily, and they won't abandon a coach with an overall winning record just because of a few mediocre years.

 

[steelpride]

Looks like you're confused too.

This has nothing to do with whether Tomlin is a good coach. It has everything to do with the Rooneys. The Rooneys don't act hastily, and they won't abandon a coach with an overall winning record just because of a few mediocre years.

No, you are the one confused and making stupid statements. You stupidly tried to compare Tomlin's tenure to Noll's and Cowhers and said they were not fired for losing seasons. Noll did not have a losing season for 13 straight years, winning 4 Super Bowls in the interim , so why would the greatest coach in NFL face a possible firing or being compared to an unaccomplished coach like Tomlin who inherited his team and is in the process of ruining it .He has not earned the capital of a Noll by any stretch and even a Cowher is vastly superior to a Tomlin and earned the right to rebuild a great team he built. Tomlin has never built a team, has ruined a team and is incapable of rebuilding one, apples to oranges and the Rooney in charge is not the same one that employed Noll and Cowher.

 

[DocScott]

Predictions for the offseason, ok.... Troy, Ike, Keisell, Harrison, Moats, Allen, Worilds, and McCain gone from the defense. Who replaces/steps up on their behalf?

 

[deljzc]

Oh....

I'll add another prediction. I think we re-sign Worilds to a lot more money than people think he deserves.

 

[Wingman]

Oh....

I'll add another prediction. I think we re-sign Worilds to a lot more money than people think he deserves.

I sure as hell hope not, he has been so over paid this year he should work for free next year.

 

[JupiterBnG]

No, you are the one confused and making stupid statements. You stupidly tried to compare Tomlin's tenure to Noll's and Cowhers and said they were not fired for losing seasons. Noll did not have a losing season for 13 straight years, winning 4 Super Bowls in the interim , so why would the greatest coach in NFL face a possible firing or being compared to an unaccomplished coach like Tomlin who inherited his team and is in the process of ruining it .He has not earned the capital of a Noll by any stretch and even a Cowher is vastly superior to a Tomlin and earned the right to rebuild a great team he built. Tomlin has never built a team, has ruined a team and is incapable of rebuilding one, apples to oranges and the Rooney in charge is not the same one that employed Noll and Cowher.

Look at Noll's record from 84 to 91. Three 9-7 seasons and the rest were all sub-.500. Yet they would have let him keep coaching with the same output for another 20 years if he hadn't retired. Cowher's record was up and down, and his last year was a huge let-down after the Super Bowl, but again, if he hadn't retired he would probably still be the coach. Again, that is largely because the Rooneys don't overreact.

 

[Wingman]

Look at Noll's record from 84 to 91. Three 9-7 seasons and the rest were all sub-.500. Yet they would have let him keep coaching with the same output for another 20 years if he hadn't retired. Cowher's record was up and down, and his last year was a huge let-down after the Super Bowl, but again, if he hadn't retired he would probably still be the coach. Again, that is largely because the Rooneys don't overreact.

Team Year Regular Season Post Season
Won Lost Ties Win % Finish Won Lost Win % Result
PIT 2007 10 6 0 .625 1st in AFC North 0 1 .000 Lost to Jacksonville Jaguars in AFC Wild Card Game
PIT 2008 12 4 0 .750 1st in AFC North 3 0 1.000 Super Bowl XLIII Champions
PIT 2009 9 7 0 .533 3rd in AFC North – – – –
PIT 2010 12 4 0 .750 1st in AFC North 2 1 .667 Lost to Green Bay Packers in Super Bowl XLV
PIT 2011 12 4 0 .750 2nd in AFC North 0 1 .000 Lost to Denver Broncos in AFC Wild Card Game
PIT 2012 8 8 0 .500 3rd in AFC North – – – –
PIT 2013 8 8 0 .500 2nd in AFC North – – – –
PIT 2014 7 5 0 .583 – – – –
Total[28] 78 46 0 .629 5 3 .610

Lets look at it in a tale of two halves 1st 4 years and last 4 years. 1st 4 years with a team that was mostly inherited from a predecessor. Record 43 and 21 fairly good record lots of Playoff wins, one championship.
2nd 4 years team has more players that MT had a part of the selection process, we do not know what part specifically but do know he was here for these selections. Record 35 and 25 with out completion of the last 25% of this season. At best it could be 39 and 25 with a trip to the playoffs, at worst it could be 35 and 29 and no trip to the post season. Even with his best scenario he is still trending to be worse than he was with a team he inherited. If the team plays like it did against the Saints and tanks he will be much worse than he was when he inherited the team.
If we go a ninth season and divide it into thirds the negative trend is likely to be even more pronounced. I am saying this based on the players we are likely to lose compared to what their replacements have shown so far.
Like him or not the team is not looking like it is being rebuilt into a contender, it looks like we are rebuilding into the Bengals of the 90s.

 

[JupiterBnG]

Team Year Regular Season Post Season
Won Lost Ties Win % Finish Won Lost Win % Result
PIT 2007 10 6 0 .625 1st in AFC North 0 1 .000 Lost to Jacksonville Jaguars in AFC Wild Card Game
PIT 2008 12 4 0 .750 1st in AFC North 3 0 1.000 Super Bowl XLIII Champions
PIT 2009 9 7 0 .533 3rd in AFC North – – – –
PIT 2010 12 4 0 .750 1st in AFC North 2 1 .667 Lost to Green Bay Packers in Super Bowl XLV
PIT 2011 12 4 0 .750 2nd in AFC North 0 1 .000 Lost to Denver Broncos in AFC Wild Card Game
PIT 2012 8 8 0 .500 3rd in AFC North – – – –
PIT 2013 8 8 0 .500 2nd in AFC North – – – –
PIT 2014 7 5 0 .583 – – – –
Total[28] 78 46 0 .629 5 3 .610

Lets look at it in a tale of two halves 1st 4 years and last 4 years. 1st 4 years with a team that was mostly inherited from a predecessor. Record 43 and 21 fairly good record lots of Playoff wins, one championship.
2nd 4 years team has more players that MT had a part of the selection process, we do not know what part specifically but do know he was here for these selections. Record 35 and 25 with out completion of the last 25% of this season. At best it could be 39 and 25 with a trip to the playoffs, at worst it could be 35 and 29 and no trip to the post season. Even with his best scenario he is still trending to be worse than he was with a team he inherited. If the team plays like it did against the Saints and tanks he will be much worse than he was when he inherited the team.
If we go a ninth season and divide it into thirds the negative trend is likely to be even more pronounced. I am saying this based on the players we are likely to lose compared to what their replacements have shown so far.
Like him or not the team is not looking like it is being rebuilt into a contender, it looks like we are rebuilding into the Bengals of the 90s.

You people keep arguing as if I'm a fan of Tomlin. I'm not. I'm just pointing out the obvious fact that, no matter what we the fans think, the Rooneys historically do not give up on head coaches. They haven't run from coaches that had worse stretches than a couple of 8-8 seasons, and they aren't going to run from Tomlin. I agree 100% that the team is on a decline under Tomlin's watch. I'm just saying that it hasn't gotten bad enough for there to be any real expectation that the Rooneys will cut him loose any time soon. Especially not if we somehow manage to pull off a 9-7 or 10-6 season and back into a playoff spot, which isn't entirely out of the question still.

 

[Wingman]

You people keep arguing as if I'm a fan of Tomlin. I'm not. I'm just pointing out the obvious fact that, no matter what we the fans think, the Rooneys historically do not give up on head coaches. They haven't run from coaches that had worse stretches than a couple of 8-8 seasons, and they aren't going to run from Tomlin. I agree 100% that the team is on a decline under Tomlin's watch. I'm just saying that it hasn't gotten bad enough for there to be any real expectation that the Rooneys will cut him loose any time soon. Especially not if we somehow manage to pull off a 9-7 or 10-6 season and back into a playoff spot, which isn't entirely out of the question still.

Not my point at all. My thoughts are that if some of us can see a trend the Rooneys may be able to see it as well. In addition to the trend they will have lots of other information regarding the head coach the rest of us do not. I would not consider a decision after 8 years reactionary and suspect that the Rooneys do not have some minimum time they are going to go with regardless of the team that is on the field. It is also my understanding that the contract of the head coach or any others for that matter are not guaranteed but would in fact end with the removal of that coach so they would not likely be paying two coaches. The possibilities for change are there we just need to see which path is chosen.

 

[obxsteeler]

First of all your premise is wrong and stupid at best. Noll took over a terrible franchise and went 1-13, 5-9 and 6-8 before 13 straight playoff seasons and winning 4 Super Bowls, so where exactly were the losing seasons that Noll even sniffed a potential firing.

Cowher took over a team that hadn't won anything for a decade and immediately went to 6 straight playoffs , getting to a Super Bowl and doing so with journeymen QBs,He exceeds anything Tomlin has ever dine and won a Super Bowl one year after getting a franchise QB.

With the same franchise QB Tomlin has run a great team he inherited into the ground, he has missed the playoffs 3 times in 7 years, going on 3 straight years, hasn't won a playoff game in 5 seasons and has a team on the downside and yet he is still employed. He is the George Siefert and Barry Switzer to the great Bill Walsh and Jimmy Johnson. Switzer and Siefert like Tomlin had better won loss records than Johnson, Walsh and Noll, of course they didn't build the teams and have to suffer through the 1-15 season Johnson did when rebuilding the Cowbous or the 3-13 season Walsh suffered through when building the 9ers, just like Noll had the 1-13 season building the Steelers. Do you seriously think Tomlin, Switzer or Siefert are anywhere in the same class as the great coaches whose teams they inherited and won with .

Might pay people to get their info straight on Seifert. He coached SF 8 years and was 98-30 regular season and10-5 playoff's. Won 2 SB's and 6 divisions. His last year he resigned after losing in the west final to GB. He was also the DC for Walsh during his great years so he was partly responsible for those players he " inherited". He came back to coach an expansion team but was not the only good coach who was less than successful at that. If you consider him as just "playing with Walsh's talent" I'm not real sure how to consider your input on coaches.