so would yall take a 4-13 season if it meant Tomlin was gone for 2025?
Recently, I watched The Christmas game in 2002 when the Steelers played the Bucs and I was floored at what I was watching. That Steeler team went 10-5 and won just one playoff game before losing to Tennessee the next week. If you want to see for yourself...
I asked myself whether this team would have let Warren Sapp disrespect them by dancing through team warm-ups? I do believe they would. The Tomlin culture leaves this team with no identity.
The year before, The Steelers beat the favored Buccaneers 17-10 and then Safety, Lee Flowers called them "Paper Champions" in a post game presser. To say the 2002 game was "chippy" is an understatement. There was bad blood between two heavy weights and it was all about to go down on Christmas day. Sapp decided to dance through the team warmup and Bettis took exception and shoved Sapp which lead to a scuffle pre-game. But, the Steelers showed them that the first game was no fluke and beat them again 17-7.
Lee Flowers was interviewed again and had this to say "
They felt very confident, but please don't bully us,'' Flowers said. "That's the last thing that a team needs to do to us if they think they're going to win the game.''
Can you imagine the 2024 Steelers having this attitude? This identity? I mean, what would you say this team's identity is? Social Media darlings? What is it?
Take note of what Dan Campbell is building in Detroit, it's an identity...a culture, an expectation that you be on board to a specific way of conducting yourself towards meeting clear team goals.
The Steelers don't have that and if you disagree with me then please tell me what that is, outside of never having a losing season.
So yes, 4-13 is acceptable if it means the Steelers hire someone who knows how to get back to the Steeler way of representing the toughness of the city and winning championships. The Players need a coach, not a buddy.