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| Photo creds to Behind The Steel Curtian |
It started on January 5th, 2007. On this day, Bill Cowher stepped down after 15 seasons as the Steelers head coach. For just the second time since 1969, the head coaching job in the Steel City was vacant. There were a few legitimate candidates to replace Bill Cowher, including Ken Whisenhunt, who was Cowher's offensive coordinator, and Ron Rivera, who was then the defensive coordinator of the NFC Champion Chicago Bears. But Whisenhunt decided to become the head man in Arizona, and Rivera moved to San Diego for the next four seasons before taking over the Carolina Panthers in 2011. Enter, Mike Tomlin.
Tomlin was a curious choice for the job. He was only 35 years old, with just six seasons of NFL coaching experience under his belt, and only one of those seasons was as a cooridnator. All of these were reasons to be skeptical. However, there were plenty of pluses to hiring a guy like Mike Tomlin.
Tomlin did play a role in the Tampa Bay Buccaneers SuperBowl season of 2002 as the team's defensive backs coach. He was a young guy who had a lot of energy, and, maybe most importantly, he was the first African-American head coach in the 75-year history of the Pittsburgh Pirates/Steelers. Although that last point says nothing positive or negative about Tomlin's abilities as a head coach, it was a historic occasion and one of great pride for the franchise.
Now, here's what Tomlin was getting himself into. The Steelers went 26-6 over the regular seasons of 2004 and 2005, went to the AFC title game twice, and were victorious over the Seattle Seahawks in Superbowl XL, finally getting a well-deserved ring for Cowher. However, in 2006, things fell backward. The Steelers went 8-8 and had to win 6 of their last 8 games just to be an average football team. Their young quarterback, Ben Roethlisberger, had a bad season on the field, on top of his off-the-field struggles (motorcycle accident). So, what Tomlin was inherting was a mediocre football team with a potential problem child at quarterback, as well as a dissatisfied offensive guard in Allan Faneca. So, Tomlin did not walk himself into an ideal situation, contrary to what many in the Steel City believe.
The first season was a successful one. The Steelers went 10-6 and won the AFC North, before losing to Jacksonville in the AFC Wildcard round. We all know what happened in Tomlin's second season. The Steelers go 12-4 in spite of a brutal regular season schedule. They defeat San Diego and Baltimore in the AFC playoffs to get to the Super Bowl. The Super Bowl happens. Santiono Holmes makes the catch. The Steelers get their 6th, and everything is perfect.
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| "He won with Cowher's players!" You mean the same guys that went 8-8 the year before Tomlin was hired? Those players? |
The next season was a typical Super Bowl hangover year. The Steelers lost 5 out of 8 down the stretch and missed out on the playoffs with a 9-7 record. The next season would turn out to be, at least in my mind, Mike Tomlin's finest coaching job.
Before the 2010 season started, the Pittsburgh Steelers were in turmoil. Ben Roethlisberger was accused of sexual assault and suspended for 4 games. #1 receiver Santiono Holmes was accused of throwing a glass in a woman's face, and was subsequently traded away to the New York Jets. So the team that was just 9-7 the previous season was now without its top receiver and had a quarterback who could be a distraction. Somehow, the Steelers won 3 of 4 games in which Ben was suspended, and went on to finish the season 12-4 and atop the AFC North. After a thrilling win over Baltimore in the Divisional round, the Steelers snuffed out a late comeback attempt from Rex Ryan's New York Jets to advance to their 3rd Superbowl in 6 seasons. Although Pittsburgh would fall to Green Bay in Superbowl XLV, it was an admirable and successful season.
The next season was slightly less sucessful, as, in spite of finishing with a 12-4 record, the Steelers finished 2nd in the AFC North to the hated Dirty Birds. This earned them a date in the Mile High City with Tim Tebow. We thought it was going to be a romp, but instead, "Tebowmania" peaked via DeMarius Thomas running past Ike Taylor in overtime. After this was two years of mediocrity.
A lot of things contributed to back to back 8-8 seasons in 2012 and 2013. The young stars on offense that helped the Steelers get to the Superbowl in 2010 could not keep the momentum, while the againg stars on defense continued to age. The 2012 season, in particular, was a trainwreck, as the Black and Gold lost five of its last seven to miss the playoffs in spectacular fashion. Although the 2013 season also ended without a playoff berth, the Steelers did show signs of the explosive offensive personal that would be their guiding light in the coming years.
To me, the Steelers became what they are today in 2013; a one-dimensional football team. Over the next two years, the Steelers made the playoffs twice and won the AFC North in 2014. That brings us to the present day.
The modern day Steelers are of the "if only" variety. "If only Martavis Bryant wouldn't smoke dope." "If only Le'Veon Bell could stay healthy." "If only we had a defense." It seems that these days, whenever the Steelers look like they are just about to get it together, something goes wrong. That was the story of the 2015 season, and so far, 2016 hasn't been much different. The Steelers are far and away the most talented team in the AFC North, and yet they are 5-5 and tied for 1st.
Have injuries been a problem? Yes. But there is no denying that these Pittsburgh Steelers, who were picked by some to go to the Super Bowl and win it before the season started, are not playing to their potential. They can't play defense; the decorated offense has been hit-or-miss, and worst of all, at least from a coaching standpoint, is that they lack discipline.
Having said all that, and having looked at Mike Tomlin's time in the steel city year-by-year, I can safley say that I only consider 2 of his 9 seasons to be true failures; 2009 and 2012. Every other season was either a sucessful one with a disappointing ending, or one of rebuilding (2013). Even the past two years have been successful ones, as when you consider the combinition of injuries and lack of defensive talent (which is partly Tomlin's fault, but equally Kevin Colbert's fault that the Steelers haven't drafted better defensive players), a combined record of 21-11 and two playoff berths isn't too shabby. This season could be on its way to being one of disappointment, but going back to my breakdown, would 3 bad seasons in a decade justify firing a man who only 6 current NFL coaches have won more games than? I say no.
So, what is my overall opinion of Mike Tomlin's standing with the Pittsburgh Steelers? Unless this team can't win the AFC North (and there still is no reason why they shouldn't), Mike Tomlin isn't going anywhere. As I mentioned at the beginning of this article, it would take a lot to get fired by the Pittsburgh Steelers. That's why Chuck Noll was able to stick around about seven years longer than he should have. That's why Bill Cowher was able to go 1-4 in AFC Title games without getting the boot.
Regardless of what you think of Mike Tomlin, he hasn't been too bad. Through 9 seasons (soon to be 10), Tomlin has won 4 AFC North Titles (soon to be 5), has gotten to 2 AFC Title games and won both, has a 97-57 lifetime record and has qualified for the playoffs six times (soon to be 7).
The only way Tomlin could be/should be fired is if the Steelers somehow do not win the AFC North this season. Even then, I still will never believe a Pittsburgh Steelers head coach could get the boot until I see it. For all the Mike Tomlin haters out there, I'm sorry. Unless something goes catastrophically wrong, he's not going anywhere.
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