The Winter Of Mike Tomlin's Discontent

Oh you know why.  

In sports a reset almost explicitly means a change in head coach. I think the Steelers have been mired in mediocrity for some time, and are trending downward. They need new blood at the coaching position. I directed my comments to the fanbases because why I find it comical that you would pen this entire diatribe about a team you admittedly aren't even a fan of, the one point I found issue with is you're insinuation that those other fan bases wouldn't except simply being in the hunt. That they would demand playoff success. It demonstrated a very fairytale notion of this other teams and their fans, of which you clearly know nothing about.

I've got name for you. Pete Carroll. Wins a Super Bowl. Then makes an all-time blunder, worst call ever in another Super Bowl that by all accounts cost them a second Super Bowl. And since then, much like Tomlin, he has been mired in mediocrity. He has had some good years. That is to say, good regular seasons. He has had some mediocre years. He has at times seemed to be losing his grip on the team. He has at times made questionable decisions. He, until the last few years, was criticized for seemingly ignoring developing the offense, or allocating very many resources in said pursuit. He drafted defensive players. He brought in defensive free agents. They had one of the worst offensive lines in football for many years. He made no effort to fix this. He's another defensive coach who never hired offensive coordinators that pose any threat to him, or challenge him in anyway.

The question for you is, Why does Pete Carroll get a pass from the national media?? I'll wait.

This is straight dope. The fact is, the national media does not give a damn what's going on in in a small market like Pittsburgh any more than they care about what's going on in the netherworld of the Pacific Northwest. And Seattle is a bigger market that Pittsburgh. For as much storied history as the Steelers have, they're still a small market team that doesn't generate many clicks outside of western Pennsylvania. You think Tomlin is getting a pass, what, because of his race, and not because his teams are always at least ok? Then what say you about Pete Carroll?

Only in Pittsburgh. You only hear so many opinions about what the fate of a head coach should be, from people who aren't even fans of that said team, in Pittsburgh. You don't see people starting "The Winter of Pete Carroll's discontent" or whatever threads from people who aren't even fans of said team? Only in Pittsburgh. I wonder why.

I've got family in many regions. That wouldn't propel me to write a dissertation on the head coaches of that regions teams. I've got family in Boston. Belichick is arguably the greatest NFL coach of all time. Let's see if he can field a winner sans Tommy the Goat. Let's see if his defense, his specialty, ever looks like a Super Bowl caliber defense again. Let's see if the offense, installed by Charlie Weiss, and helmed by the greatest player in NFL history ever looks anything more than remedial ever again. It's hard to win in sports, and it's hard to win in the National Football League. It's hard to even make it to the playoffs. It's hard to win a playoff game. I'm not defending Tomlin. I would've fired his arse a long time ago. I just find it remarkable that you only hear these sentiments as it relates to Tomlin. You don't see non-Seahawk fans starting threads about how Pete Carroll has to go. Why? I'll wait.

I can't believe this dude has the audacity to mention my Cowboys. "Would the Cowboys fans stand for this?!"

Do you realize that since the Cowboys last Super Bowl win, which was 28 years ago, we have made the playoffs 11 times (12 if we clinch a birth this year). 11 appearances in 28 years for a 4-11 record!! Let that sink in. My team has 4 playoff wins in almost 30 years!! You know nothing of what you speak. Like I said, the Tomlin era has ran it's course but I'm not sure what you think is around the next bend or over the next crest. The grass isn't always greener. Even Reid was fired from a team before he landed in KC. I'm not sure what success you're seeing around the league that you think they're missing out on in Pittsburgh. There are more mad teams than mediocre to good teams. There are more teams caught on a coaching carousel doom loop. The grass isn't always greener.

@Buffalobob89074

 I've got two more names for you seeing as how I think the entire premise of this thread is literal ridiculousness and I'm finding it hard to stop harping on it. And because I can't get over the audacity of bringing up my Cowboys as if they're some paradigm of excellence in football.

Jason Garrett. Had some good years. Most years mediocre. One particularly bad year due to injury to his star players. Yet he was 2-3 in the playoffs. He was there like 10 years and made the playoffs 3 times, and was 2-3. He was mired in mediocrity. Yet you really didn't start to hear rumblings around him "nationally" until the last couple years even though many fans questioned his capabilities for far longer than that. Why did he get a pass so long? I'll wait. He never won anything.

Mike McCarthy. After winning his one Super Bowl, he had some good years. Some mediocre years. Eventually it got bad and he was fired before the season ended. Yet you didn't really hear a ton made about the whole thing in the "national media". Then he gets hired on in Dallas to replace Jason Garrett. And the Cowboys have been mediocre. This is his 4th year. The Cowboys have made the playoffs the last two and probably will thia year. He's 1-2. And he made some boneheaded coaching decisions in those losses. And the team was was heavily penalized, which usually reflects on the coach. His Cowboys teams have been oft penalized every season actually. Outside of his one Super Bowl win, Mike McCarthy has a losing playoff record. He has been a mediocre coach who won one Super Bowl with Aaron flipping Rodgers as his QB. Why does he even get that Cowboy job in all honesty? Why isn't the "mainstream media" saying anything about this?

@Buffalobob89074

 Do you see how ridiculous your whole premise is? He's immune from criticism from the "mainstream media"? What metrics are you using for that? What, do you have a computer that counts Mike Tomlin references in the "mainstream media"? And what constitutes the "mainstream media"? ESPN? Do people even still watch ESPN? That's shocking to me. How much ESPN are you watching to come up with this astute analysis that Mike Tomlin "gets a pass" from the "mainstream media"? Is your computer that counts Mike Tomlin references also counting Pete Carroll references as a control set?

Here's a news flash. Local fans often want the coach fired yet seemingly a lot of these coaches are never on the hot seat. Sean McVay won one. Let's see how long that buys him to be mediocre in LA. I don't watch a lot of mainstream sports media these days but as I recall, that stuff has never garnered much air time in the national media but you think Mike Tomlin gets a pass? Pete Carroll doesn't get a pass though, right? They talk about Pete Carroll a lot?

Dudes on the internet, I swear. I think my dabs are too sativa dominant. Different type of high going. I gave way too much attention to this thread but I thought it was hilarious that you were all "The Cowboys fans! The Bills fan! The Eagles!" as if you hadn't watched football in the last 30 years, being a Cowboy fan personally. Then as I continued to read I just decided to point out how utterly insane the whole premise of this thread is. And how starting a ridiculous thread like this when your not even a fan of the team says something about you.

We used to have a poster that was banned, and I forgot his name, but he was a nice dude, a Christian, and a Steeler fan. And we would talk faith, and Steelers and Cowboys. And he would say how the Tomlin era had run it's course and how they should move in another direction, and X, Y, Z, and I would agree with him. I'm not defending him. I think they should move in another direction. What I am saying is people have been saying this for years. Steelers fans and people with no connection to the team. And for guy who isn't even a Steeler fan to create a thread that's all, "The mainstream media won't tell you this...' I just think the whole thing is completely asinine. Like I said, it's the definition of ridiculous.

@StumpTownStu

 thread is a waste of time, all of the tomlin bashing helps no one beat the books. 

https://www.msn.com/en-us/sports/other/trading-places-mike-tomlin-s-future-with-the-steelers/ar-AA1lOi1t

https://www.msn.com/en-us/sports/nfl/teams-targeting-steelers-mike-tomlin-now-on-back-channels-finding-out-if-tomlins-interested-and-price-to-pay-steelers/ar-AA1lOIzx

https://www.msn.com/en-us/sports/nfl/could-mike-tomlin-be-fired-as-coach-of-the-pittsburgh-steelers-after-17-seasons/ar-AA1lDrFU

https://bleacherreport.com/articles/10101457-mike-tomlin-blasted-by-nfl-fans-as-steelers-extended-losing-streak-vs-minshew-colts

https://www.si.com/nfl/steelers/news/pittsburgh-steelers-problem-might-mike-tomlin

As far as national media not calling for his firing.  I do not watch shows so I cannot say about those.

But the online media, locally and nationally, have been doing this for quite some time.  In fact, for a few years now.

But I also do not know of national shows that would be calling for any coaches to be fired like that.  Maybe they do.  It would seem to be a bad look to do that.

I know they discuss all the time what coaches are on the ‘hot seat’ and things like that and he has been included in those discussions.

But is any coach really being called out by national talk shows to be fired by network pundits.  They simply question it; they do not usually 'demand' it.

One of the above have him listed 4th on ‘hotseat’.

Then another points out that other teams are maybe looking into his availability already.

2nd best record in last 20 years.

3rd best record in the last 10 years.

10th best record in the last 5 years.

MANY teams would LOVE to have that success.  Some fans just assume ‘success’ means winning a SB.  Look at how few teams have actually done that.  

Only 12 teams have been to the SB in the last 10 years.  ALL of them had a good or great QB — or one where their QB had an outstanding year.  Of course, this includes TB who brought Brady in to win and LAR who brought Stafford in and DEN with Manning.  

If you were to take TB and LAR and DEN out of it because of that you would be left with just 4 teams and it was almost just 3 teams.

It is VERY hard to win in the NFL and to make the playoffs and even HARDER to get to the SB and even HARDER to win it.  

Tomlin has the 3rd best record currently with at least 100 games.  Behind Belichick and Reid.  Ahead of Payton, McCarthy, McDermott, Harbaugh, McVay, Carroll, Shanahan, Vrabel, Pederson, and Rivera.

Take away Brady and Belichick does not look good.  Reid, of course, has Mahomes.  Payton does not look good without Brees.  Tomlin did as well as could be expected the last 2-3 years with a depleted Big Ben and even did well the year he went down.  

In the ever more QB-driven league if a coach can be this ‘mediocre’, I would hate to see how the fans in PIT would feel if they had the Chargers or Dolphins or Falcons or Raiders records.

Tomlin took over a team that Cowher had trending down.  Went 15-1, 11-5, and 8-8.  Then left town because he knew the team was headed downhill.

Tomlin took over the team and went 10-6 the next year and then went 12-4 the next year and won the SB.

Folks like to say it was the same team Cowher had built.  Yet, Cowher had that team headed downhill fast and Tomlin turned it around the next year and won a SB the second year.  

He has never had a losing record in any year since.

He has also done this while keeping a lot of knuckleheads in line.

His last 5 years Cowher with a prime Big Ben won 63% of his games.  Tomlin with a deteriorated Big Ben and sub-par QB play has won 57% of his games the last 5 years.

You NEED a good, or great, QB to have a better record than Tomlin does.  You can argue that it is his fault that he does not have that QB.

But what do other franchises do when they do not have a good QB — they just keep firing the coaches.

You could say Tomlin should go get a very good or great QB in a trade — but it is chancy and costs too much if it does not work out, because it usually does not work out.

Then when a coach ‘lucks’ into a great QB like Brady or Brees everyone says what a great coach they have.

ANY COACH that can have a WINNING record in the NFL without a great, or at least a good, QB is a VERY GOOD coach.

You can nitpick his in-game decisions and demeanor all you like.  But a lot of coaches make very poor in-game decisions.  No one coaches a perfect game.  I doubt he has made more than most coaches have.

The issue is when your ‘expectations’ are unrealistic or too high then every decision is over-analyzed.  Most teams do not have this scrutiny on every single decision to call a timeout or not to go for it on 4th and 1 or not to challenge a call.

That can be a good thing because the franchise holds everyone, including Tomlin, to a higher standard. 

But they need to realistic.  Even Bill Walsh would have a hard time getting much better out of their QB and, therefore, their offense.

THEY NEED A FRANCHISE QB.  Maybe they have him and he is developing.  Time will tell.

I do not think you fire a successful coach because he is winning despite having a mediocre QB.