Terry Bradshaw not a huge fan of Steelers' Mike Tomlin: 'He's a cheerleader guy'

Terry Bradshaw not a huge fan of Steelers' Mike Tomlin: 'He's a cheerleader guy'

by December 23, 2016



Terry Bradshaw unleashed some harsh criticism of the Steelers coach Friday.

We have some Steeler-on-Steeler crime here.

Former Pittsburgh quarterback and Pro Football Hall of Famer Terry Bradshaw, never one to shy away from an opportunity to speak his mind, was a guest Friday on Fox Sports 1's "Speak For Yourself." There he was asked whether current Pittsburgh coach Mike Tomlin still needs to prove himself as a great coach.

Bradshaw was rather frank in his response.

"I don't think he's a great coach at all," Bradshaw said. "He's a nice coach. He's really a great cheerleader guy. I don't know what he does, but I don't think he's a great coach at all.

"His name never even pops in my mind when we think about great coaches in the NFL."

Ouch.

to read rest of article:

http://www.sportingnews.com/nfl/news/terry-bradshaw-mike-tomlin-steelers-coach-video-criticism-career/1timd7deoicml1nc776afqnv09

He also said he'd fire Aaron Rodgers over Mike McCarthy if he were the Packers.

https://twitter.com/SFY/status/812421717389774848

I have a lot of respect for Terry but I just think he's wrong here. For my money, I think Tomlin is the second best coach in Steelers history after Noll. Yes, I get that he entered a more fortunate situation than Cowher did and he's had the franchise QB that Cowher with the exception of 04-06 lacked but I think he's made his impact on the Steelers and I think if he were available on the market, the other teams would love for a change to get him. One of my friends, a Cowboys fan no less often tells me how much he admires Tomlin and can't imagine why anyone would want him gone.

Rather than give you just an opinion here, I am going to use a comparison that reminds me of Tomlin's  tenure as coach.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Seifert

George Seifert was the fastest coach to win 100 games in NFL history, I believe. He coached 2 Super Bowl winning teams and was pretty much in the NFC Title game almost every year as coach of the Niners. At that time, Seifert inherited, arguably the 2 best Qb's of each era, the 80's and 90's. He had Eddie Debartolo stacking and bringing in everything and anything to make sure it was a Super Bowl winning team. Sound familiar?

Does anyone ever mention Seifert as a 2-time SB title coach? Or one of the best? Was he? Probably not. He was 16-32 when he went to a team that was not organizationally determined to win like the Niners were then or how the Steelers have been the last 47 years.

I have never missed a Tomlin coached game. So I feel I can assess this as logically as I can. He is an average coach, almost identical to the ilk of a George Seifert. If Mike Tomlin had been hired by the Browns in 2007, I would have bet my life he would have been out by 2009, the latest 2010.

Terry Bradshaw saying who sucks and who doesn't does hold a little more water than most. Even if he is somewhat of a buffoon. He is a 4-time Super Bowl winning QB, coached by one of the greatest coaches in NFL history and was Big Game Terry in almost every big game he ever played in.

To me this is less a question of "Is Mike Tomlin a great coach?" It is more a question of "When will former and current Steeler quarterbacks shut their pie-holes?"

I swear, a little less Bradshaw and Roethlisberger and a little more Lambert and Harrison would do Steeler Nation a lot of good.

Rhyno wrote:

To me this is less a question of "Is Mike Tomlin a great coach?" It is more a question of "When will former and current Steeler quarterbacks shut their pie-holes?"

I swear, a little less Bradshaw and Roethlisberger and a little more Lambert and Harrison would do Steeler Nation a lot of good.  

Ravens have beat the Steelers 6 of the last 7 games. 4 in a row. Steelers have won one playoff game in 5 years with a top 3 in his prime QB. Lost to Tim fucking Tebow in 2012. Tomlin is known as a coach who lacks prep for his teams. Especially when it comes to playing lesser teams.

This isnt a 3 year stretch of rebuild. It is 6 years of less then steller seasons. Wasted seasons. You wanna blame some on injuries or suspensions, ok, I'll give you that. But if the Steelers lose Sunday, it wont look good. And if they don't go deep the the playoffs, issues will stay.

OX1947 wrote:

Rhyno wrote:

To me this is less a question of "Is Mike Tomlin a great coach?" It is more a question of "When will former and current Steeler quarterbacks shut their pie-holes?"

I swear, a little less Bradshaw and Roethlisberger and a little more Lambert and Harrison would do Steeler Nation a lot of good.  

Ravens have beat the Steelers 6 of the last 7 games. 4 in a row. Steelers have won one playoff game in 5 years with a top 3 in his prime QB. Lost to Tim fucking Tebow in 2012. Tomlin is known as a coach who lacks prep for his teams. Especially when it comes to playing lesser teams.

This isnt a 3 year stretch of rebuild. It is 6 years of less then steller seasons. Wasted seasons. You wanna blame some on injuries or suspensions, ok, I'll give you that. But if the Steelers lose Sunday, it wont look good. And if they don't go deep the the playoffs, issues will stay.

I don't disagree that Tomlin isn't a "Great" coach. I don't think he is. I think your analogy to George Seifert is a pretty good one. I do think Tomlin is a very good coach who definitely has his share of deficiencies.

I am saying, in the referenced video, Bradshaw comes off as a shit-stirring buffoon. Just my opinion, of course.

Rhyno wrote:

OX1947 wrote:

Rhyno wrote:

To me this is less a question of "Is Mike Tomlin a great coach?" It is more a question of "When will former and current Steeler quarterbacks shut their pie-holes?"

I swear, a little less Bradshaw and Roethlisberger and a little more Lambert and Harrison would do Steeler Nation a lot of good.  

Ravens have beat the Steelers 6 of the last 7 games. 4 in a row. Steelers have won one playoff game in 5 years with a top 3 in his prime QB. Lost to Tim fucking Tebow in 2012. Tomlin is known as a coach who lacks prep for his teams. Especially when it comes to playing lesser teams.

This isnt a 3 year stretch of rebuild. It is 6 years of less then steller seasons. Wasted seasons. You wanna blame some on injuries or suspensions, ok, I'll give you that. But if the Steelers lose Sunday, it wont look good. And if they don't go deep the the playoffs, issues will stay.

I don't disagree that Tomlin isn't a "Great" coach. I don't think he is. I think your analogy to George Seifert is a pretty good one. I do think Tomlin is a very good coach who definitely has his share of deficiencies.

I am saying, in the referenced video, Bradshaw comes off as a shit-stirring buffoon. Just my opinion, of course.

Jason Whitlock is a giant ham slap. Not a fan and never will be. But even a broken clock is right twice a day.

However, I would prefer to focus on Sunday and hope the Steelers can clinch this thing so they can focus on getting ready for the playoffs 2 weeks from now. Steelers are due this year for everything. I hope they can run the table.

I grew up during the last of Noll's run, and saw all of Cowher and Tomlin. Tomlin since the Super Bowl loss reminds me of Noll's last 7 years after the AFC CG loss to the Dolphins in 1984. I think Tomlin has a much better in season record in that span. But, Noll had one playoff win after that, Tomlin one since the SB loss. Noll was playing w/o a franchise QB though

I like Tomlin, I respect the regular season records and usually being in contention, but I wish we could start getting deep playoff runs again. The game last week was one of the first in a while that it felt like adjustments were made at halftime to turn the tide of the game. I do get the feeling the team isn't motivated for some games like Cowher would do. Cowher was a master at that and inspiring 'smashmouth football'. divisional games are always tough, but we lost a higher seed last year to a team that won 3 games without the 2 they got from the Steelers.

Maybe this motivates the team to stand up behind Tomlin and win tomorrow. The organization needs to smack the rats in the mouth. Not just to win the division and go to the playoffs, but to make a statement and take those simpleton smirks off Harbo and his "elite QB"faces.

Happy Holidays everyone

LambertWardSteel wrote:

I grew up during the last of Noll's run, and saw all of Cowher and Tomlin. Tomlin since the Super Bowl loss reminds me of Noll's last 7 years after the AFC CG loss to the Dolphins in 1984. I think Tomlin has a much better in season record in that span. But, Noll had one playoff win after that, Tomlin one since the SB loss. Noll was playing w/o a franchise QB though

I like Tomlin, I respect the regular season records and usually being in contention, but I wish we could start getting deep playoff runs again. The game last week was one of the first in a while that it felt like adjustments were made at halftime to turn the tide of the game. I do get the feeling the team isn't motivated for some games like Cowher would do. Cowher was a master at that and inspiring 'smashmouth football'. divisional games are always tough, but we lost a higher seed last year to a team that won 3 games without the 2 they got from the Steelers.

Maybe this motivates the team to stand up behind Tomlin and win tomorrow. The organization needs to smack the rats in the mouth. Not just to win the division and go to the playoffs, but to make a statement and take those simpleton smirks off Harbo and his "elite QB"faces.

Happy Holidays everyone

Couldn't put it any better. MERRY CHRISTMAS everybody!!!

superbowl teams Tomlin coached all the players seamed they got old at once and the team was in salary cap hell Woodley's contract didn't help.

takes time to draft a good football team over the last 5 years a lot of holes to fill I like how this team is coming together still a few holes to fill.

Bradshaw is a ex Steeler player but he is not a Steelers fan nor does he like Steeler fans they were pretty rough on him in his early playing days and he's never forgot that.

A coach cannot make plays for the guys on the field. You guys that want to see more of the Steelers "going deep in the playoffs" should really consider the talent on these teams before passing judgement on the head coach, who never played a snap for the Steelers the past 10 years.

Last year the Steelers were arguably one turnover away from defeating the Broncos on the road and going to the AFCCG, without Antonio Brown, LeVeon Bell and a secondary that started Will Allen and Antowan Blake.

When Smith, Hampton, Keisel got old and retired the Steelers were replacing with Hood, McLendon, Al Woods and finally Heyward.

When Harrison, Woodley, Farrior, Foote moved on, the drafts were Worilds, Jarvis Jones, Sean Spence and the often injured Shazier.

Secondary that used to feature Polamalu, Ike, Ryan Clark and Townsend, was to be replaced with the likes of Cortez Allen, Shamarko Thomas, Shaquille Richardson, Will Allen. I wont even goto the offense, but the facts are that Tomlin hasn't had the talent that Noll had, nor the defenses and physical O line that Cowher had.....he has had Ben as the most important player of his tenure for sure.

I'm sure I can dig up some quotes from those that have been around Tomlin as a coach that will dispel the opinion that he is just a cheerleader. John Lynch, Polamalu, Brad Childress, Ronde Barber,etc.

IMO, Tomlin is a really good coach. He is in the similar era and tenure and success of Harbaugh at Baltimore, but I think you can arguably say that Harbaugh has had better defenses over the past decade than the Steelers. Defense wins championships. Defense travels on the road. Defense wins games late in the season, in bad weather. For the most part, Tomlin teams have ended up with less talented defensive teams than Cowher and Noll, which makes the team operate like a 3 legged stool with one leg broken.

Consider the source when it comes to any comments from Terry Bradshaw, who will say anything if it draws attention to him or endorse anything if there are $$$ to be made

Former Pittsburgh Press/Post-Gazette writer Bob Smizik called Bradshaw the biggest phony he met in 4 decades of covering Pittsburgh sports.  Long time Steelers director of media relations Jack Gordon called Bradshaw the most insincere person he has ever met.

Tomlin certainly is not Bill Walsh or Belichick, but IMO his motivational style of coaching has kept his team from having the sort of crash and burn seasons like 1988 under Noll and 1999/2003 under Cowher.

And after Bradshaw explained his bitterness about Coach Noll in the NFL show "Chuck Noll - A Football Life" as due to Noll being old and never giving him a hug it is ironic to have Bradshaw trash Tomlin for being a cheerleader

Atlanta Dan wrote:

And after Bradshaw explained his bitterness about Coach Noll in the NFL show "Chuck Noll - A Football Life" as due to Noll being old and never giving him a hug it is ironic to have Bradshaw trash Tomlin for being a cheerleader

So true.

Terry is one of the great Steelers and I enjoyed watching him play as a kid and his happy go lucky attitude as a broadcaster, but I'd rather listen to guys that Tomlin coached instead of hearing what axe terry has to grind.

"Life changed drastically for the DBs when Mike showed up," Buccaneers cornerback Ronde Barber said. "Those first couple of weeks and months he had so much intensity, not all of us were quite ready to get behind what he was doing. He had us doing drills we thought we had left behind in college.

"But we could see, after a while, he was making us better. He had these Every Day Drills that we still do today with Raheem (Morris). He really perfected the mechanics of making a play."

Read more here: http://www.kentucky.com/sports/article43989171.html#storylink=cpy

I think Steelers fans should know Terry Bradshaw well enough that his opinion should be taken with grain of sand, especially his opinion on coaches.

I think Bradshaw just needs to shut his yapper. I hope Tomlin uses that as personal motivation to prove him wrong.

El-Gonzo Jackson wrote:

Atlanta Dan wrote:

And after Bradshaw explained his bitterness about Coach Noll in the NFL show "Chuck Noll - A Football Life" as due to Noll being old and never giving him a hug it is ironic to have Bradshaw trash Tomlin for being a cheerleader

So true.

Terry is one of the great Steelers and I enjoyed watching him play as a kid and his happy go lucky attitude as a broadcaster, but I'd rather listen to guys that Tomlin coached instead of hearing what axe terry has to grind.

"Life changed drastically for the DBs when Mike showed up," Buccaneers cornerback Ronde Barber said. "Those first couple of weeks and months he had so much intensity, not all of us were quite ready to get behind what he was doing. He had us doing drills we thought we had left behind in college.

"But we could see, after a while, he was making us better. He had these Every Day Drills that we still do today with Raheem (Morris). He really perfected the mechanics of making a play."

Read more here: http://www.kentucky.com/sports/article43989171.html#storylink=cpy

hahaha. Not trying to be a wise ass here but that quote reiterates exactly what Terry said. That he is a great cheerleader.

OX1947 wrote:

El-Gonzo Jackson wrote:

Atlanta Dan wrote:

And after Bradshaw explained his bitterness about Coach Noll in the NFL show "Chuck Noll - A Football Life" as due to Noll being old and never giving him a hug it is ironic to have Bradshaw trash Tomlin for being a cheerleader

So true.

Terry is one of the great Steelers and I enjoyed watching him play as a kid and his happy go lucky attitude as a broadcaster, but I'd rather listen to guys that Tomlin coached instead of hearing what axe terry has to grind.

"Life changed drastically for the DBs when Mike showed up," Buccaneers cornerback Ronde Barber said. "Those first couple of weeks and months he had so much intensity, not all of us were quite ready to get behind what he was doing. He had us doing drills we thought we had left behind in college.

"But we could see, after a while, he was making us better. He had these Every Day Drills that we still do today with Raheem (Morris). He really perfected the mechanics of making a play."

Read more here: http://www.kentucky.com/sports/article43989171.html#storylink=cpy

hahaha. Not trying to be a wise ass here but that quote reiterates exactly what Terry said. That he is a great cheerleader.

If you read that from the quote, then you probably are not a fan of Tomlin and agree with Bradshaw anyway.

How could you read what Ronde Barber said about his coach...."He really perfected the mechanics of making a play" , as being a cheerleader?

The point is that Tomlin focused on the fundamentals and Every Day Drills ( some coaches refer to as EDDy's) as the small things that can make big differences. The "America's Game" on the 2008 SB win, where Tomlin drilled into the Defense about rallying on the INT to make blocks, documents how small things like that make the difference between winning and losing a championship. IMO, that is a real aspect of coaching that "cheerleaders" do not do.

^That is nice. He is a head coach now not an assistant. If teaching Mechanics and Eddy's is his claim to legacy than maybe he should go back to being a coordinator again. SB 43 was 8 years ago. It's nice he had a moment where he saw the future and his team hit on it. However, the Steelers have had a Hall of Fame QB, in his prime for the last 6 years and they have lost countless games to shitty teams, bouncing them off of playoffs and first round byes. He lost to Tim Tebow and has coached 1 playoff win in those 6 years and the only reason he won that one was because the Bungals are mental rejects who's IQ's are below Forrest Gump's.

If Tomlin wants to impress, he needs to make a run here, this year. Beat the Ravens and than go deep in the playoffs and win it all if possible. Then I will eat crow.

That's one sob I never could stand, Bradshaw, even when we were winning SB's, but was forced to root for him because he was a Steeler.
I agree Tomlin is not a great coach but is above average compared to the rest of the league.
The preparation and down playing to sucky teams has to cease it's making him look really bad.

OX1947 wrote:

^That is nice. He is a head coach now not an assistant. If teaching Mechanics and Eddy's is his claim to legacy than maybe he should go back to being a coordinator again. SB 43 was 8 years ago. It's nice he had a moment where he saw the future and his team hit on it. However, the Steelers have had a Hall of Fame QB, in his prime for the last 6 years and they have lost countless games to shitty teams, bouncing them off of playoffs and first round byes. He lost to Tim Tebow and has coached 1 playoff win in those 6 years and the only reason he won that one was because the Bungals are mental rejects who's IQ's are below Forrest Gump's.

If Tomlin wants to impress, he needs to make a run here, this year. Beat the Ravens and than go deep in the playoffs and win it all if possible. Then I will eat crow.

Ahhhh.....so you are a Tomlin hater.

Don Shula never won a Super Bowl with HOF Dan Marino. Marv Levy never won with HOF QB Jim Kelly. Bud Grant never won with HOF QB Fran Tarkenton. Don Coryell never won with HOF Dan Fouts. I guess all those coaches were just "cheerleader guys"......... or else it takes more talent than a HOF QB to be successful??

Honestly, if you expect the Steelers to go deep in the playoffs this year while missing Heyward, Bryant, Wheaton, having 3 rookies start on defense and possibly being without Tuitt and Green going forward, then I think you are setting up your expectations to continue hating on the Head Coach. Going deep in the playoffs with Cobi Hamilton and Eli Rogers as your #2 and #3 WR's and Jesse James as your #1 is a bit hopeful, IMO bordering on delusional.

I'm just taking in 1 game at a time and today is the most important. But, I don't think you will see Tomlin ousted in Pittsburgh for the next 10 years, so buckle up.

This has created quite the buzz. Hopefully Tomlin and the team come out and smash the rats in the mouth today

Coley Harvey ESPN Staff Writer wrote:

The Christmas Day program at Heinz Field features the Steelers' "great cheerleader guy," coach Mike Tomlin. The Super Bowl-winning coach was criticized over the weekend by Steelers legend Terry Bradshaw, who said Tomlin's name "never even pops in my mind when we think about great coaches in the NFL." A win, and Tomlin's smile could be even bigger later today.

Sigh. Enough of the "HATER" horseshit culture. Just because you state facts about a guy who is not as good as advertised, doesn't mean you are a "hater". I stated facts up the ying yang in every post in this thread yet, "hater" is still your interpretation. Mike Tomlin is what he is. Using Marv Levy and Don Shula and shit from 50 years ago is apples and bowling balls.

Losing to Miami and rookie QBs in Philly and getting worked by half a Ravens roster last year when you needed the game while the Ravens were out of the hunt, losing to Tebow, losing to Terrell Pryor in Oakland, and so on and so on. This is not me saying this, this is what happens and continues to happen. So until Mike Tomlin's prep skills improve, this is going to be who he is. Just an average coach who has a ready made team due to a front office that is second to none and a franchise QB who is going to be a Hall of Famer.

OX1947 wrote:

However, the Steelers have had a Hall of Fame QB, in his prime for the last 6 years and they have lost countless games to shitty teams, bouncing them off of playoffs and first round byes. He lost to Tim Tebow and has coached 1 playoff win in those 6 years and the only reason he won that one was because the Bungals are mental rejects who's IQ's are below Forrest Gump's.

If Tomlin wants to impress, he needs to make a run here, this year. Beat the Ravens.

That goes today for the HOF QB as well as the head coach. For every lights out performance such as the back to back 6 TD pass games against the Colts and Ravens in 2014 many of the losses to crap teams since 2010 have coincided with crap, journeyman performances by Ben.

Both Tomlin and Ben have a lot riding on today's Ravens game. Big time players and coaches show up in late season games like this.

OX1947 wrote:

Sigh. Enough of the "HATER" horseshit culture. Just because you state facts about a guy who is not as good as advertised, doesn't mean you are a "hater". I stated facts up the ying yang in every post in this thread yet, "hater" is still your interpretation. Mike Tomlin is what he is. Using Marv Levy and Don Shula and shit from 50 years ago is apples and bowling balls.

Losing to Miami and rookie QBs in Philly and getting worked by half a Ravens roster last year when you needed the game while the Ravens were out of the hunt, losing to Tebow, losing to Terrell Pryor in Oakland, and so on and so on. This is not me saying this, this is what happens and continues to happen. So until Mike Tomlin's prep skills improve, this is going to be who he is. Just an average coach who has a ready made team due to a front office that is second to none and a franchise QB who is going to be a Hall of Famer.

You seem to have a bias that the only way Tomlin can be judged a success is to go deep into the playoffs or win the Super Bowl with this year Steelers team. Do you really think that is possible with Cobi Hamilton as the #2 WR???

So maybe hate is too strong of a word and offends you. Is it safe to say that you haven't liked Tomlin since he was hired, or is this an opinion you formulated the past few seasons?