More on Tomlin never having a losing season

I just referenced Houston putting it on Pittsburgh in Sunday's 30-6 shellacking. Kenny Pickett left that game with a knee injury that the Steelers are trying to manage this week. The second-year quarterback actually got hurt on a curious fourth-down call from much-maligned offensive coordinator Matt Canada. Don't take my word for it; just ask franchise icon Ben Roethlisberger. Furthermore, defensive stalwart Cameron Heyward is on IR, while fan-favorite TE Pat Freiermuth is dealing with a hamstring injury.


All in all, the vibes are off in Pittsburgh. And the rival Ravens are coming to town on Sunday. Feels like 2-3 to me. Could this thing spin out of control?


No. Because at the end of the day, the Steelers have one very big thing going for them: Mike Tomlin. His presence means Pittsburgh will win at least nine games. The Steelers have never finished below .500 under Tomlin's watch, and there's too much talent on this roster for Pittsburgh to break that streak in 2023. The Steelers might limp into their Week 6 bye with a losing record, but I trust Tomlin implicitly to rally the troops and surge back into the playoff picture.
https://www.nfl.com/news/nfl-contenders-or-pretenders-upstart-texans-and-frisky-rams-legit-jordan-love-le

I guess this is the new standard. Just don't have a losing season. I've come to the conclusion that Mike Tomlin has been in 'baffle them with bullshit " mode for a long time. We're certainly not dazzled that's for sure.
This man has been doing the same thing for years expecting different results. It's become this: if you want to know what he's up to just listen to what he says he's not going to do.If you want to know what he is not going to do (unleash hell) just listen to what he says he's going to do..  "live in his fears" "we need volunteers not hostages" "we need to make changes" blah blah blah

Come Monday...crickets

Tomlin is very good in doing more with less and doing less with more. The worse the team is the more he gets out of it, the better the team is the less he gets out of it. Mediocre Mike.

He allows this to happen year after year... it's time for a different direction.

https://www.si.com/nfl/steelers/allsteelers-plus/film-room-insanity-sets-pittsburgh-steelers-offense

i think were one more key injury on defense away from a losing season.

And of course if KP goes down there's Mitch who can really threaten Mike's winning streak. Too much ineptitude on offense and a defense that is getting tired. Keeping Canada around has to be demoralizing. I actually don't see a winning season this year.

18 years as a head coach of the Steelers - 3-7 in the playoffs since 2011. Most of that during Ben's prime. Belichick would've been long run out of town if he got those results with Tom Brady.

its enough. Time for new blood.

solardave wrote:

Sounds like the real Mike

I've never, not once suggested we fire Tomlin. I'm starting to think maybe we need to blow this whole thing up and start over.

vasteeler wrote:

I've never, not once suggested we fire Tomlin. I'm starting to think maybe we need to blow this whole thing up and start over.

How many years have we been expecting to lose one or two games to bottom dwellers every year, seeing an unprepared team getting their ass kicked, getting out coached and out played, the same game plan week after week or no adjustments.
It's is time for a change.
Super bowls are the goal not going .500

I'm gonna circle back around to that 4th down call. While I did not like the call and don't think it was the right call, the truth is, that play should have been an easy first down. Pickett had Najee in the flat for an easy pickup. All he had to do was throw the ball to him. Instead, he spun out and into a well-blocked defender (Broderick Jones had done his job. He had that defender bottled up but Pickett moved into him).

I don't know why Kenny is playing so poorly. But he is. Hopefully he gets on track and soon.

Great Randino wrote:

I'm gonna circle back around to that 4th down call.  While I did not like the call and don't think it was the right call, the truth is, that play should have been an easy first down.  Pickett had Najee in the flat for an easy pickup.  All he had to do was throw the ball to him.  Instead, he spun out and into a well-blocked defender (Broderick Jones had done his job.  He had that defender bottled up but Pickett moved into him).

I don't know why Kenny is playing so poorly.  But he is.  Hopefully he gets on track and soon.  

Pickett is definitely part of the problem. I have never been real keen on him in the first place.

However, during the third quarter Najee was averaging 5 yards a carry and they were moving the ball with the run... you needed 1 yard and you don't give it to your 1st round pick of two years ago? Where is your trust in your #1s?

Tomlin loves to say he doesn't play in their fears... the last few years prove he does however... him and Canada play terrified football. They have been out coached, out schemed, out adjusted for years now, especially by sub 500 teams.

I am done defending Tomlin. He may be a very well liked Coach but he isn't doing this team or organization any favors anymore...

#1 Get a #1 Center quit going cheap if you want to run the ball...

#2 Get a run stuffing NT I don't care if he is a "2 down" player and you want "versatility"... you can't fucking stop the run... it's not rocket science...

#3 stop throwing money at fossils... Pat Peterson is getting torched its time for Porter to play.

the media has been extremely favorable to Tomlin his entire tenure. its almost like they are afraid to point out the scarcity of post season appearances/wins. back in the old days thats how coaches were measured. the bar has certainly been lowered.

Master_Of_Puppets wrote:

the media has been extremely favorable to Tomlin his entire tenure. its almost like they are afraid to point out the scarcity of post season appearances/wins. back in the old days thats how coaches were measured. the bar has certainly been lowered.

The playing for non-losing seasons, and the whole 'never had a losing season' has moved to the point of extreme annoyance. 7 of those "non-losing seasons" produced 8 or 9 wins. It also needs mentioned Ben never had a losing season, and that started before Tomlin. We've had playoff wins in 4 of the past 16 years. I always considered the 80s the Steelers 'bleak era' in my lifetime, but Noll got them to AFC CG in 84 and came a couple points short in 89 while playing Malone and Brister at QB. I've always admired the way the Steelers do business, having only 3 head coaches in 50+ years, but I really can't help to wonder what Dan Rooney would be doing right now to straighten this out.

Honesty I feel like Tomlin has devolved into Marvin Lewis, he might have the better record overall and a Super Bowl under his belt but now that this team is completely his... Just feels like Marvin Lewis to me. Like we're just getting by and accepting what we've got.

That 2008 Super Bowl win is pretty far in the rearview mirror. Can’t really see it anymore.

So all we’re clinging to are non losing seasons with poor-disappointing playoff showings - mediocre non losing seasons recently. We talk about how bad the 80’s were -Noll still managed to get a 2-4 playoff record over 10 years with those talentless teams. Tomlin was 3-7 over 10 years with prime Ben and co.

IowaSteeler927 wrote:

Honesty I feel like Tomlin has devolved into Marvin Lewis, he might have the better record overall and a Super Bowl under his belt but now that this team is completely his... Just feels like Marvin Lewis to me. Like we're just getting by and accepting what we've got.

Minus the thugs like Burfict and Pacman. I didn't think about comparison but he's a lot like ML.

it cracks me up when there is a discussion about getting rid of tomlin and some clown almost always chimes in,  "so if they get rid of tomlin, then who are they gonna get thats better" ?
my answer is always, who the fuck was tomlin  before the steelers hired him ? a no name secondary coach with very little coaching experience. the speculation/argument could be made that he was an affirmative action hire, because well...the Rooney rule.
IMO tomlins success was just dumbshit luck. he fell into a job with a great D coordinator, a pretty established core of players, a great owner and a young up and coming star QB. now that he has lost all of those pre installed luxuries most coaches dont start out with, he gets made to look like a clueless idiot by other well coached and not so well coached teams on a pretty regular basis. the last few years the games he has won had more to do with the other teams just so happened to play worse than his that particular sunday.

Exactly, when Cowher left who had Tomlin on their radar as a replacement?

I fully expect a 9-8(or worse) season if Tomlin coaches next year. Schoolyard football is not the key to the SB.

What I don't get is why are there certain fans that love 9-8 seasons(mediocrity). Why do they get upset when you state you want better?

Steeldude wrote:

I fully expect a 9-8(or worse) season if Tomlin coaches next year.  Schoolyard football is not the key to the SB.

What I don't get is why are there certain fans that love 9-8 seasons(mediocrity).  Why do they get upset when you state you want better?

People are afraid of change?
Tomlin is Marvin Lewis 2.0, might as well get used to it he's going to be here for a while.

Steeldude wrote:

I fully expect a 9-8(or worse) season if Tomlin coaches next year.  Schoolyard football is not the key to the SB.

What I don't get is why are there certain fans that love 9-8 seasons(mediocrity).  Why do they get upset when you state you want better?

Hey man, welcome to the forum!

I think all of us here (myself included) are tired of mediocrity. NOBODY loves 9-8 (or 10-7 like we were this year). I also know that 9-8 isn't Tomlin's goal either.

We (Steelers) are in football purgatory. Not good enough to win it all and not bad enough to get the top picks in the draft. It's hard to move out of that without drastic (and sometimes painful) moves. We'll have to see what those moves are, but hopefully something changes to move us out of purgatory.

Great Randino wrote:

Steeldude wrote:

I fully expect a 9-8(or worse) season if Tomlin coaches next year.  Schoolyard football is not the key to the SB.

What I don't get is why are there certain fans that love 9-8 seasons(mediocrity).  Why do they get upset when you state you want better?

Hey man, welcome to the forum!

I think all of us here (myself included) are tired of mediocrity.  NOBODY loves 9-8 (or 10-7 like we were this year).  I also know that 9-8 isn't Tomlin's goal either.  

We (Steelers) are in football purgatory.  Not good enough to win it all and not bad enough to get the top picks in the draft.  It's hard to move out of that without drastic (and sometimes painful) moves.  We'll have to see what those moves are, but hopefully something changes to move us out of purgatory.

well said amigo. some steeler fans have become so accustomed to watching such a shitty product on the field, that now they get giddy over what should be an average, expected performance from a QB. rudolf completed like 55% of his passes in the playoff game and i see people saying he had a really good game.
we have become so accustomed to seeing sub 200 yd 0-1 td passes , that a 270 yd ,2 td game seems like an offensive explosion. even despite a horrible interception that at minimum took 3 points off the board that likely changed the games momentum. at the very least they wouldn't have had a 21 point deficit.

Tomlins tolerance for under performing employees can not be over looked when evaluating why the team is stuck in football " purgatory". i find it hard to believe these subpar players look good during practice but mysteriously look like they never practice at all come game time. does percy harvin consistently boom 60 yd punts during practice and save the 30 yarders for game time ? does mason cole only wear roller skates on game day ?

Great Randino wrote:

Hey man, welcome to the forum!

I think all of us here (myself included) are tired of mediocrity.  NOBODY loves 9-8 (or 10-7 like we were this year).  I also know that 9-8 isn't Tomlin's goal either.  

We (Steelers) are in football purgatory.  Not good enough to win it all and not bad enough to get the top picks in the draft.  It's hard to move out of that without drastic (and sometimes painful) moves.  We'll have to see what those moves are, but hopefully something changes to move us out of purgatory.

Thank you for the greeting.

It reminds me of the Kordell days. If a person had a disparaging word about Kordell or wanted a change at QB, they would be pounced on by the rah-rah fans.

I don't know, many fans are very excited about 9-8 seasons. They chant the "Tomlin has never had a losing season" line over and over. If you suggest wanting more, you are bashed. Haha.

I agree. I don't think Tomlin wants 9-8 seasons, but to me he can't produce much else. IMO, the Steelers will remain like this as long as Tomlin remains the HC.

8-10 in the playoffs, thats tomlins losing record.