Steelers' Mike Tomlin isn't here to be understood

By Jeremy Fowler
https://www.espn.com/blog/pittsburgh-steelers
July 17, 2019

PITTSBURGH -- After working the halls of a national coaches convention, Mike Tomlin grabbed a chair. Legendary coach Bobby Bowden was speaking, and Tomlin, then a young position coach in the college ranks, sought wisdom to take back to his meeting rooms.

Tomlin's older brother was alongside him as Bowden delivered the double-take message to the crowd of 20-somethings about two decades ago.

"He said, 'I treat players according to how fast they are,'" Ed Tomlin said. "We kind of laughed at how honest that was."

Mike Tomlin has the Super Bowl cachet to headline those conventions now. He also is known to be just as honest about his treatment of players, which only deepens the intrigue for his crucial 13th season with the Pittsburgh Steelers.

Despite racking up 125 regular-season wins since 2007, second to the New England Patriots' Bill Belichick among active coaches during that span, Tomlin faced scrutiny last season for the Steelers' late collapse, their propensity for making headlines and a rocky relationship with former receiver Antonio Brown, who many former teammates believe received star treatment in Pittsburgh.

Tomlin remained unapologetically himself through that storm, unmoved by a players' coach label or what he called chatter. He publicly stated he treats everyone fairly but not exactly the same.

He is not concerned with being misunderstood. Winning rises above that, which is why Tomlin considers himself "ready for battle" in 2019.

"I shaped my reputation in this business and this outlook in this business being singularly focused on the task at hand," Tomlin told ESPN in a sit-down interview from his hometown of Hampton, Virginia, where he appeared at a fundraiser for the Hampton Roads Youth Foundation. "So I'd be kidding you if I told you I had a certain edge because of what happened in 2018. I just have a certain edge because I better have a certain edge. This business that I’m in dictates that I better have a certain edge, and I embrace that element of it.”

The organization prefers stability at the top, having famously employed just three head coaches since 1969. What Tomlin does during the Steelers' 2019 campaign will strengthen the organization's faith in him or test its limits.

With Brown and Le'Veon Bell in new uniforms and the Steelers no longer a trendy Super Bowl pick, those who know Tomlin believe he is at his best when doubted.

His players are eager to find out.

"Every team except one team in the NFL would love to have him," said Steelers linebacker Anthony Chickillo, making the obvious nod to the New England Patriots, who have won six Super Bowls with Belichick. "His résumé speaks for itself. That's what I want out of a coach."

Veteran guard Ramon Foster takes that analogy a step further.

"I'm sure if you ask all 1,200 players in this league which one [of the coaches] they'd rather play for, he's at the top of the list," said Foster, a 10-year starter on Pittsburgh's offensive line.

The 2016 Steelers were 4-5, and Arthur Moats saw a lack of discipline in his team.

That's when Tomlin set a tone with enforcement, from player fines for tardiness to policing toes on the line during sprints. Pittsburgh won seven straight to secure a playoff berth.

"The team responded and we went on a run," said Moats, a Steelers linebacker from 2014 to 2017. "He can do that if he needs to. No matter the adversity he's faced, he's always found a way to motivate the guys, to create a plan that works, to make an adjustment.

"Now, with the way things played out with AB, he can make sure to avoid those reoccurrences."

Those who have called Tomlin too friendly with players had a convenient talking point with Brown, who forced a trade after missing multiple work days in 2018. The perception of a star player leaving fuels those critics. Former Steelers such as James Harrison have claimed Tomlin needs to command more from his locker room, citing Belichick's disciplinary style resonating in New England.

Player-coach dynamics are complex, of course. Micromanaging fines or discipline can take time away from preparing to win games, Moats said, making a self-policing locker room crucial.

Tomlin prefers to focus on acquiring "quality men who happen to be quality players," he said. "It starts there."

Pro Football Hall of Fame coach Tony Dungy hired Tomlin while with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in 2001.

"When you win, that’s considered a strength. When you lose, that can be the reason you’re losing. It comes back to winning. I don’t think Mike is going to change. That’s not who he is," Dungy said of Tomlin's style. "He’s not the type to babysit with a lot of rules. He’ll expect players to be the driving force and set the tone. He's a proven leader and proven winner."

Where Tomlin might showcase the most discipline is in one-on-one settings. Tomlin is "not a bulls----er" with players, Chickillo said, and many have a personalized story to illustrate as much. Tomlin has challenged running backs -- from Bell to DeAngelo Williams and James Conner -- to lose weight to maximize results. All of them did, then produced on the field.

Former Steelers safety Ryan Clark remembers Tomlin once telling him more disciplined play would elevate his career. Clark eventually became a team captain.

Foster calls Tomlin "that uncle you just don't want to piss off."

"You know you can be who you want to be, but if you step out of line ... he can be a real problem if you take him down that lane," Foster said. "Guys understand what we have to do because of the amount of respect we have for him and how he allows us to be men."

That's why the coach's brother laughs at the notion that Tomlin is too easy on players.

"Nobody is treated the same, but he treats people as individuals," said Ed Tomlin, who played football at Maryland. "That’s what makes him a great coach. People need someone in their lives to tell them the truth. I don’t know why that’s perceived as a negative thing. It’s a deed-based business. These are grown men. That [hard discipline] doesn’t fly anymore. He’s a new-age coach who doesn’t rule by fear.”

Tomlin will enforce rules when necessary, and prioritizing change -- even if subtle -- can usher the Steelers past a bitter season.

Tomlin is on record as being open to that -- "We all need to look in the mirror," he said at the NFL owners meetings in March -- but his exact plan is unclear. One tangible move is hiring defensive assistant Teryl Austin, who will coach from the booth and help Tomlin with replay challenges on game days. The decision seems overdue for a head coach who has lost his past 10 challenges.

While Tomlin might interact differently with Ben Roethlisberger as opposed to a special-teamer, certain guidelines should be universally applied for Tomlin to maximize results with this team, Moats said.

"You have to have certain things in place where, no matter what, you’re always going to stand on," Moats said. "When we talk about fines, if you fine guys for being late, it shouldn’t matter who it is. Certain things have to hold more weight. Whatever he decides on, it will be, 'No matter who it is, I have to do this.'"

The Steelers can hope the losses of Brown and Bell eliminate distractions and employ an addition-by-subtraction approach. Perhaps that is naive, considering their elite talents. But Tomlin might as well have been talking directly to Conner and receiver JuJu Smith-Schuster when he told the media he has two Pro Bowlers to replace the departed stars; the coach is emboldening them to take massive leaps in Year 3.

Roethlisberger is coming off a healthy season with a league-high 5,129 yards on 675 passing attempts. Despite taking shots publicly from former teammates over leadership concerns, Roethlisberger will be the team's central figure in 2019; he signed a three-year contract this offseason. Tomlin has worked hard to jell with Roethlisberger, who at the end of last season cited a friendship with his head coach.

None of that legwork matters much without results.

"I acknowledge that there are some significant changes, but talking about it is not going to dictate the outcome," Tomlin said about the 2019 season outlook. "You won’t hear a lot of bold predictions from us. That is not our style; that is not appropriate. We know that we are judged based on performance anyway."

Now, players seem ready to talk for Tomlin.

"Personally, I don't think he needs to motivate us," Chickillo said. "We're already plenty motivated. Not many are believing in us right now."

Defense will drive the performance. Redirecting Tomlin's legacy in Pittsburgh will require improvement from a unit that mixes flashes of brilliance with uneven play. The Steelers have struggled drafting cornerbacks. Not one of their five corners selected in the 2015-17 drafts are projected to start in 2019. The release of safety Morgan Burnett is a reminder that the Steelers' heavily used dime package still needs tweaking.

With his weighty influence on that side of the ball, Tomlin often urges his defense to "trim the fat" -- that is, run a select number of plays cleanly rather than overload with superfluous options. But the defense run by Tomlin and coordinator Keith Butler can be difficult for young defensive backs, in part because of the pre- and post-snap reads. A defensive back might have three reads once the play starts.

Helping a rebuilt secondary to play smart but free football will be crucial.

"One thing he probably doesn’t get enough credit for is his football mind," Moats said of Tomlin. "The things he sees and is able to communicate, it doesn’t always work or we can’t execute at that level of detail, but the tendencies he’s able to pick up on is what makes him a special coach. Within that, he's coaching at a doctorate level, and sometimes that can be a lot for young players. All 11 players getting it right on Sundays is the challenge."

And a challenge Dungy expects Tomlin to meet and exceed.

Dungy hasn't spoken to Tomlin recently, but Dungy has a go-to line for him whenever he does: "You've got great instincts, so trust them."

A Steelers defensive back in the late 1970s, Dungy believes the organization will support the coach.

"Things generally tend to work out when you're true to yourself," Dungy said. "Like Chuck Noll always said, 'You don’t leave the game plan.'"

Time for Mike Tomlin to walk away as Steelers coach

By John Steigerwald
https://triblive.com/sports/steelers/14476789-74/john-steigerwald-time-for-mike-tomlin-to-walk-away-as-steelers-coach
January 6, 2019

You’d have to be pretty old or dead to remember the last time the Steelers fired a head coach.

Everybody knows the Steelers like to hold on to their head coaches, and they’ve only had three in the last 50 years, but what’s even more amazing is they haven’t fired a coach in 50 years.

Bill Austin was the last guy to get the Steelers’ axe. It was December 1968, and he had just finished his third season. He had been an assistant with the Green Bay Packers and had come highly recommended by Vince Lombardi. A perfect hire. Austin’s record was 11-28-1.

The third coach since Austin, Mike Tomlin, isn’t going to be fired any time soon, even though lots of people in these parts, including a growing number in the media, think he should.

The two who preceded Tomlin knew when to walk away: Chuck Noll after 23 years and Bill Cowher after 15.

Dan Rooney was never going to fire the guy he hired, who was also his friend, and had overseen the greatest turnaround in American sports history. Noll did him a favor by realizing he was at the end. He probably stayed two or three years too long, but it was definitely time for him to go in 1991.

Cowher was one year removed from winning a Super Bowl and had just finished 8-8. He might not have been on top when he went out after 15 years, but he was close.

Now it’s time for Tomlin to walk away. He should do himself and his boss, Art Rooney II, a favor. There are eight openings for coaches in the NFL, and Tomlin probably would have his choice from multiple offers within 20 minutes of his resignation.

He’s a good coach.

You can’t fire a guy who’s 1-1 in the Super Bowl and never has had a losing season. But Tomlin should see he has peaked at his current location, and the smart move is to get out while the getting is good.

Tomlin oversaw one of the worst collapses in Pittsburgh sports history, and he’s the coach of a team being called a laughing stock.

He hasn’t won a playoff game in two seasons, and he has lost way too many games to inferior teams. The Antonio Brown fiasco has turned into a soap opera that has embarrassed the NFL’s most respected franchise.

There are conflicting reports about what happened between Tomlin’s future Hall of Fame quarterback and his future Hall of Fame wide receiver during the last week of practice.

Antonio Brown threw the ball at Ben Roethlisberger and walked off the field.

That was the story for a while.

Then former NFL wide receiver James Jones, an NFL Network analyst, reported another side of the story. His sources said Roethlisberger picked on Brown too much in team meetings and practices and damaged their relationship. Jones was told it was Roethlisberger who threw the ball on the field and said, “Get him outta here” after Brown ran the wrong route.

Please.

Where’s the coach?

The two most important players on the team, who are being paid a combined $30 million a year, are feuding?

Fix it. Kick both of them off the practice field. Have a meeting. Bench somebody before the 17th Sunday of the season.

Is there any reason to believe things are going to get better with this team before they get worse? Tomlin’s best days as a Steelers coach are behind him. Too many seasons of underachievement. Way too much drama. He needs a fresh start.

Walk away. Maybe the Steelers streak of not firing a coach can extend to 60 years instead of ending at 51.

John Steigerwald is a freelance writer.

MORE STEELERS/NFL

Tim Benz: Don't kid yourself. Steelers were more than 'a few plays away.'

Steelers' Mike Munchak reportedly the frontrunner for Broncos job

First call: Why the Antonio Brown-James Harrison 'exclusive' won't happen 

A horse named Tomlin starts strong, blows lead, fades 

Steelers offseason positional outlook: Quarterbacks

The bed Mike Tomlin has made with the Steelers

By Jeremy Fowler
http://espn.go.com/blog/pittsburgh-steelers
January 3, 2019


Mike Tomlin leaves the media room after addressing reporters Wednesday, Jan. 2, 2019 (Pittsburgh Post-Gazette)

PITTSBURGH -- His top playmaker is skipping meetings and sabotaging games and sparking trade scenarios. His other top playmaker bagged the entire season. His team dropped four games in five weeks by seven points or fewer.

Pittsburgh Steelers coach Mike Tomlin stood at a podium Wednesday as a man under attack. He was ready for all the smoke.

"I accept responsibility and I foster and develop every aspect of our culture," Tomlin said. "That’s this game. That’s leadership. You embrace and respect and honor all aspects of that, certainly."

If there's one benefit of a missed playoff appearance, of wide receiver Antonio Brown's absence and running back Le'Veon Bell's holdout, it's this: A successful head coach can rediscover his edge.

How Tomlin handles the Brown saga and his coaching staff in the next few weeks and months will say plenty about the 2019 Steelers.

What happens when one of the NFL's most accomplished current coaches shoots a 17-game brick dating to the failed onside kick in the playoffs against Jacksonville?

An impressive 123-64-1 career record loses some of its shine.

Fans who never were sold on him will feel emboldened, waving that "players' coach" label proudly.

Previous issues -- such as three playoff wins since 2011 despite 82 regular-season victories during that span -- are no longer camouflaged, but illuminated.

After missing the playoffs for the first time since 2013, Tomlin isn't hiding from any of that. He never has, often pointing out that winning is the only prerequisite for job security.

Tomlin promised that he and his staff, which could feature moving parts in the next week, would "wallow" in the 9-6-1 season and embrace change, however it comes.

"Is it challenging? Certainly. Am I appropriately compensated for those challenges? Certainly," Tomlin said. "When you get tired of those challenges, when you wear the whistle and you stand at the podium, you need to find a new line of work. I just don’t have that sentiment. That’s why I embrace it in the ways that I do, not that I like it, not that it’s enjoyable. It’s not, but I’m not running, and I’m certainly not seeking comfort in those things relative to our performance because when we’re good, you find ways to overcome them, you minimize, you make them less of a story."

Tomlin is still the right coach for the Steelers in 2019, but hard decisions and harsh truths await as the Steelers formulate a plan to improve.

That plan will undoubtedly include team president Art Rooney II, who can get to the root of why dubious distinctions such as this now exist:

The Steelers are the third NFL team since 1990 to start 7-2-1 or better through 10 games and fail to reach the playoffs. The other two teams, the 1995 Raiders (8-2) and 1993 Dolphins (8-2), lost their starting quarterbacks to injury.

Such an unsettling collapse triggers change for even the most stable franchises.

What Tomlin couldn't control is a series of flukish moments that prevented wins. Quarterback Ben Roethlisberger missing most of the second half in Oakland with a rib issue. JuJu Smith-Schuster's fumble in New Orleans. Untimely officiating.

What he could control is a defense that struggled mightily to close out games, an odd streak of 10 consecutive lost challenges, and aggressive calls -- mainly, the Jacksonville onside play and the fake punt in New Orleans -- backfiring.

And he deserves his share of criticism for the predicament with Brown, which Tomlin says will be handled "appropriately so."

By benching Brown in Sunday's finale against Cincinnati, Tomlin seems ready to take a stand against his All-Pro receiver. But criticism for not checking Brown harder years earlier is probably warranted.

None of that means Tomlin has lost the locker room.

"There's no guess on who you're going to get," tight end Vance McDonald said. "You get Coach Tomlin. That's a catalyst."

"There's no other way I'd rather have an NFL head coach than the way Mike Tomlin does it," left tackle Alejandro Villanueva said.

Villanueva is about to see how Tomlin handles one of his biggest challenges. Based on Wednesday's news conference, he seems eager for that collision.

Steelers' victory over Patriots was Mike Tomlin's finest hour

By Kevin Gorman
https://triblive.com/sports/steelers/14414249-74/kevin-gorman-steelers-victory-over-patriots-was-mike-tomlins-finest-hour
December 16, 2018


Jaylen Samuels rushes for some of his 142 yards on Sunday. (Karl Roser/Pittsburgh Steelers)

Mike Tomlin walked into Heinz Field on Sunday with blind faith, believing this was a big game not so much because it was against the New England Patriots as it was about the Pittsburgh Steelers addressing their failure to finish in the previous three games.

The Steelers put their postseason hopes in a precarious position with successive losses to the Broncos, Chargers and Raiders, and needed to beat an arch-nemesis to maintain their half-game lead over the Baltimore Ravens and fourth-place standing in the AFC playoff picture.

Tomlin talked about the Steelers needing a no-blink approach, and believed they could run with Jaylen Samuels, that Chris Boswell could make a kick when it counted and that the embattled defense could hold a fourth-quarter lead when needed.

“You have to — that’s just the nature of this thing,” Tomlin said. “It’s easy to display faith and talk about the camaraderie stuff when things are going well. Sometimes, you’ve got to cut your eyelids off when you want to blink, when it gets thick. We talk openly about that.”

Tom Brady, Bill Belichick and the Patriots blinked.

With Steelers fans fuming and calling for him to be fired, Tomlin never batted an eyelid in delivering a 17-10 victory over the Patriots that should hush his hot-seat talk for the time being.

This was his reminder that Belichick wasn’t the only Super Bowl-winning coach on the sidelines.

“It’s easy to come here with a smile on your face when things are going your way,” Steelers safety Morgan Burnett said. “You see the true character of someone when they’re hit with adversity and how they respond to it. He’s always had confidence. He’s the leader of this team. You could tell walking into the building he had no sense of doubt.”

Tomlin left no doubt with the decisions he made from the start. The Steelers won the coin flip and elected to receive instead of their customary deferral. It was rewarded with an 11-play, 75-yard scoring drive that saw a tight end score a touchdown, a good omen against the Patriots.

The Steelers leaned on Samuels, the rookie fifth-round pick who was replacing the injured James Conner for the second consecutive game. Samuels was coming off a 28-yard performance against the Raiders. He rewarded Tomlin’s faith by rushing for 142 yards rushing on 19 carries, adding two catches for 30 yards. Tomlin also showed his belief in rookie receiver James Washington, who had been benched after his drop at Denver, and he had three receptions for 65 yards.

The Steelers defense had been living life on the edge by blowing fourth-quarter leads. They led the NFL in sacks but knew they wouldn’t have time to get to Brady. That put the pressure on his secondary, and Tomlin replaced cornerbacks Coty Sensabaugh and Mike Hilton in the starting lineup with Artie Burns and Cam Sutton, going for pedigree over performance.

That move appeared to backfire when Brady hit Chris Hogan for a 63-yard touchdown pass on the Patriots’ third play, which saw Burns, Joe Haden and safety Sean Davis all following Josh Gordon over the middle while Hogan was left all alone near the Steelers sideline.

But the Steelers still didn’t blink.

“Coach T does a really good job of keeping everybody level,” Haden said. “He never gets too up when we win or too down when we lose.”

The Steelers only sacked Brady once, but the Patriots converted only 3 of 10 third downs, failed on their lone fourth-down attempt and were 0 for 3 in the red zone. New England also had 14 penalties for 106 yards, including a flag for holding on first-and-goal at the 5 in the fourth quarter.

That’s when the Steelers came up with their biggest stop of the season, while clinging to a 14-10 lead against the game’s greatest quarterback. With the pocket collapsing, Brady lost his mind. He threw off his back foot toward the Steelers sideline and Haden high-pointed it for an interception at the 4-yard line with 7:43 to play.

That led to Tomlin’s gutsiest call of the game. The Steelers went 66 yards on 13 plays before facing a fourth-and-6 from the 30. The prudent move would have been to punt. The bold move would have been to go for a first down. Instead, Tomlin sent Boswell out for a 48-yard field goal. Never mind that Boswell had missed seven field goals this season, including a chance at the tying points in Oakland that prompted the Steelers to conduct tryouts this week.

What did Boswell do? He drilled it through the uprights for a 17-10 lead with 2:30 remaining.

That left the greatest challenge of the game: The Steelers defense had to stop Brady, who passed the Patriots downfield in no time. But the Steelers stopped Brady on four consecutive passes to end the game, restoring their confidence and rewarding the confidence of their coach.

“Our jobs are always on the line — the NFL means Not For Long — but we ride with our coach,” Steelers defensive captain Cameron Heyward said. “He supports us, and we support him. He’s hard on himself, just as we are. We wanted to get this W, not only for him but for us.”

This could have been Tomlin’s final hour with the Steelers.

Instead, it will rank among his finest.

Hey, Steelers Nation, get the latest news about the Pittsburgh Steelers here.

Kevin Gorman is a Tribune-Review staff writer. You can contact Kevin at kgorman@tribweb.com or via Twitter @KGorman_Trib.

MORE STEELERS/NFL

Steelers solve Brady, Patriots to snap 3-game skid

Tim Benz: Feats of strength from Steelers' win vs. Patriots 

Tim Benz, Mark Madden discuss how Steelers beat Patriots

Pittsburgh finally sees a good run vs. New England teams

Steelers' Joe Haden makes picture-perfect pick vs. Patriots

It's time the Steelers consider firing Mike Tomlin

{I'm not advocating for Tomlin's firing but this excellent column drew a significant amount of national attention. - jtf}

By Mark Madden

https://triblive.com/sports/columnists/markmadden/14391675-74/mark-madden-its-time-the-steelers-consider-firing-mike-tomlin

December 10, 2018

Mike Tomlin at a post-game press conference in Oakland on Sunday. (D. Ross Cameron)

Whenever a caller broaches the subject of firing Mike Tomlin on my radio program, I dismiss it out of hand.

First off, it won’t happen. The Steelers employ coaches even longer than long term.

Second, it shouldn’t happen. Tomlin never has had a losing season. His regular-season winning percentage of .653 is second among active coaches who have worked three seasons or more. He’s won a Super Bowl and lost another.

That part of Tomlin’s resume obscures his recent playoff failings: Just three postseason wins in the last seven seasons.

Whoever the Steelers hired to replace Tomlin would be worse and do worse. That includes Greenfield product Mike McCarthy, recently pink-slipped by the Green Bay Packers.

But if there’s ever been a time to seriously consider the wisdom of the Steelers continuing to employ Tomlin, it’s now.

That’s in the wake of Sunday’s debacle at Oakland: yet another Tomlin loss to a much lesser team where the Steelers appeared to be absurdly not ready. Heck, wide receiver Ryan Switzer didn’t even wear the right shoes.

Since Tomlin took the helm in 2007, the Steelers are 6-5 straight up in road games where they’ve been favored by nine points or more. The rest of the NFL is 52-10. That’s embarrassing and alarming.

Tomlin’s clock management is putrid. After Oakland ran the ball on first and goal from the Steelers’ 7 on their final (winning) drive, Tomlin let 38 seconds run off the clock despite having two timeouts. Those 38 seconds would have come in handy after the Raiders scored.

Situations like that are Football 101, and Tomlin keeps flunking. Same with his replay challenges.

The Steelers’ special teams are the NFL’s most penalized and among the league’s worst. But special teams coach Danny Smith remains on duty and continues to yell, scream and mangle.

Kicker Chris Boswell has missed a league-worst five extra points and is just 10 for 16 on field goals, missing two at Oakland. (Do the math. If Boswell makes them, the Steelers win.) Yet, he keeps his job because of, one supposes, some twisted sense of loyalty that no NFL team has applied to a kicker in recent memory, if ever.

But that mostly pales to how Tomlin handled the quarterbacking situation at Oakland.

Ben Roethlisberger suffered a rib injury near the end of the first half. But he was cleared to play the second half.

Yet, Tomlin opted to not play him. Tomlin said Roethlisberger could have returned “a series or so sooner, but we were in the rhythm and flow of the game.”

“Rhythm and flow of the game?” What does that even mean?

The Steelers’ four second-half possessions with Josh Dobbs at the helm went as follows: punt, turned over on downs, interception, punt. (That’s an early look at the Steelers’ offense post-Roethlisberger, BTW.)

Roethlisberger came in for the last two possessions, leading the Steelers to what should have been the winning touchdown and a tying field goal. (He got none of the above.)

Why did Tomlin choose to play Dobbs instead of Roethlisberger? What sane reason could there possibly be?

Was he saving Ben for an “emergency?” Because if you’re up by only 14-10 at halftime against a 2-10 team, that’s an emergency.

Roethlisberger critics (and they were plentiful on social media despite Roethlisberger’s late-game Willis Reed impersonation) assume Roethlisberger made the decision or that Roethlisberger should have demanded to enter the game.

Who plays is the coach’s call. It’s not Roethlisberger’s job to keep Tomlin from looking like an imbecile.

Said Roethlisberger, “I was just waiting for Coach to tell me when to go.”

Before Tomlin opted to use Dobbs over Roethlisberger in what boiled down to a must-win game, I never gave serious consideration to the idea that replacing Tomlin was a good idea.

Now I can’t help but.

The Steelers look screwed.

After losing at Oakland, there’s no way to assume the Steelers should win any of their remaining games.

But they have to win two of three to go 9-6-1, which should win the AFC North. Finishing 8-7-1 probably puts them behind the Baltimore Ravens and likely misses out on a wild card, too.

Can the Steelers beat the New England Patriots or the New Orleans Saints? It looks like they have to win at least one of those games.

If the Steelers miss the playoffs because Tomlin chose to play Dobbs instead of Roethlisberger vs. a 2-10 team, things must change even if Tomlin doesn’t get axed.

Smith should be fired.

Outside linebackers coach Joey Porter should be fired. He’s more mascot than coach and has provided the Steelers a bad look too many times. Coaches shouldn’t cause chaos.

The responsibility for clock management and replay challenges should be given to somebody else. Hire a specialist. He should have autonomy. Tomlin can’t overrule. Tomlin stinks at those duties.

GM Kevin Colbert should have final say on personnel decisions. Tomlin needs to concentrate on coaching, period. Right now, he’s not too good at it.

A bad team beat the Steelers on Sunday, and it didn’t even play a good game. The Raiders took 13 penalties for 130 yards and still somehow won.

Most NFL teams would fire Tomlin given the circumstances. The Steelers won’t.

Because the Steelers are going to retain Tomlin, he must do better. The Steelers must force his hand on certain issues. There must be accountability.

No coach who had to answer for his decision would have chosen to play Dobbs over Roethlisberger. Unless said coach was an absolute half-wit.

Mark Madden hosts a radio show 3-6 p.m. weekdays on WXDX-FM (105.9).

MORE SPORTS

Steelers' Ben Roethlisberger feels 'fine, ready to go' 3 days after rib injury

Penguins goalie Matt Murray activated from injured reserve

Tim Benz: Mike Tomlin's explanations confuse more than they clarify

Tom Brady's final game in Pittsburgh? Steelers' Ben Roethlisberger reflects

'Lack of information' kept Roethlisberger on sidelines in Oakland

This Steelers mess might be too hot for Mike Tomlin to control when it matters most

By Eric Adelson
https://sports.yahoo.com/steelers-mess-might-hot-mike-tomlin-control-matters-063817954.html
September 25, 2018


Bud Dupree returns an interception for a touchdown in Monday night's 30-27 win in Tampa (AP)

TAMPA, Fla. – Urban Dictionary defines “hot mess” as “When one’s thoughts or appearance are in a state of disarray but they maintain an undeniable attractiveness or beauty.”

By that measure, the Pittsburgh Steelers are the hottest of messes. They always make you watch and they always make you wince. There is beauty and bumbling in just about every quarter, and there was plenty of both in the team’s first win of the season, 30-27, here on Monday against the Buccaneers. It was vintage Mike Tomlin, where you walk away wondering, “That’s a fun team … but is it a great team?”

They couldn’t even land the team plane here without drama, having to abort to nearby St. Petersburg on Sunday because of thunderstorms. Some of the players plotted a cockpit takeover, joked linebacker Bud Dupree. “I thought we were kidnapped,” he said after the game.

On Monday night, the game started with turbulence: a Steelers penalty. On the opening kickoff.

How does that happen?

Then the defense gave up a touchdown. And then came a stiff-arm that will go down in football folklore, with tight end Vance McDonald receiving a Ben Roethlisberger pass and then delivering a meme-tacular blow to Bucs safety Chris Conte.

Yahoo Sports

✔@YahooSports

"Sir, where did the murder take place?"#PITvsTB | #HereWeGo

8:49 PM - Sep 24, 2018

• 785
• 320 people are talking about this

Twitter Ads info and privacy

“Just punish him,” was McDonald’s mindset. “Inflict as much force on him as possible.”

Asked if there was a certain body part he was aiming for on the stiff-arm, McDonald said, “Yeah. His temple. To just crush him.”

McDonald raced to the end zone as Conte crumpled to the ground. Defensive lineman Cam Heyward, standing on the sideline, extended an arm toward Conte as if pointing a bow and arrow. “Dude got owned,” Heyward said after the game. It changed the entire vibe – a literal TKO in the first round.

The Steelers made three picks, including a pick-six, and went ahead 30-10 late in the second quarter. That should have been it. But that’s never it when it’s the Steelers. The Black and Yellow almost blew it, giving up 17 unanswered points and nearly the game. The whole affair could have ended differently had the refs not ruled Bucs receiver Chris Godwin down on what looked to be a touchdown early in the third quarter. The Steelers didn’t make sure, so Godwin stood up and bolted for the red painted rectangle. Then there was a DeSean Jackson punt return for a touchdown that was nullified because of a holding call. Pittsburgh gave up three touchdown passes overall and 411 passing yards.

“We need to do better at putting it away,” Roethlisberger said, in a classic understatement.

This is a veteran team and there always seems to be some rookie hijinx.

“Guys have got to make those one-on-one plays, those 50-50 plays,” Tomlin said. “We didn’t make enough of them. They made too many, and I just thought it didn’t reflect the overall performance when you’re giving up chunks like that.”

All of the credit and blame lands at Tomlin’s feet. He is now 13-2 on “Monday Night Football,” and when the lights shine brightest, his teams always steal the show. There’s Antonio Brown with a black sweatshirt with “$1.28 million” embroidered on the chest – a nod to his rookie contract. There’s Roethlisberger apologizing at his postgame news conference to Brown for “showing too much emotion” on a third-down incompletion late in the game to the wideout, an error that made Big Ben slam his helmet on the sideline in frustration. (Brown grinned and said it was no big deal.) There’s linebacker Vince Williams running off the field after the game shouting “Fitz-Tragic! Fitz-Tragic!”

Compared to, say, the Dallas Cowboys, this is nirvana. You have drama and winning. You have stars and clutch plays. You have a real shot at the Super Bowl just about every year. But having a shot at Lombardi and holding Lombardi are two different things, and Tomlin doesn’t seem any closer to getting the team back there. With obvious gaps in defense and discipline, that goal seems further away. The idea of jettisoning Tomlin always seems like one step too far, but the team itself always seems one step short.

The players admitted there has been stress, even aside of Brown going AWOL last Monday and star running back Le’Veon Bell still AWOL from the beginning of the season.

“It’s no secret, every team goes into a season with expectations and when those aren’t met, emotions, frustrations, all kinds of things start to creep in,” McDonald said. “So it’s really big, really big for us to win tonight.”

“We had a lot of angst going into the season,” Heyward said, “because you want to win games, you want to get that taste of the first win.

“You could see in our practices. We were frustrated. We wanted to do whatever it took.”

Is that frustration just under the surface now, after a win? Maybe that’s the Steelers’ equilibrium, the state of near-chaos. Maybe that’s their happy place. “We’re used to it,” Roethlisberger said of the drama.

Or maybe the team should be a little more efficient, a little more airtight, and it’s Tomlin’s fault that they aren’t.

Brown had a quirky comment after the game. He was talking about his relationship with Roethlisberger, and how he feeds off a well-placed compliment. “When your wife tells you you’re looking good carrying the groceries, it makes you want to get more groceries.” It’s hilarious but also profound. Tomlin is good at that – letting his guys know they look good carrying the bags. It’s just sometimes they drop them and that kind of lapse seems to happen too much. A brilliant stiff-arm, or a highlight touchdown catch, or a funny postgame quip can act as the shiny object every weekend, but the Steelers always return to the same place: they have plenty of groceries, yet they don’t get them all the way to the fridge.

Can they have another winning season? It looks a lot more hopeful now. Ben is steady again and Brown is smiling again. Next up are the Baltimore Ravens and a win could vault Pittsburgh from a tie for last in the division all the way to first if the chips fall right.

And yet the Steelers have given up 90 points in three games and the Chargers and Chiefs are the only AFC teams that have given up more. That’s not good enough.

There are never any iron-clad conclusions with Mike Tomlin teams. They are equal parts elation and frustration.

Equal parts hot and mess.