Pittsburgh Steelers fans have been put in a tough spot recently, as has the organization itself. Used to postseason success, the fan base has been starved of it recently and has had to become used to first-round exits in the postseason instead. With that in mind, some have pondered the idea of moving on from Mike Tomlin.
“I can’t imagine them firing [Tomlin]. I think 31 other franchises would sign up for that,” ESPN’s Peter Schrager said Thursday on Unsportsmanlike. “Last year they went and got Justin Fields and Russell Wilson and were 10-2 at one point. To me, these are one-percent problems that the Steelers fans have. And they are very vocal. But I think if you talked to most fan bases, hey you’re going to be playing January football every year, they’d sign up for it. I know Steelers fans don’t like hearing that.”
For the sake of being correct, Schrager mentions the Steelers starting the year 10-2, but they actually started the year 8-3, then won two games to get to 10-3. But that’s aside from the main point he’s making, which does have some reasoning behind it.
At this point, reporting suggests the Aaron Rodgers signing was Mike Tomlin’s decision. As such, some are already calling for him to be on the hot seat if Rodgers and the Steelers fail in 2025. That could be an option, but is making a massive decision like that really in the Steelers’ best interest?
Sometimes, tanking works. We’ve seen teams drop to the bottom of the food chain, figure it out quickly, and come right back up. However, we’ve also seen some really bad football for a long time from a lot of teams. Take a look at the teams that made the first six picks in this year’s draft, for example. Among them were Titans, Browns, Giants, Jaguars and Raiders. Certainly, each one of those teams would trade places with the Steelers in a heartbeat.
Schrager does make a solid point here. One thing all those five teams have had in common is inconsistency at quarterback. That’s what plagues most bad NFL teams. It’s also an issue the Steelers have, one that could be attributed to Mike Tomlin himself. However, it takes a certain kind of coach to rally his team into the playoffs every year despite that. If it was easy to make the playoffs without quarterback stability, all those aforementioned teams would have done it.
That said, Steelers fans don’t exactly have “one-percent problems.” Yes, Steelers fans have had it better than just about every other team over the past 50 years. However, that doesn’t mean they don’t have the right to be unhappy. Any fan base would complain about six consecutive postseason losses, and Steelers’ fans are right to do so.
Thus, the Steelers are in a tough place. It seems like they’ll keep treading water until Mike Tomlin does eventually find his quarterback. But that’s still better than picking at the top of the draft every year.
