For Non Steeler Fans - Should Mike Tomlin Have Been Fired At End Of 2024 Season? (2 Viewers)

[Joe Bryant]

Note. This one is for people who consider themselves NOT a fan of the Steelers.

You don't have to hate them to be not a fan, you can be neutral too. Just not a fan.

If you ARE a Steelers fan, please vote in the other thread here.

The opinions on Mike Tomlin are one of the more interesting things in the NFL to me.

We've talked a lot about it, but I thought I'd put it to a poll.

Assuming you're not a Steelers fan, would you have fired Tomlin at the end of the 2024 season?

And of course, please tell us why you voted the way you did.

 

[Hoh]

Yes but it was close. Without some kind of shakeup, the Steelers (on offense, anyway) are going to toil in mediocrity for the foreseeable future. Borderline playoff team.

 

[ProstheticRGK]

I like and respect Tomlin. I think he is an exceelent coach with a long track record of success and his players love him.

That said, as an Eagles’ fan, I remember when it was time for Andy Reid to move on. The Eagles weren’t going to win the Superbowl with Andy as coach. That change brought a lot of success to Andy and the Birds.

I think it’s a similar situation in Pittsburgh.

 

[QuizGuy66]

Not saying it with my Bengal fan hat on - I said not fire and not because I would like him to surpass Marvin's streak. I think his teams generally overperform and to my eye it doesn't look like he has lost the locker room. Very much a case of "be careful what you wish for" if you ask me.

Now putting my Bengals fan back on for a moment the Steelers should TOTALLY rehire Canada.

-QG

 

[Uruk-Hai]

That said, as an Eagles’ fan, I remember when it was time for Andy Reid to move on.

I voted "not fire", but there's something to be said for the message growing stale. Sometimes, both team and coach need a reset.

I think Tomlin's been a fabulous coach and has a direct arrow pointing to the HOF. As a follower of the team in Baltimore, one thing I know is that he will beat the Ravens at least once a year even if he had 900 year-old Terry Bradshaw playing QB.

In fact, this poll could also apply to John Harbaugh.

 

[Bossman]

I've always said Tomlin is a great motivator, he can get his players to run thru a brick wall...
but he doesn't seem to have the game strategy down. Just not an X's and O's guy.
Belichicks Patriots would beat them whenever they met in the playoffs. Steelers were the home team and favorite 2 out of 3 of those.

 

[barackdhouse]

I voted Absolutely Not Fire. I have to admit, as a neutral fan in this one, what the **** are we talking about this for? Haha I say that with a smile not trying to provoke or anything just I don't get the question. As a Bears fan that has had swaths and multitudes and galaxies and universes full of garbage coaches and QBs since forever... why is this even a question? Did he get caught cheating on his taxes or wife or something? Did he kill someone? What happened what did I miss?

Has he slipped from a mental POV, has the game moved past him? Cmon. Anybody calling for him to have been fired or for it to have been close I will never understand the reasoning. Big Ben played for how many seasons? And retired how long ago? 2021 was his last year. Maybe take a deep breath and consider the importance of the QB position.

To quote George Carlin, "Calm down, have some dip."

That's it that's the take.

 

[barackdhouse]

You want to see the Steelers descend into mediocrity, then go ahead and fire Tomlin.

 

[pghrob]

You want to see the Steelers descend into mediocrity, then go ahead and fire Tomlin.

The Steelers are quintessential definition of mediocrity with Tomlin the past 10 years.

 

[travdogg]

I think 31 teams would have been happy to see Tomlin fired. I think he's still vastly underrated. He's easily a top 10 HC, and arguably top 5. I think judging by Super Bowl Rings is a silly way of looking at success. By that logic Andy Reid was a bad HC until 2019, Sean McDermott still sucks, and Jim Harbaugh is only a good college HC.

I think Tomlin (and other really good HCs) have had the misfortune of running into the era of Brady/Belichick and now Mahomes/Reid. I think too often that gets treated as the standard, instead of a gigantic outlier, and falling short of that is considered by many as failure or put another way. too much Ricky Bobby logic, where if you don't win the Super Bowl, the next best thing is getting the #1 pick. Which I find to be stupid, especially as many/most playoff games are pretty much 50-50, even this year, change 2 plays and we might have had a Ravens/Rams Super Bowl.

ETA: Even simplifying it to probability, its FAR more likely whomever replaced Tomlin would be a huge downgrade than a slight upgrade.

 

[pghrob]

It's been a very long time since Tomlin led his Steelers to great results.

Mike Tomlin Record, Statistics, and Category Ranks | Pro-Football-Reference.com

Get Stats, Coaching Records, Team Ranks, Coordinators, and more for Mike Tomlin on Pro-football-reference.com.

www.pro-football-reference.com

 

[barackdhouse]

lol posts stats showing lack of a losing season ever. with recent record post Big Ben being 29-22. In the National Football League. In the same division as the Bengals and Ravens. Same conference as Mahomes and Josh Allen. Yea what a scrub. JFC perspective is a thing. I appreciate the desire for greater but yes 31 other teams would love to see him fired. And he would not be unemployed long.

 

[Moonlight]

Need to get a good QB and fewer divas on offense then let’s talk.
Why is all the criticism directed at Tomlinand not the front office?

 

[pghrob]

Mike Tomlin and Ugly Losses

Download Mike Tomlin & Ugly Losses.PDF | LimeWire

Download Mike Tomlin & Ugly Losses.PDF on LimeWire

limewire.com

 

[Snotbubbles]

I voted "Absolutely No."

The fact that the Steelers made the playoffs was a major accomplishment. They had almost no offensive weapons, a porous offensive line, retread QBs, and a weak secondary. They seem to be trying to rectify some of their lack of offensive weapons, but until they get better QB play and fix the offensive line, they'll never be a true contender. IMO, their problems aren't coaching, they're player personnel. They're a 6 or 7 win team based on talent, that Tomlin's coaching gets to 9 or 10 wins. It's hard to get that franchise QB when you're always drafting in the 20s.

 

[sm8680]

If your a Bengals, Browns, or Ravens fan you'd be a fool to fire Tomlin.

 

[Ministry of Pain]

He's an insta-hire for like 24 of the 32 NFL teams, I'm not joking about this
He's not thought of highly in Pittsburgh these days and I think I understand why

-Let me be very clear to everyone...Tomlin over the last 3-4 seasons has had almost nothing to work with at QB and yet the team still wins enough games to be a Playoff contender
It's purgatory for the fans, you know you're not good enough to win many Playoff games but you can out think 9 or 10 coaches during the year and you end up picking 21st in the Draft

MoP gets it!
-That said I would trade you Mike McDaniel tomorrow for 3-4 years of the Mike Tomlin experience.
I would relish watching him be a tough hard nose coach on most of the current players and running some of them out of here

Maybe it is time for him to push off from the Steelers but he also relishes coaching the team and is part of the Rooney Family from now until the end of time so get it thru your head
He's better than most, maybe not as good as some

I hold the Pittsburgh Steelers high on my Mt Rushmore and you can stand me up the gates of hell but I won't back down!

 

[Joe Bryant]

If your a Bengals, Browns, or Ravens fan you'd be a fool to fire Tomlin.

Interesting. I don't think the Ravens are remotely considering a change and I like Stefanski and Taylor well enough. But I would for sure not think Bengals or Browns would be a fool to swap for Tomlin.

 

[sm8680]

If your a Bengals, Browns, or Ravens fan you'd be a fool to fire Tomlin.

Interesting. I don't think the Ravens are remotely considering a change and I like Stefanski and Taylor well enough. But I would for sure not think Bengals or Browns would be a fool to swap for Tomlin.

If you're a fan of the Bengals, Browns, or Ravens, you absolutely want Mike Tomlin to stay because history shows you can beat him. Stability is great, but when that stability benefits your rivals more than your own team, it's worth considering a change. Joe you're failing to realize those 1 and done playoff games with some of them being blowouts.

 

[Joe Bryant]

If your a Bengals, Browns, or Ravens fan you'd be a fool to fire Tomlin.

Interesting. I don't think the Ravens are remotely considering a change and I like Stefanski and Taylor well enough. But I would for sure not think Bengals or Browns would be a fool to swap for Tomlin.

If you're a fan of the Bengals, Browns, or Ravens, you absolutely want Mike Tomlin to stay because history shows you can beat him. Stability is great, but when that stability benefits your rivals more than your own team, it's worth considering a change. Joe you're failing to realize those 1 and done playoff games with some of them being blowouts.

Please don't confuse me having a different opinion than you as failing to realize the playoff performance.

We have a different opinion there. That's cool.

 

[menobrown]

I'm a Steeler fan so did not vote but I'll comment.

No, absolutely positively not fired simply based on the results and trading him is a pipe dream because he has to agree to it.

But, I think a discussion with him was in order that would have revolved around what changes did he have in mind either in his approach, staff or personnel to prevent another playoff collapse? What is his new standard and how did he think he could achieve it? If those discussions were not positive or productive and he seemed content with the way things have been going I'd personally wanted him fired speaking as a fan. But that's easier for me to say because all I care about is truly being good enough to compete for a SB or a playoff run at minimum, my personal wealth is not tied into the team. No way do you fire him as the owner unless those talks are obstinate, not when you know you got a guy who at minimum is going to have your team hunting for a playoff spot every year and not for this pool of head coaching candidates available.

So summary for the fan in me. I just want to see him be willing to make some changes. So far I'm not encouraged because the biggest and easiest change he could make is hiring better assistants and I'm no seeing that.

 

[fred_1_15301]

You want to see the Steelers descend into mediocrity, then go ahead and fire Tomlin.

As a Steeler fan, I’m not going to vote. And this is not meant to be insulting to you in anyway. Your post made me chuckle. Steelers fans feel like we HAVE been living in mediocrity for years now.

 

[fred_1_15301]

I voted "Absolutely No."

The fact that the Steelers made the playoffs was a major accomplishment. They had almost no offensive weapons, a porous offensive line, retread QBs, and a weak secondary. They seem to be trying to rectify some of their lack of offensive weapons, but until they get better QB play and fix the offensive line, they'll never be a true contender. IMO, their problems aren't coaching, they're player personnel. They're a 6 or 7 win team based on talent, that Tomlin's coaching gets to 9 or 10 wins. It's hard to get that franchise QB when you're always drafting in the 20s.

This is a fair post.

 

[sm8680]

I'm following in Freds footsteps.

I would've gone with 'no vote,' but since that's not an option, I’ll pass. Historically, the Rooney family rarely fires coaches with time left on their contract unless, of course, they’ve tariffed Canada!

 

[Anarchy99]

Tomlin over the last 3-4 seasons has had almost nothing to work with at QB.

I went over everything Tomlin related in another thread in great detail. Tomlin CHOSE to have the QBs the Steelers rostered. The comparison came up in the other thread of Tomlin and Reid. Reid went out and got the QBs he wanted . . . either through the draft, moving up in the draft, through trade, or savvy free agent signings.

Tomlin is not a rookie coach that gets told who will be on his roster. He's been a head coach for 18 years. And not just a head coach for that long . . . he's been with the same franchise the entire time. IMO, there is no way a front office doesn't do what their almost two-decades long head coach wants. Mike Vrabel has been in NE for about 8 minutes and ownership and the GM types are cow-towing to whatever he wants for decisions. Specifically last year, PIT paid out $5M total to have Wilson and Fields as their QBs with a strategy to load up on paying other players to have a talent advantage across their entire roster..

IMO, at any point, Tomlin could have told the PIT brass to get him a better QB. There were any number of ways they could have done it (see Reid, Andy). They haven't found a QB solution in their conservative (or cheap) way of pursuing one. Also IMO, PIT being good but not great every season doesn't really get them closer to a title. They just get to play another week vs. non-playoff teams.

Here's other info I posted in that other thread . . .

Here are the total playoff wins for all teams over the past 8 seasons.

17 - KC
10 - PHI
8 - LAR, SF
7 - BUF
6 - TB
5 - CIN, NE
3 - BAL, GB, HOU, JAC, NO, TEN
2 - DAL, DET, MIN, WAS
1 - ATL, CLE, IND, LAC, NYG, SEA
0 - ARI, CAR, CHI, DEN, LV, MIA, NYJ, PIT

Tomlin is now one of 5 head coaches to go at least 8 years without a playoff win and retain his job.

- Paul Brown (8 seasons . . . then retired from coaching but was not fired)
- Don Shula (8 seasons . . . won 3 playoff games the following season and then coached another 13 years)
- Jim Mora (11 seasons . . . never won a playoff game with NO (also did not win a playoff game in 4 seasons with IND))
- Marvin Lewis (16 seasons . . . never won a playoff game with CIN)

I didn't vote in the poll, mostly because I am indifferent as to what the Steelers do. But at some point the higher ups need to consider if the team is headed in the right direction. The seemingly easy answer to to aggressively pursue a better QB . . . but they don't appear to really have done that over multiple years.

 

[Ministry of Pain]

Tomlin over the last 3-4 seasons has had almost nothing to work with at QB.

I went over everything Tomlin related in another thread in great detail. Tomlin CHOSE to have the QBs the Steelers rostered. The comparison came up in the other thread of Tomlin and Reid. Reid went out and got the QBs he wanted . . . either through the draft, moving up in the draft, through trade, or savvy free agent signings.

Tomlin is not a rookie coach that gets told who will be on his roster. He's been a head coach for 18 years. And not just a head coach for that long . . . he's been with the same franchise the entire time. IMO, there is no way a front office doesn't do what their almost two-decades long head coach wants. Mike Vrabel has been in NE for about 8 minutes and ownership and the GM types are cow-towing to whatever he wants for decisions. Specifically last year, PIT paid out $5M total to have Wilson and Fields as their QBs with a strategy to load up on paying other players to have a talent advantage across their entire roster..

IMO, at any point, Tomlin could have told the PIT brass to get him a better QB. There were any number of ways they could have done it (see Reid, Andy). They haven't found a QB solution in their conservative (or cheap) way of pursuing one. Also IMO, PIT being good but not great every season doesn't really get them closer to a title. They just get to play another week vs. non-playoff teams.

Here's other info I posted in that other thread . . .

Here are the total playoff wins for all teams over the past 8 seasons.

17 - KC
10 - PHI
8 - LAR, SF
7 - BUF
6 - TB
5 - CIN, NE
3 - BAL, GB, HOU, JAC, NO, TEN
2 - DAL, DET, MIN, WAS
1 - ATL, CLE, IND, LAC, NYG, SEA
0 - ARI, CAR, CHI, DEN, LV, MIA, NYJ, PIT

Tomlin is now one of 5 head coaches to go at least 8 years without a playoff win and retain his job.

- Paul Brown (8 seasons . . . then retired from coaching but was not fired)
- Don Shula (8 seasons . . . won 3 playoff games the following season and then coached another 13 years)
- Jim Mora (11 seasons . . . never won a playoff game with NO (also did not win a playoff game in 4 seasons with IND))
- Marvin Lewis (16 seasons . . . never won a playoff game with CIN)

I didn't vote in the poll, mostly because I am indifferent as to what the Steelers do. But at some point the higher ups need to consider if the team is headed in the right direction. The seemingly easy answer to to aggressively pursue a better QB . . . but they don't appear to really have done that over multiple years.

Just get him a plane ticket for the 3-0-5, no problem at all
I understand everything you say and I mentioned a couple of them in my post.
I'm not obtuse that he only coaches and has no say in personnel, I don't believe that.
I don't know that he has anyone around him that can override him and that makes it tough

I'm all for a change in Pittsburgh
Tomlin will be a free agent for as long at it takes him to get across that parking lot at Heinz Field
Remember when teams took a number to interview Manning?
Head Coaches like Mike Tomlin do not become available every day
I think some would be shocked the number of front offices and teams that would fire the folks they have in place now in order to bring in Tomlin

 

[Ministry of Pain]

1 in 4 Sharks would fire Mike Tomlin


-I didn't know we had THAT many Steelers fans in here

 

[Joe Bryant]

The seemingly easy answer to to aggressively pursue a better QB . . . but they don't appear to really have done that over multiple years.

I always hear this and wonder practically what it means.

Drafting what they thought was a franchise QB in the first round in 2022. Acquiring Russell Wilson and then Justin Fields.

Of course, those players didn't pan out. But it sounds like some are thinking there's not been any pursuit or effort.

 

[Joe Bryant]

I'm following in Freds footsteps.

I would've gone with 'no vote,' but since that's not an option, I’ll pass. Historically, the Rooney family rarely fires coaches with time left on their contract unless, of course, they’ve tariffed Canada!

Thanks. I was intentional about splitting up the Polls for Steelers fans and non fans without the "no" option so the percentages were more clean.

 

[Ministry of Pain]

Would anyone like to guess what Mike Tomlin would fetch if the Steelers decided to trade him prior to the draft?

 

[Anarchy99]

The seemingly easy answer to to aggressively pursue a better QB . . . but they don't appear to really have done that over multiple years.

I always hear this and wonder practically what it means.

Drafting what they thought was a franchise QB in the first round in 2022. Acquiring Russell Wilson and then Justin Fields.

Of course, those players didn't pan out. But it sounds like some are thinking there's not been any pursuit or effort.

I’m not saying they haven’t made any attempt to find a QB. They just haven’t made aggressive, bold moves to get a top talent. You look at taking Wilson and Fields as a positive. I look at it as bringing in a couple of guys on the cheap that were not premium options. Fields had worn out his welcome in CHI and Wilson hasn’t been a top QB for several years. For example, did NE do a great job replacing Brady with Newton? He was a former MVP and went to the SB.

The Steelers did draft a QB finally . . . in a year that was widely suggested to be very weak at that position. All teams have the ability to move players or picks to move up in the draft. They all can find money to sign a premium QB in free agency. They all could move players and picks for an established QB. I don’t really buy into the excuse that TEAM X couldn’t land a QB because they always draft in the 20s. Pony up some assets to move up! For whatever reason, teams horde and value picks way more than they should. For all teams, the majority of picks don’t pan out. That’s the reality and the math of the situation.

If Rodgers ends up in PIT, I suspect we will be saying the same thing next offseason when the team essentially has a similar record, an early playoff exit, and the same story from Steelers’ fans . . . well, we brought in all these QBs and they haven’t worked out.

 

[5-ish Finkle]

I would relish watching him be a tough hard nose coach on most of the current players and running some of them out of here

Then you wouldnt relish Coach T. He's a players guy, first and foremost. He enabled guys like AB, Diontae Johnson, and is currently coddling Pickens in real time, ffs. Hell, Roeth was a massive drama queen/bad teammate at times too, and he never did much about that either (openly, of course).

Mike is still a good coach. Arguably, he was once a borderline great one. If he moved to another semi-talented team tomorow it isnt hard to imagine his method/message doing okay for a while. But to think he is some kind of tough-guy--drill-sargeant thats gonna clean up Dodge somewhere? Nah, bruh. Absolutely not his style. He'll give rad soundbites about accountability (without ever acting on them) weekly though.

He has gotten incredibly stale in Pitt. He doesnt surround himself with viable/innovative assistants (nor does he develop any) and has a very antiquated philosophy (on O in particular). If he is unwilling to adapt (and he certainly seems unwilling), an argument is easy to make that long-term both he and the team could be better off with a reboot.

The Reid comparison in Philly has a lot of similarities.

 

[nysfl2]

You want to see the Steelers descend into mediocrity, then go ahead and fire Tomlin.

I voted no, but the best reason to fire him is that he’s too good of a coach to ever have a bad enough season to get the team in position to draft an elite qb.

 

[Joe Bryant]

They just haven’t made aggressive, bold moves to get a top talent. You look at taking Wilson and Fields as a positive. I look at it as bringing in a couple of guys on the cheap that were not premium options.

I'm not sure I see it as positive. I see it as practical. I see drafting a QB in the first round and adding guys like Wilson and Fields as making moves to get a QB that they don't seem to be getting credit for.

Mahomes and Josh Allen weren't available.

I guess they could have rolled the dice on Cousins but there were plenty of reasons not to. For the others, would folks have been happer with Gardner Minshew or Tyrod Taylor or Sam Darnold last year?

I don't see taking a swing on a first round draft QB and then adding guys like Wilson and Taylor as not doing what they can.

Just an observation.

For this year, who would you have aggressively pursued with this group? https://www.spotrac.com/nfl/free-agents/_/year/2025/position/qb

 

[Ghost Rider]

I think 31 teams would have been happy to see Tomlin fired. I think he's still vastly underrated. He's easily a top 10 HC, and arguably top 5. I think judging by Super Bowl Rings is a silly way of looking at success. By that logic Andy Reid was a bad HC until 2019, Sean McDermott still sucks, and Jim Harbaugh is only a good college HC.

I think Tomlin (and other really good HCs) have had the misfortune of running into the era of Brady/Belichick and now Mahomes/Reid. I think too often that gets treated as the standard, instead of a gigantic outlier, and falling short of that is considered by many as failure or put another way. too much Ricky Bobby logic, where if you don't win the Super Bowl, the next best thing is getting the #1 pick. Which I find to be stupid, especially as many/most playoff games are pretty much 50-50, even this year, change 2 plays and we might have had a Ravens/Rams Super Bowl.

ETA: Even simplifying it to probability, its FAR more likely whomever replaced Tomlin would be a huge downgrade than a slight upgrade.

The problem with this talking point is that it implies that the Patriots and Chiefs dynasties were constantly blocking the Steelers from deep playoff runs, when the reality is that under Tomlin, the Steelers only lost in the playoffs once to the BB/TB12 Patriots and once to the Reid/Mahomes Chiefs. Maybe Tomlin would have more playoff wins in the last 15 years if he wasn't losing playoff games to Tim Tebow and Blake Bortles. Spin it however you want, but losing 45-42 at home to a team quarterbacked by Blake Bortles is one of the most embarrasing home layoff losses by any team this century.

 

[fred_1_15301]

Would anyone like to guess what Mike Tomlin would fetch if the Steelers decided to trade him prior to the draft?

What do you think they would get in return? It's all hypothetical of course because he has a no trade clause and has already said that he refuses to be traded.

 

[Ministry of Pain]

Would anyone like to guess what Mike Tomlin would fetch if the Steelers decided to trade him prior to the draft?

What do you think they would get in return? It's all hypothetical of course because he has a no trade clause and has already said that he refuses to be traded.

1st Round for starters, maybe more depending on which team knocked on the door

 

[renesauz]

Need to get a good QB and fewer divas on offense then let’s talk.
Why is all the criticism directed at Tomlinson and not the front office?

This. How many winning seasons in a row? Often with mediocre talent to work with.

 

[Uruk-Hai]

To me, the biggest indictment on Tomlin (& the Steelers' organization as a whole) is that they don't develop assistant coaches that any other team wants. I'm not sure why that is. Teams raid successful organizations every year, but it seems like it doesn't happen with the Steelers. It's really odd.

 

[travdogg]

I think 31 teams would have been happy to see Tomlin fired. I think he's still vastly underrated. He's easily a top 10 HC, and arguably top 5. I think judging by Super Bowl Rings is a silly way of looking at success. By that logic Andy Reid was a bad HC until 2019, Sean McDermott still sucks, and Jim Harbaugh is only a good college HC.

I think Tomlin (and other really good HCs) have had the misfortune of running into the era of Brady/Belichick and now Mahomes/Reid. I think too often that gets treated as the standard, instead of a gigantic outlier, and falling short of that is considered by many as failure or put another way. too much Ricky Bobby logic, where if you don't win the Super Bowl, the next best thing is getting the #1 pick. Which I find to be stupid, especially as many/most playoff games are pretty much 50-50, even this year, change 2 plays and we might have had a Ravens/Rams Super Bowl.

ETA: Even simplifying it to probability, its FAR more likely whomever replaced Tomlin would be a huge downgrade than a slight upgrade.

The problem with this talking point is that it implies that the Patriots and Chiefs dynasties were constantly blocking the Steelers from deep playoff runs, when the reality is that under Tomlin, the Steelers only lost in the playoffs once to the BB/TB12 Patriots and once to the Reid/Mahomes Chiefs. Maybe Tomlin would have more playoff wins in the last 15 years if he wasn't losing playoff games to Tim Tebow and Blake Bortles. Spin it however you want, but losing 45-42 at home to a team quarterbacked by Blake Bortles is one of the most embarrasing home layoff losses by any team this century.

I meant that less as losing to those teams, and more about by judged by the success of those teams.

I'd argue Tomlin did an excellent job in both Super Bowl years, but yes, the Steelers have had some disappointing playoff losses for sure. The loss to Tebow is WAY worse than the one to Bortles in my opinion. That Jags team was good and was the more talented roster. That Broncos team was one of the worst playoff teams in history and somehow won a playoff game.

I think Tomlin has made the playoffs a lot with some middling rosters. I don't think the Steelers have had a top 5 roster since the mid 2010s. Even before that, I don't think there was a single season I thought they were the most talented team in the AFC, yet 1 ring and 1 other appearance.

 

[nightmare]

The seemingly easy answer to to aggressively pursue a better QB . . . but they don't appear to really have done that over multiple years.

I always hear this and wonder practically what it means.

Drafting what they thought was a franchise QB in the first round in 2022. Acquiring Russell Wilson and then Justin Fields.

Of course, those players didn't pan out. But it sounds like some are thinking there's not been any pursuit or effort.

NOBODY tagged Kenny Pickett as a franchise QB. Except Pittsburgh. Was this the Owner or Tomlin?
Effort and pursuit? Wilson and Fields Defines the minimum you can do to get a QB.

The Rooneys keep M Tomlin as long as that franchise keeps printing money.

 

[Hoh]

Need to get a good QB and fewer divas on offense then let’s talk.
Why is all the criticism directed at Tomlinson and not the front office?

This. How many winning seasons in a row? Often with mediocre talent to work with.

Doesn’t Tomlin have a big say in who the talent will be?

Also I’ll state the obvious but Pittsburgh is one of the more storied franchises in the NFL. If Tomlin was having this success with the Carolina Panthers for the last umpteen years my vote would be different.

ETA: I know it sounds like I’m a Steeler fan. I’m not. I’m neutral.

 

[BLOCKED_PUNT]

I don't think you fire a playoff head coach with 2-3 years left on his contract. If you want to opt to not renew in the timespan then that's a discussion for another day.

 

[BoltNlava]

It seems the Steelers just can't get over the hump. It's time.

 

[sm8680]

Joe based on your link https://www.spotrac.com/nfl/free-agents/_/year/2025/position/qb

I was hoping the Steelers would secure one of the top three quarterbacks in free agency, but Sam Darnold and Justin Fields were signed within hours of the market opening. Now, the options include Daniel Jones as a backup or potentially two backup quarterbacks competing for the starting role.

 

[sm8680]

The spotlight on the Pittsburgh Steelers has largely been on their struggling offense and inconsistent quarterback play. However, a deeper concern might lie in their aging defense and the looming contract negotiations for T.J. Watt. The Cleveland Browns didn’t do any favors for the Steelers when they opted to overpay Myles Garrett, inadvertently setting a challenging precedent for Watt’s future deal. Meanwhile, Pittsburgh parted ways with the underwhelming Larry Ogunjobi, yet Minkah Fitzpatric once a defensive anchor seems far from his prime despite his hefty paycheck. The Steelers may need to rethink their long-term defensive strategy before their once dominant unit declines beyond repair. Cam Heyward had a great year playing far better than most had anticipated.

 

[Joe Bryant]

NOBODY tagged Kenny Pickett as a franchise QB. Except Pittsburgh. Was this the Owner or Tomlin?

This is the kind of revisionist thinking I think we have to check ourselves with.

ESPN had Pickett as a top QB and the #22 overall pick in the draft and a top QB.

Scouts Inc.'s NFL draft rankings for the 2022 class: Top prospects, plus grades

Here are Scouts Inc.'s final NFL draft rankings for 2022, complete with evaluation grades for the top prospects.

www.espn.com

 

[Joe Bryant]

Effort and pursuit? Wilson and Fields Defines the minimum you can do to get a QB.

For this year's class, what would you have done? https://www.spotrac.com/nfl/free-agents/_/year/2025/position/qb

$100,000,000 to Darnold?

 

[Lansdowne]

I’m of the mind that Mike Tomlin should’ve been fired long ago, as the Steelers have been merely treading water for too long. A better version of the Jeff Fisher/Marvin Lewis complacency of ownership retaining the coach. Also Tomlin usually surrounds himself with an uninspiring coaching staff. Despite perceived success, you don’t see other teams poaching from the Steelers’ coaching staff for lead coordinator or head coaching jobs.

But the Steelers don’t fire their head coaches, ever. Tomlin will be the Steelers coach for as long as he feels like being there, and I think Steelers fans will need to make peace with that if they haven’t already.

 

[osubuckeyeman]

I voted not to fire.

They need to get him the players and then see. The new GM should help, but it might take a couple of years. I'm still confused. They signed Fields and Russ and then let them both walk after trading Pickett. I still do not understand that one. I think they should have signed Fields and drafted a rookie.

That said, you need the right ingredients to make spaghetti. I'm pretty sure you need pasta and sauce, maybe some meatballs. It is hard to make spaghetti with salmon and oysters.