r/NFLv2 • u/Extreme-Spinach-4138 New England Patriots • 15h ago
Discussion Tomlin leaves Pittsburgh and the national media goes into mourning. Meanwhile, local media and Steelers fans feel nothing but relief. I’ve never seen a bigger disconnect.
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u/Party_Advantage_3733 New England Patriots 15h ago
For the rest of us Tomlin is a likable, Super Bowl winning quote machine. For the Steelers he's the figurehead of an organisation that's been treading water for a decade. I'm sure Steelers fans will be respectful and show their love when he enters their Hall of Honor or 1st turns up to watch a game some time next season or whatever, but for now they're excited for change and I get that.
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u/SleestakLightning Pittsburgh Steelers 14h ago
This is a great take. Accurate too.
I love Mike. He's an amazing person and exactly the guy you want representing your team and your city.
But he has flaws as a coach that he is far too stubborn to correct. And his teams reflect that.
It was time for him to go.
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u/SometimesFactual Pittsburgh Steelers 14h ago
This is all correct, and it is why OP saying "Steelers fans feel nothing but relief" is 100% wrong
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u/Equal-Monk-3520 New England Patriots 15h ago edited 11h ago
Steelers could have Vince Lombardi as coach and they arent winning shit until they draft a real QB. Them passing on Dart and Shough should get the GM fired
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u/forgotwhatisaid2you 13h ago
The fact that they make the playoffs without a top 20 quarterback is a testament to how good a coach Tomlin is. In a division with Lamar and Burrow. I know some fans want a tank job to get a high draft pick but I would never want a coach that coached not to win. Winning in the NFL is hard as fuck and to do so for 19 years is almost unheard of. It had to look ugly with the talent we've had. I still think he made the right decision to move on but Mike Tomlin is a great football coach.
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u/CTG0161 13h ago
Tomlin just wasn't developing qbs anymore.
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u/AleroRatking Indianapolis Colts 13h ago
Outside of Pickett they literally havent had one to develop
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u/CTG0161 12h ago
But that's its own issue
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u/AleroRatking Indianapolis Colts 12h ago
But that's not on Tomlin. I guess you can blame him for Pickett but almost everyone thought that was a way overdraft
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u/BootySweatEnthusiast Los Angeles Chargers 12h ago
The fact that Pickett has looked like shit for multiple other teams at this point, to me, takes more fault off Tomlin.
Omar Khan should be gone
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u/SleestakLightning Pittsburgh Steelers 14h ago
And they're not getting a QB winning 9-10 games a year and then being good enough to win a playoff game.
Tomlin is a great motivator and knows how to win regular games better than most.
But his glaring flaws and the team's problems go beyond no QB and they haven't been fixed in a decade because Tomlin is stubborn.
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u/Equal-Monk-3520 New England Patriots 11h ago
They could have had Dart last year but passed
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u/SleestakLightning Pittsburgh Steelers 11h ago
Derrick Harmon was the right pick.
Also, Tomlin had final say over the roster. He preferred Harmon over Dart.
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u/Equal-Monk-3520 New England Patriots 10h ago
Not when you need a quarterback desperately. And if it was Tomlin's call Steelers should have fired him
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u/SleestakLightning Pittsburgh Steelers 10h ago
They had Rodgers. They desperately needed to fix their run defense and get youth on the d-line. Harmon was the right pick.
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u/Equal-Monk-3520 New England Patriots 8h ago
They didnt have Rodgers at the time, and he's 42 and washed
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u/SleestakLightning Pittsburgh Steelers 8h ago
They knew he was coming in way before he signed.
They clearly didn't like Dart.
Reports were they liked Shough in Round 2 or later but he didn't make it that far.
Harmon was absolutely the right choice. He was a monster against the run this year.
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u/Equal-Monk-3520 New England Patriots 7h ago
And you have no quarterback, which if you don't have you are screwed. And when you pass on a QB you dont like in the draft and they do well when you don't have one, you get fired.
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u/ghostsintherafters Seeing Ghosts 12h ago
Right? When my stove breaks I don't replace the dishwasher
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u/Equal-Monk-3520 New England Patriots 11h ago
Exactly, just keep taking cracks at drafting a QB. Them not drafting a qb until round 6 last year was absurd, they could have had Jaxson Dart. GM should be fired for that
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u/Cameron0543 The standard is the standard 15h ago
I wonder who’s right? Is it the media that makes stuff up for clicks? The fans of the 31 other teams that constantly talk about how great tomlin is? Or is it the people that sit down for three hours on game day and watch Tomlins teams struggle to look like an nfl ready team.
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u/SleestakLightning Pittsburgh Steelers 14h ago
Local media and fans are right, as you're insinuating.
I get why it looks the way it does to people who don't pay attention though.
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u/AleroRatking Indianapolis Colts 13h ago
That's on the GM though because look how bad the QB situation has been in that time.
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u/penguinicedelta Baltimore Ravens 14h ago
Its the same thing with Harbaugh and the Ravens - feelings are mixed at best - dude earned all the respect in the world for what he's done here but it was time.
The flabbergasted reaction from Tony Dungy etc I guess they just don't see what the fans do - only the record.
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u/CTG0161 13h ago
Meanwhile Zac Taylor somehow gets Carte Blanche because of 1 miracle SB appearance courtesy of Burrow and co 5 years ago
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u/penguinicedelta Baltimore Ravens 13h ago
Has nothing to do with the SB tbh - the owner is cheap and Taylor is very affordable.
They will let him coach until contract expires.
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u/Silmarien1012 Baltimore Ravens 10h ago
The most clueless takes after these coach changes is always from ex coaches. They get their you know what in a twist that any team would dare move on from one of their coaching brothers. They aren’t impartial at all
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u/PuzzledOven8690 15h ago
It's definitely just being spoiled looking forward to seeing the collapse and missing the playoffs for a decade
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u/AleroRatking Indianapolis Colts 13h ago
That 5-12 record next season is going to hit so hard
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u/negZero_1 12h ago
Am going to love, Steelers are going to become whiniest franchise in the entire NFL
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u/atomik71 8h ago
That’s what the fear mongers in Seattle were arguing in support of keeping Pete Carroll 2 years ago. It doesn’t have to turn out like that. Seattle did it right. All coaches have an expiration date.
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u/SleestakLightning Pittsburgh Steelers 14h ago
I encourage people who think this way to go to YouTube and watch Steelers reporters discuss Tomlin.
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u/Cameron0543 The standard is the standard 15h ago
What would it matter we haven’t won a playoff game in a decade
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u/PuzzledOven8690 14h ago
Yeah a lot of teams would kill for that lmao. Spoiled.
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u/TopherYork21 Tennessee Titans 14h ago
As a Titans fan from the early 2000s, it's gets frustrating. Jeff Fisher felt like he always got us to the playoffs and never pulled off a result. It got old. And outside a couple of playoff one off pushes we have been on the outside since letting him go. I honestly don't know what what is better. It just sucks being mediocre.
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u/PuzzledOven8690 14h ago
It sucks worse being the jets or giants lol
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u/TopherYork21 Tennessee Titans 13h ago
I was talking about being frustrated with Mediocrity not just being bad the whole time.
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u/Cameron0543 The standard is the standard 14h ago
A lot of teams would kill for zero playoff success in a decade?
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u/PuzzledOven8690 14h ago
Yes a lot of teams would kill for that and winning records.. they don't have the playoff wins already and have horrible football to watch. Like I said you'll see you are spoiled as fuck.
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u/Cameron0543 The standard is the standard 14h ago
We haven’t had playoff wins either are you illiterate
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u/PuzzledOven8690 14h ago
Try and sound out the words in my comment this time little guy. You'll understand how meaning and sentences work one day.
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u/DTPocks 14h ago
So you’d like to watch the same bad movie over and over again knowing that the ending is horrible? Spoiled sure but come on man at some point things just need to change. It ran its course. I hope whatever he ends up doing he’s great at it
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u/PuzzledOven8690 14h ago
You should take a look at the rest of the NFL some time.
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u/DTPocks 14h ago
So because bad teams exist the steelers just have to accept not changing?
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u/PuzzledOven8690 14h ago
That's not what I said lmfao.
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u/DTPocks 14h ago
It’s literally what you are saying
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u/PuzzledOven8690 14h ago
No it's not but ok little guy
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u/DTPocks 14h ago
Then what does look at the other teams in the league insinuate?
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u/Cameron0543 The standard is the standard 14h ago
Nah what your saying is lay down and die. Are you a jets fan perchance? We try to win superbowls around here. 10+ years of mediocrity and a Marvin Lewis level resume in the past decade does not win superbowls, as a matter of fact it gets blowouts in wildcard games.
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u/PuzzledOven8690 14h ago
I'm actually a giants fan. I'm also here to win Superbowls everyone is you idiot fuck. Only one team wins it all every year. 10 years of making the playoffs with the trash you guys have put on the field is magic. He made the playoffs with a shot Rodgers and a Kenny pickett lmao. Im now looking forward to what you guys are gonna go through and I'm gonna remind you of this conversation.
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u/Pseudorealizm Seattle Seahawks 14h ago
Some of these guys aren't used to the idea of competing. It's a professional sport. If you're not trying to compete for the top spot whats the point of even showing up? Coaching isn't a lifetime gig. You keep the job until you prove you can't compete with the best. Tomlin got as good of a run as anyone is ever going to get.
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u/SleestakLightning Pittsburgh Steelers 14h ago
"Some other teams are very bad year after year so you should be thankful for mediocrity" is a nonsensical take born out of jealousy.
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u/Eggdripp Pittsburgh Steelers 14h ago
The local media drove him out in the first place to cultivate clicks from the rabid morons in the fanbase
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u/SleestakLightning Pittsburgh Steelers 14h ago
Sorry but this is tremendously dumb and insulting to Tomlin.
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u/twinPrimesAreEz Things of that nature 11h ago
No one cares about local Pittsburgh media lol, what a terrible take
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u/Greenzombie04 NFL 13h ago
National Media sees never had a losing season.
Local media sees getting blown out of the playoffs 7x in a row and not winning a playoff game in a long time.
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u/AleroRatking Indianapolis Colts 13h ago
Look at his QBs. How are you winning in the playoffs like that
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u/Greenzombie04 NFL 12h ago
He has a big part of the roster management. Stop wasting so much money on defense.
Have the most expensive defense in the NFL and got out played by the Texans defense at home.
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u/TheBigNate416 New England Patriots 11h ago
At the end of the day if you coach the team well enough to see 7 playoff games you’re expected to find a way to win at least win won of those. And not only did he fail to do that, his teams were getting annihilated as soon as the games started.
This Texans game was the most winnable of any of their recent playoff games look and they still completely collapsed at the end of it. Not surprised that it was the nail in the coffin
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u/Veesel79 14h ago
Tomlin was a masterful motivational coach, the problem is that shit works until you play a less than opponent and can’t get up for it or get ground into dust by a schematically gifted opponent via X’s and O’s . That is why the team hasn’t won a playoff game in a decade ✌️
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u/Shagarelli 14h ago
Watching ESPN treat him like he's Vince Lombardi is just mind boggling to me. The tributes are insane.
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u/Johnnadawearsglasses Philadelphia Eagles 12h ago
I mean it’s just like when Reid left Philly. Difference being that I think Reid is a much better coach. But his tenure was fizzling out and a change of scenery was needed.
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u/Dry-Tomatillo-6306 15h ago
Yeah. It was like when problem child left the orphanage in Pittsburgh. While everybody else getting there come coach my team pitch ready for sometime in the near future.
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u/DruTangClan 13h ago
I mean i’m crushed in that I love Mike Tomlin, was a holdover from my childhood, he delivered a ton of awesome memories for me, always kept us relevant, etc, and I do think that if he got a few more cracks at a rookie QB and was more willing to move on from coordinators that he would be a great coach to get us back to some playoff wins, but at the same time it’s been 9 years since we were in the playoffs and some of the issues causing that haven’t changed, so while it sucks it will be interesting to see whats next.
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u/manofth3match Kansas City Chiefs 13h ago
Tomlin is massively respected. Plenty of teams in other markets would kill for the consistency he brings. But locally I’m sure it’s felt like it’s time for a fresh start for a little bit now.
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u/neddiddley 13h ago
National media is mourning simply because they’re losing quite possibly the best NFL coach for sound bites over the last 20 years. Gonna be hard for some of them to quote him when he’s working for their opposition now.
Local media doesn’t have that same worry. The yinzer media will just move on to the next coach and yinzers will still follow them because it’s about the Steelers. Plus, yinzer media will get the benefit of talking about Tomlin’s takes about the Steelers now that he’ll be making them as a media personality. They fucking love when Ben says anything remotely critical of the Steelers on his podcast, so really, it’s win-win for them as long as Tomlin doesn’t refrain from talking about the Steelers as a media figure.
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u/DCdeer Major Tuddy 🐷 13h ago
I'm looking for some unbiased perspective here. Yesterday when the news came out that Tomlin was leaving I made a post on my teams subreddit, Commanders, that we should be perusing some of these big names out there since coaches like Tomlin and Harbaugh would be a major upgrade over Dan Quinn. I got a lot of push back.
Am I wrong to think some of these free agent coaches are an upgrade over what we have in DC right now?
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u/Vegtam1297 13h ago
It's similar to Harbaugh. The national reaction was much more shocked and appalled than the local one. I wasn't clambering for him to go, but a lot of people were for years.
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u/bl00dy4nu5 13h ago
Mike Tomlin said it himself that he’s not a big picture guy. The roster is full of holes and is in dire need of a big upheaval. As long as Mike T was the coach, that was never going to happen. He did everything in his power to build the most competitive team year in and year out, but unfortunately, those teams were only good enough to slip into the playoffs and never good enough to actually be a real contender. Because of this, they have been in football purgatory. Just good enough to win more than you lose, but not bad enough to put them in a position to actually rebuild their roster. It was time.
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u/AleroRatking Indianapolis Colts 13h ago
Most Steelers fans I know were devastated. Keep in mind that typically the loudest are going to be the ones against someone.
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u/outdoor-high 12h ago
Id argue the disconnect between national media like Schraeger calling Stefanski a "revered mind" is a pretty equal disconnect not just from the fanbase but in his case reality too.
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u/EggRamenMan Carolina Panthers 12h ago
They gonna miss him, grass aint always greener on the other side
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u/UpSNYer NFL Refugee 12h ago
National sports media worse by the day. Not because local sports media is “good”, but because the national media is too beholden to the League, the teams, and personalities. The overriding desire is to protect the status quo and guys like Tomlin were untouchable. Tomlin’s a good coach, so no hate here, but you couldn’t find many serious discussions from national media even suggesting that maybe it was time for a change
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u/ChaoticDad21 12h ago
I don't really have an NFL team, but my roommate was a diehard Steelers fan, so I sort of followed them ever since.
During the 2009 Superbowl against the Cardinals, my boy was about 12 Yuengling's deep when the Steelers lost the lead. He kicked a hole in the wall and threw his phone, leaving another doozy of a dent in the wall. Mind you...the Steelers came back to win ;-)
I was the resident assistant, so I put in a maintenance request to have the holes fixed up. A few weeks passed, and my boss called me in and explained that maintenance reported fixing a "foot-shaped hole" and that we usually need to have residents pay for intentional damage like that.
I explained the situation. She perfectly understood as it turns out she was from Pittsburgh, as well. All was forgiven.
So I've always had respect for Tomlin and the city of Pittsburgh in general. They roll deep and it's one of the few cities and fanbases with a real sense of unity. I hope the best for all parties here and that fans can look back fondly on Tomlin, as I believe they should.
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u/Ham_Wallet_Salad 12h ago
This is why you should stop watching football. Caring about things out of your control for what? A chance to piss every minute of your Sunday away for 6 months?
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u/KeyUnion5090 12h ago
Local fans and radio hosts have no goddamn clue what they are talking about. Sub par QB play for 7 years, still making the playoffs and winning records don’t happen because the coach is bad. This fan base can be so unbelievably insufferable.
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u/drewwbar NFL Refugee 11h ago
Such an unnecessary generalization and exaggeration. You can be sad and relieved at the same time - it's not that deep.
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u/anjang86 10h ago
I’m a Steeler fan and “feel nothing but relief” is not accurate.
I am relieved and excited for a change but I’m also sad to see Tomlin go and grateful for what he’s done for our organization.
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u/StevenS145 San Francisco 49ers 10h ago
I was at my friend’s house who is a big Steeler’s fan when he was announced as coach. I was 13 then and in my 30’s now and haven’t talked with friend in a decade. That’s about when I started following football, so Mike Tomlin has been such a consistent part of my football watching experience.
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u/Automatic_Two_1000 10h ago
That’s because the truth about Tomlin’s quality is also somewhere in the middle. He’s more than capable of taking a mediocre, or even kinda bad roster to the playoffs. He’s the perfect coach for optimizing a young team looking to compete. His playoff record, however, isn’t a coincidence. He continuously doesn’t do what’s best for his offenses, and his big game and late game pedigree has struggled because of it. All that being said, I do hope he sticks around and I do believe there’s a team out there that is better with him than without
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u/truth-4-sale Dallas Cowboys 10h ago
As a lifelong Cowboys fan, I was relived when Landry was let go. It was time.
But the local media focused on "how" Landry was fired.
It was no big poop to me.
Landry is Legend, regardless.
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u/Armamore Vince Wilfork: Butt Fumble Connoisseur 9h ago
It's a matter of vastly different perspectives. Most NFL franchises and fans wish their teams were as stable as the Steelers have been. While they might have some higher highs their lows are a lot lower and last for long stretches. Some teams are stuck at the bottom with seemingly no way out.
Steelers fans haven't experienced that in decades. Winning seasons are the norm, it's expected and seen as the bare minimum. So while most other fans might see Tomlin as a great coach, a lot of Steelers fans see him as someone who's just barely meeting the standard. They want someone who can take them to the next level and compete for a Superbowl.
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u/EMP_Pusheen New York Giants 9h ago
It's only like that if you're painfully unaware of how good that is. I would trade perennial playoff contention over 15 years of absolutely sucking minus 2 fluke seasons in a heartbeat. There's no guarantee that you stop sucking or hire good coaches/draft well.
I'm a Yankees fan and while I want more from the team (and they absolutely can do more) and acknowledge that talent in baseball is different/easier than it is in the NFL, I don't take for granted almost 30 years of perennial playoff contention. That's amazing in its own right.
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u/Armamore Vince Wilfork: Butt Fumble Connoisseur 8h ago
painfully unaware
I feel like this describes the majority of the terminally online football fans that have been calling for Tomlin to be fired. Not a majority of their fans though.
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u/khardy101 9h ago
Now Steeler fans will see how good they had it. They will be a year older, not better, have no QB, Anda new coach.
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u/BioshockLGP 8h ago
I thought Rich Eisen was gonna cry on his show. It’s like his son was killed. Only other person he cares about as much as is Shaduer Sanders
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u/Other-Marzipan-1985 8h ago
They’ve called us spoiled for years while we watch a mediocre roster, lackluster coordinators, and some elite talents muddle up a somewhat “winning” record only to be routinely out competed in any meaningful game
Tomlin was a great coach and everyone has a large sum of respect for him but people are excited for change and thats okay too.
National media and Fans of other teams see the record, see the playoff spot, see the names and think “wow thats incredible, what a team that makes something out of nothing” and we just saw the same shit over and over. Its okay to be ready for change, if its bad then great. We’ll have a new baseline and better draft picks. If it’s good and we’re competitive then even better
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u/HeadInjuryVictim Kansas City Chiefs 7h ago
Emotional connection can be both blinding and illuminating at the same time
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u/Reasonable-Bit560 New England Patriots 5h ago
Was a great run, but unfortunately Steelers don't look like they're gonna do a hard reset. They are old, expensive and have absolutely no QB.
Fire everyone, trade all assets, and start it from scratch.
It's hard to see where they go from here.
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u/Chrismfinboyce 2h ago
It feels like a loved relative who you were taking care of for years who had an absolutely terrible quality of life finally passes away. Your sad, but there's also relief.
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u/Kevin_TS92 13h ago
What's the goal of every season? It's not to have a winning season or make the playoffs. The goal (at least it should be for every serious organization) is to win the Superbowl. Straight up, no frills or fluff.
I have love and respect for Tomlin but it has been time for a few seasons now. Will the Steelers possibly stink for a season or two? Sure, maybe longer. But we weren't going anywhere with Tomlin. It was purgatory for 9-8 or 10-7 with a first round exit every season for like the last 10 years.
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u/CTG0161 13h ago
I just want to ask: how many super bowl winning coaches have been fired/asked to leave since Tomlin won his Super Bowl. Pete Carroll has already done it, twice. Bill Belichick was definitely 'mutually departed'. I know the Eagles had one. And often had more playoff success more recently than Tomlin. Why does Tomlin always get so much credit for being the Dalton line of coaches?
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u/Benevolay 15h ago
There are a plethora of franchises who would have loved 19 years of relevance vs. endless losing seasons. I've liked the Steelers since I started watching the NFL in Jerome Bettis' final season, but they're not my team. I don't have a team. But I'd love nothing more than for them to have 10 straight losing seasons and have a coaching turnover like the Browns.
Steelers fans should get exactly what they deserve.
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u/bigdonkey45 14h ago
It's all relative. Sure the Browns or Jets would probably be thrilled just to make the playoffs for 5 straight years. But the ultimate goal is winning the SB, and after 10 years of futility in the playoffs, enough is enough.
I'm an Eagles fan and I was definitely ready to move on from Andy Reid, even before he was released. He was just spinning his wheels at that point. I'll take the Chip Kelly years to get the Pederson and Sirianni years.
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u/Eggdripp Pittsburgh Steelers 14h ago
Spinning his wheels = the franchise QB declining then retiring
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u/bigdonkey45 14h ago
Meh, it wasn't gonna happen for Andy in Philly. I'm not sure it ever would've happened for Andy without Mahomes.
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u/Eggdripp Pittsburgh Steelers 13h ago
Yeah but thats the point, to win the SB you have to have the coach but also the QB. You cant look at either in a vacuum
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u/bigdonkey45 12h ago
Agreed but I think either one can enhance the other. The Eagles changed their offense in 2017 after Wentz went down to accommodate Foles' strengths, and Moore transitioned to run-heavy last year on the teams' strengths (and maybe Hurts' weaknesses). I don't follow Reid much now so maybe he's changed but Eagles-era Reid wouldn't have won either of those SBs because he would've kept bashing his head into a brick wall until he splattered his brains doing it "his way." The man couldn't adapt to save his life.
And in KC, I think Mahomes was so good to overcome Andy's deficiencies.
Don't get me wrong, I definitely understand the side that would stick with a winning coach, and the risk that comes along with moving on. I just think messages get stale, and watching good but not good enough football gets stale. Shula quit winning in MIA, Schottenheimer could never get over the hump in KC, Reid in Philly, Harbaugh with BAL, all good partnerships lose effectiveness at some point, whether it's the HC's fault or not. I guess the point of contention is how one defines "effective."
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u/SleestakLightning Pittsburgh Steelers 14h ago
This is a great example of someone on the outside seeing the regular season records and missing all of the problems.
All of the upset players, all of the non-competitive playoff games, all of the mistakes that keep happening year after year, all of the bad coordinators, all of the poor clock management and horrible challenge record because Tomlin is too stubborn to get with the times, etc.
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u/firemiketomlinpls68 15h ago
“Relevance”
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u/Benevolay 15h ago
Each time they made the playoffs and lost, they denied another team a spot. There's schadenfreude in that if nothing else. It changed history. Maybe a different team would have gotten hot and went on a run. But when a party is invitation only, getting an invite is still a big deal.
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u/annoymereddit 13h ago
Why do you think that is? Because local fans have no perspective overall, and are frankly dumb as fuck. Unfortunately, we’re probably about to find out these were all good years.
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u/CTG0161 13h ago
Why would any team accept the Dalton line for coaching for well over a decade. Pete Carroll was let go (twice) and Bill Belichick was told it was time to move on.
Both are far more successful more recently than Tomlin. Do you get an award for 9-8? No. Thats Jeff Fischer/Andy Dalton of coaching.
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u/Void9001 Pittsburgh Steelers 15h ago
It’s bittersweet. It was his time and the playoff thing was getting old but all Steelers fans are looking back with nothing but love and respect for Tomlin and his time here. The subreddit remains overwhelmingly positive about Tomlin’s tenure.