To say the Pittsburgh Steelers are in an interesting position after suffering yet another double-digit postseason defeat would be an understatement. It’s not enough anymore to look at the Steelers fighting back and making a game of it in the second half as a moral victory. Moral victories are for franchises that need them, not ones that are tied for the most Super Bowls in NFL history. The Steelers have long been considered the gold standard in the NFL. Still, if recent memory suggests anything, this franchise is no longer in its golden era, certainly not after setting an NFL record after allowing 31 or more points in five straight playoff games. It’s not the history the Steelers are used to writing.
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Despite Mike Tomlin being a future Hall of Fame coach, everyone has an expiry date in professional sports, even the greats. Look no further than Bill Belichick and the New England Patriots parting ways. Belichick will continue to be recognized as the best coach of all time, yet you won’t see many Patriots fans fighting the notion that it was his time to be canned. There are a lot of parallels to what we saw with Belichick that we’re seeing with Tomlin. Reports have suggested that the Steelers are unlikely to part ways with Tomlin. Still, there have been whispers he could take some time off coaching, which would force the Steelers’ hand in having a new head coach in 2024.
After another crushing defeat in the postseason, it’s hard to have a definitive stance. The Steelers can make a change with their head coach, but that doesn’t always mean the grass is greener on the other side. Change isn’t always a good thing. It can be if it’s done for the right reasons and you have the proper transition plan, but that’s not often the case in sports. Teams are quick to pull the trigger, but none of that means anything if the proper succession plan isn’t implemented correctly.
For every Tomlin, there are ten Arthur Smiths and Frank Reichs. There’s a solid case to be made that changes are needed in Pittsburgh, but the biggest one revolving around their head coach may not be the direction that’s right to head in. Fans have a right to be mad. When you have the success that the Steelers have had as a franchise, it sets the standard, a sentiment not so unfamiliar to the one Tomlin consistently uses. To get back to that standard, the Steelers can bring Tomlin back and make changes elsewhere, or they can roll the dice and hope a change to their head coach sparks a team in dire need of them.
