Despite having a 7-6 record, the Pittsburgh Steelers’ recent performance is unacceptable. The Steelers need to make some up top changes, which is uncommon in Pittsburgh. Pittsburgh has always placed a premium on stability and consistency, and with good reason considering their past achievements. The Steelers have only had three head coaches since 1969: Mike Tomlin, Bill Cowher, and Chuck Noll.
Since taking over as head coach in 2007, Tomlin has led the Pittsburgh Steelers to two Super Bowl appearances. 2008 saw the Steelers defeat the Arizona Cardinals and win the game. It’s difficult to argue that Tomlin’s firing by the Steelers at the end of the season wasn’t justified. Although it’s not always true that the grass is greener on the other side, a message might grow old after being preached for almost 20 years. For a team that is the epitome of discipline, there is too much disorder in Pittsburgh. After firing Matt Canada in the middle of the season, the Steelers made a daring move that many believed would alter the team’s and the offense’s direction. False. Pittsburgh’s quarterback play has been lacklustre, but this offence has too many talented players for it to play this badly all the time.
Although stability is desirable, good things eventually come to an end. Although Tomlin is unquestionably one of the best NFL coaches, he is not invincible. For a variety of reasons, the team has stopped replying to him, and given the expectations this team has set for itself, this is unacceptable. After Week 14, many teams would kill for a 7-6 record, but not the Pittsburgh Steelers. Not a team that has lost its past two games against the NFL’s bottom-feeding teams in 2023—the Cardinals and the New England Patriots. The Patriots had scored 13 points in total in their previous three games going into Week 14’s Thursday Night Football.In the first half, New England scored 21 points, almost twice as much as the Steelers had allowed. It is unacceptable that this team was not prepared to play in what was regarded as a must-win game on a short week. It says all you need to know that this isn’t just a bad offence in New England—it’s a poor offence historically.
Steel City needs to change, and whether or not the Black and Gold have what it takes as a franchise to make difficult choices will be evident at the conclusion of this season. Tomlin will always hold a special position in Steelers history and has been a blessing to the team. The Steeler culture and business model are currently dysfunctional. One option to put this legendary team back on track is to go past Tomlin and revert to the Steelers’ previous practices.
