MIKE TOMLIN
Mike Tomlin is one of the most highly respected, successful (and somehow underrated) head coaches in the NFL.
No surprise really, he is a graduate of William & Mary, for heaven’s sake.
He began his professional coaching career as a defensive assistant, rising through the ranks to become the Defensive Coordinator of the Minnesota Vikings in 2006, before assuming the mantle as head coach of the Pittsburgh Steelers in 2007, at 35.
He’s been there ever since.
With not a single losing record during his 14 seasons with the Steelers, Tomlin has been at the helm for eight playoff runs, six division titles, three AFC championship games, two Super Bowl appearances and one title (Super Bowl XLIII), when at age 36, he etched his name in the record books as the youngest head coach ever to win a Super Bowl.
His head coaching record looks like this:
Regular season: 144–74–1 (.660); Postseason: 8–7 (.533); Career: 152–81–1 (.652)
And after yesterday afternoon’s (12/02/2020) home victory over AFC North rival Baltimore, this season’s edition of the Steelers stands at 11–0.
But to Mike Tomlin, Pittsburgh doesn’t stand, they sit at 11–0.
Because Mike Tomlin is not happy.
In fact, he’d be willing to add an ‘h’ to the spelling of ‘sit.’
In a sloppy, error-filled performance against a terribly undermanned Raven team, Pittsburgh squeaked by with a 19–14 win.
“Squeaked,” being the operative word.
At home.
Very lackluster for an undefeated unit, this deep into the “season,” but understandable.
They were lucky to win.
To wit:
Five dropped passes by his troops, matching the highest single-game-total in 14 seasons (2019 against the LA Rams and 2007 versus Cleveland).
Three red zone drops in the first half, the most of any team in an NFL contest over the past 3 seasons.
Zero touchdowns on the first 3 red zone trips, matching their level of futility in a game this season, and astonishing, given their season’s average of scoring touchdowns on 69% of Steeler red zone drives, good for seventh in the NFL.
Keep in mind that the Ravens’ reigning NFL MVP, quarterback Lamar Jackson, was ruled out due to Covid-19 protocol — leaving the quarterbacking responsibilities to Robert Griffin III and Trace McSorely — and the rest of the roster was dotted with assorted other key DNP’s.
There should not have been even a vague resemblance to their previous meeting, weeks before (11/1) — a hard-fought 28–24 Steeler victory in Baltimore.
The stage was set for a Steeler romp.
Well, it wasn’t pretty.
It was pretty ugly.
And Tomlin had no problem excoriating his troops.
“It was really junior varsity, to be quite honest with you. It was in all three phases. We couldn’t run the ball effectively when we needed to. We dropped too many significant passes, very catchable, makeable passes. We didn’t make significant plays in the special-teams game. Our kickoff coverage unit wasn’t good enough. We turned the ball over. We gave up big plays in critical moments on defense. Can’t have it…[The Ravens] converted a long run on a possession down before the half. Unacceptable. They had a 70-yard touchdown late in the game. Unacceptable. We’re fortunate tonight. It’s good to proceed with the victory. I acknowledge that. But not a lot happened tonight to be proud of or to be excited about other than that.”
Whew!
And he wasn’t done.
When asked to what he would attribute his team’s hair-pulling red zone travails and the inexcusable receiver drops, Tomlin offered this clipped and acerbic assessment:
To “Us sucking.”
For his part, decorated Steeler QB Ben Roethlisberger was willing to shoulder his share of the blame.
“I need to be more accurate with my passes,” he volunteered. “I need to give them better chances to make the plays. There weren’t some plays made today when they needed to be.”
A great teammate and leader — and the heart and soul of the Steelers — Big Ben completed 36 of 51 pass attempts, good for one touchdown and he threw one interception.
Clearly, Tomlin’s problem was not with him.
And Tomlin wouldn’t even think about addressing the fact that the game was postponed three times — 3 times — before the Wednesday 12/2 matinee kicked-off, at 3:40 pm.
After all, it’s the same for both teams.
“We don’t have to reinvent the wheel,” Tomlin remarked later, after he calmed down a bit. “It’s not some transformational thing that needs to transpire. We got to coach better and play better when we get inside the bowl. I expect our group to do that Monday night, Monday evening, whenever it is we play.”
In fact, the Steelers will play Monday afternoon December 7 @ 5:00 — a five day turnaround — at home against the Washington Football Team, in a game rescheduled to accommodate Wednesday’s thrice-delayed contest.
12–0?
The Rooneys love Tomlin.
God Bless.
The guy is downright distraught with his team’s play and they’re undefeated.
He doesn’t care; they “sucked.”
It’s his job to tell them.
They were putrid last Wednesday.
And they won.
The Steel City represents this season’s NFL iron, period.
And Mike Tomlin, under contract for this year and next — with a deal already in place for both sides to pick up the option on 2022 if they so choose — will be around.
By then he’ll be 50 years old and will have been the head coach of the Pittsburgh Steelers for 15 seasons.
Sayin’ what he says.
And doin’ what he does.
Most successfully.
He gets results.
A Baby-Faced Assassin, unafraid to speak his mind.
[This piece was written by Mr. Kaplan in December 2020.]
