Popular sports pundit disapproves of decision to extend Steelers’ Mike Tomlin, says move was, ‘Driven by fear’
Mike Tomlin, for all his success, has built up dissatisfaction among not only the fanbase, but parts of the national media. Right or wrong, Tomlin's recent tenure in Pittsburgh has become somewhat polarizing due to a lack of postseason success and only being able to hang his hat on never having a losing season as […]
Mike Tomlin, for all his success, has built up dissatisfaction among not only the fanbase, but parts of the national media.
Right or wrong, Tomlin's recent tenure in Pittsburgh has become somewhat polarizing due to a lack of postseason success and only being able to hang his hat on never having a losing season as a reason for the contract extension.
And that extension had Colin Cowherd of The Herd on FS1 ready to chime in, and he wasn't a fan:
Cowherd says Steelers are driven by fear
"I know what happens when you just say, Really an extension?' A little heat," Cowherd said on Tuesday's episode of The Herd with Colin Cowherd. "It is what it is. But it does tell me a lot about the Steelers, who are probably more fearful of failure, right? Sometimes you miss on a head coach. Then they are willing to elevate, potentially offensively, at least at a league minimum. Steelers have been on quite a roll of bad offensive play for some time. Fear drives a lot of decisions in this league…
"…Mike Tomlin. Last three playoff wins 2016. He beat Matt Moore and the Dolphins. He also beat Alex Smith but they had no touchdowns and six field goals. The year before they beat Cincinnati and AJ McCarron…
"…Have they figured out their offensive line yet? It's been like six years. Do they have the right offensive coordinator finally? It feels like it's been forever."
It's hard to argue with Cowherd's monologue. Not winning a playoff game in nearly a decade and having continuing struggles along the offensive line and at the OC position are all valid reasons to question the extension.
But to play devil's advocate, you could also point to the deterioration of Ben Roethlisberger's arm after his late career elbow surgery and a failure to incur the proper personnel behind him and throughout the team.
And while Tomlin certainly plays a role in personnel decisions, the head man when it comes to who does the hiring and firing is the GM, and up until last year, that was Kevin Colbert.
So look, is Mike Tomlin perfect? No. Could your argue that his teams underperformed during the Killer B's era when Big Ben, Antonio Brown and Le'Veon Bell were in their prime? Undoubtedly.
But stability is success in a league built on parody, and Mike Tomlin has been the face of stability for the past 18 years.
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