Steelers Super Bowl champion James Harrison doubles down after things get personal with his former HC Mike Tomlin
James Harrison went from being mad at Mike Tomlin, to getting personal in less than a week.
James Harrison has never been shy when it comes to voicing his opinion. Just last week, he ripped Mike Tomlin, the Pittsburgh Steelers coaching staff, and the players for the loss to the Chicago Bears. You could see how distraught he was in his unhinged rant.
Then Harrison came back on his same podcast, Deebo and Joe on YouTube, and he was much calmer. His thoughts were more collected, and his commentary was pointed. But what he said this week was far more damning than what he said about Tomlin in the past.
James Harrison says Mike Tomlin is not a great coach, wants him fired
“I have never been a person that thought Coach Tomlin was a great coach. I thought he was a good. I’ll be honest, part of that is because, when I was slated to be the starter when Joey [Porter] left, he drafted, one and two, outside linebackers,” said Harrison on the Deebo and Joe podcast via YouTube. “Right now, we have coaches on this staff. When I say coaches, I’m saying this as, a coach is someone who tells you what to do, and it doesn’t matter if what they’re telling you to do is right or wrong.
“A good coach gets you to play to your potential. And right now, the players we have on that team, I have seen play, they’re not playing up to their potential. A great coach gets you to play beyond your potential. Something has to be done. I know the Steelers historically don’t move on from coaches, but I think it’s time that history be made.”
Tomlin’s contract is up after the 2027 season. Given the way the Rooney family feels about Tomlin and their history with hiring and firing coaches, a divorce any sooner feels unlikely. But if Art Rooney thinks for one second that Steelers fans will sit by and watch two more seasons that mirror what 2025 has been, he’s got another thing coming.
I have never seen a group of players so distraught in postgame press conferences. Sunday’s loss to the Bills had T.J. Watt speechless and had Aaron Rodgers throwing teammates under the bus. It had Tomlin answering questions about fans chanting for him to be fired.
The bottom line is, this cannot go on much longer. The Steelers are too proud a franchise; the bar has been set too high to focus just on finding a way to stay at or above .500.
We’ll see if Art Rooney is listening to one of the Steelers’ greats.
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