Rooney Family Reacts to Brutal Mike Tomlin Criticism
Once again, the Pittsburgh Steelers have plateaued. Pessimism was staved off a little while longer in 2024 thanks to a 10-3 and quality play from both Russell Wilson and Justin Fields under center. Right on schedule, though, the late-season struggles commenced, Pittsburgh limped into the playoffs and promptly got pummeled by a team with more offensive star power.
It seems like a similar script every year, and it’s won Steelers fans have grown tired of watching.
However, that frustration has led to some calling for head coach Mike Tomlin’s job. He’s the face of the franchise and an icon of stability, but there are not-so-farfetched claims about a change of scenery being the best for both parties. Pittsburgh would get a chance to reset, and Tomlin would get a new leash with the landing spot of his choosing.
That, simply, isn’t happening. Not after another non-losing season, after signing a three-year extension before 2024, or after the Steelers once again exceeded national expectations.
As the brother of Pittsburgh owner Art Rooney II, Jim Rooney put it, the organization has more people than Tomlin to blame for another stagnant season.
“I think it’s an organization issue, not just Mike,” Rooney said on Ross Tucker’s podcast. “I think all of us are responsible for the outcomes, but I think we take responsibility. I don’t want to get into excuse-making, but the reality is we outperform the NFL mean at a greater rate than just about any team for the last 25 years.
“I think if this was a boxing match and you were judging the competition, not just looking at the winning percentage, you would say that we have performed in a harder circumstance than most and outperformed them.”
While Tomlin is not absolved from his part in the Steelers’ struggles, Rooney rightfully points out that he continues to exceed expectations. In a division with Joe Burrow and Lamar Jackson making divisional games all the more difficult, Pittsburgh continues to churn out average seasons.
They’ve done so with quarterbacking ranging from pitiful to average. And every year, when an increasing share of analysts expect this to be the season where the Steelers fall to fourth place, Tomlin has kept them in the Wild Card race.
“Having said that, I understand no one wants to lose playoff games,” Rooney continued. “The goal is to win the Super Bowl, and you have to get to there. You have to get to playoff games, which we do well, and you have to win playoff games, which we haven’t.”
Perhaps that’s an admission of a standard that isn’t high enough to win a Super Bowl; that’s stuck on not bottoming out, rather than getting over the hump. But the risks of a new head coach ending in disaster is rather high, and moving on from Tomlin – who hasn’t had quality quarterbacking in almost a decade – still feels premature.
Tomlin undoubtedly has holes to patch up on a ship that is just barely staying above water. But he’s earned the right to hold this job until he falls short with a quarterback worth resetting for.