The Steelers take great pride, as they should, in the fact that they have hired only three coaches since 1969. Having a team that consistently contends makes that a lot easier.
Case in point — the Steelers also had three head coaches from 1964 through 1968.
Eight years and counting since the franchise’s most recent playoff win, the current question for owner Art Rooney II isn’t about regular-season contention but postseason viability.
Last year, Rooney made it clear that he’s running out of patience when it comes to the inability to compete in January.
“We’ve had enough of this,” Rooney said in his end-of-season press conference regarding the team’s chronic postseason futility. “It’s time to get some wins; it’s time to take these next steps.”
One year later, the fifth straight loss to end the season came in the Wild Card round of the playoffs.
“The players still respond to Mike, and that’s No. 1,” Rooney said at the same time. “He still has the key characteristics that we saw when we hired him. He can keep the attention of a group of 20-year-olds for a whole season and keep them in the fight for the whole way.”
Compare that comment to this observation from Kirk Herbstreit last night, during a sluggish first half that resulted in the Steelers digging a hole that was far too deep to climb out of. “Where the hell is the fight?” Herbstreit said. “This is the Pittsburgh Steelers. There’s nothing. They’re just going through the motions.”
Rooney also said this last year: “So, still feel good about Mike. Obviously if I didn’t, [we] would make a change, but if we didn’t think Mike was able to lead us to a championship, he wouldn’t be here, and that’s why he is here.”
What does Rooney think about last night’s effort? Ten years ago, then-Broncos G.M. John Elway fired coach John Fox one year after a Super Bowl berth because Elway believed the team didn’t “go out kicking and screaming” from the postseason in 2014.
Last night, was there kicking and/or screaming from the Steelers? From Tomlin? He was surprisingly calm as he spoke to Kaylee Hartung on the way to the locker room after that lackluster first half. And his post-game press conference was long on nonchalance and short on characteristic catch phrases.
I’m a huge believer in Tomlin. If Rooney makes a change, Tomlin will rocket to the top of the list of teams with vacancies that would love to lose in the playoffs on a consistent basis, since they can’t consistently get there.
In the end, it’s Rooney’s call as to whether 18 years is enough. He’d have to believe he can get someone as good or better than Tomlin, which won’t be easy. Especially with former Steelers draft pick Mike Vrabel now the new coach of the Patriots.
To their credit, the Steelers have done very well in their three prior coaching searches, even if they nearly hired Russ Grimm instead of Tomlin. But it would be a calculated risk.
Making that risk a little easier is the fact that the segment of Steelers fans who clamor for change after any and every two-game losing streak seems to be getting more company among the team’s more patient customers. Even though few expected the Steelers to make the playoffs in 2024 before the season started, another quick exit has happened.
And it will be for Rooney to decide what happens next.