Steelers: Mike Tomlin Has Been Better than Ever
By Chris Ross
The Pittsburgh Steelers have rebounded after a tough start to the season, and Mike Tomlin has been a major factor behind their recent success.
When the Pittsburgh Steelers opened the season with a 1-4 record, head coach Mike Tomlin took plenty of criticism. Despite his overall success as the Steelers coach, many were ready for a new era after the slow start. After seeing the team battle back to .500 after three straight wins, suddenly nobody is calling for Tomlin’s job. If he deserved to be blamed for the Steelers’ early-season struggles, it’s time we give him credit for the job he has done since then.
It wouldn’t have shocked anybody if the Steelers had started to implode after the slow start. This is a team and city that expects nothing short of excellence, and when things aren’t going well, it can have genuine consequences in the locker room. Sure, getting rid of some outspoken players in Antonio Brown and Le’Veon Bell has made it a bit easier to keep the peace, but Tomlin deserves plenty of credit. Things were on the verge of falling apart, but a month later, the team is still playing hard. Think it’s easy to keep things together when expectations aren’t being met? Take a look at Freddie Kitchens and the Cleveland Browns for proof just how difficult it can be to keep things together through adversity.
A defense-first coach, Tomlin also deserves some credit for the Steelers’ improvement on that side of the ball. Though Defensive Coordinator Keith Butler‘s game-planning has improved vastly, Tomlin’s influence can be seen throughout the unit. Since the trade that brought Minkah Fitzpatrick over from Miami, the Steelers have been a turnover-forcing, aggressive defense that no offense wants to face. For the first time in a long time, the defense is playing well, and Tomlin deserves credit for that.
All in all, for a coach that seems to be under constant scrutiny, Mike Tomlin deserves credit for the job he has done so far this year. Between the injury that sidelined his franchise quarterback and the pressure that comes with coaching in Pittsburgh, things certainly haven’t been easy. It seems strange to say that a coach with a Super Bowl victory under his belt is doing his best work when his team sits at 4-4, but that’s exactly what’s happening for Tomlin, and it deserves to be recognized.