I’m weighing in on the events of the past week. The Steelers once again went one and done in their wild card loss to the Houston Texans Monday Night. Unlike most of the weekend games, this one wasn’t close at all.
Then, what happened Tuesday afternoon shocked the city and the NFL.
Unless you’re living under a rock, then you know the events that unfolded after Monday night’s Wild Card. The Pittsburgh Steelers were blown out by the Houston Texans. Two records fell. Pittsburgh lost a home game on Monday night (we don’t count 2020). Should it count since it’s a playoff game? That remains up for debate. In addition, Houston won a road game for the first time in their franchise’s short history. Can they win a divisional playoff game on Sunday when they face New England? We’ll see.
Tuesday, news broke of Mike Tomlin stepping down from the Steelers. This on the heels of the recent firing of John Harbaugh by the Baltimore Ravens. Thus, the true end of an era not only in Pittsburgh and Baltimore but also the NFL.
Yes, we all know about Mike Tomlin never finishing worse than 8-8 in his 19 years coaching the Steelers. Does that matter when the team played down to its competition or couldn’t win a postseason game the last nine years? It’s a shock to learn of his resignation, but it was a long time coming.
Pittsburgh has been known for staying consistent with its coaches. For Bill Cowher, that was a good thing as the Steelers struggled in the late 1990’s. Other teams would get rid of him, saying the game had passed him by. He got his Super Bowl towards the end of his coaching career, and it wasn’t the greatest Super Bowl performance either by his quarterback.
Other teams like the Jets have gone through 20 coaches in the same timeframe. The standard is the standard is a phrase that gets a bad rap because of Tomlin. In a blue collar town like Pittsburgh, it may hit differently because of the city’s industrial history. It’ll be interesting to see who replaces the longtime coach. I’d like to see an offensive mind and someone older, but Mr. Rooney (Art II) will stick with tradition I am sure.
Update: Whomever the new coach will be really plans to clean house. Not sure how true that is, but it may be a sign of major changes in the organization. Even though the regular season just ended, I’m not expecting too much of a miracle.
Mike Tomlin was hired by the Pittsburgh Steelers on January 22, 2007. The day before, the Chicago Bears and Indianapolis Colts won their respective conference championship games. They would both advance to Super Bowl XLI in two weeks on February 4. In the Winter of 2007, I was a little bit over a year removed from college. I was still trying to find my way, hoping a little bit of work experience would help. That Spring, I was unsuccessful at trying to find work in my field. I also spoke in front of a group at the Hiram G. Andrews Center about my time there.
Stylish 🍒 