Where do you start with accolades about him? I believe he is a first ballot HOF candidate now. He has more wins than any other African American football coach and has more SB appearances than any African American football coach. He is also tied for the most SB wins by an African American football coach. By the end of the season he could pass Bill Cowher for second on the Steelers all time victory list. It would take a 19-0 season even though the post season doesn’t count towards that. Not many coaches have players from other teams stating they want to play for him. That helps us get the FAs we can afford. If we could give higher priced FAs closer to the money that they wanted I’m sure we would be the number one destination for FAs. The Steelers hit home runs with coaching hires every time they hire one since the SB era began. What other team can say every coach that they have hired is a HOF coach since 1969. A lot of teams can’t even claim that every coach they have had in that timeframe have even had a winning season. We have a coach who has never had a losing season and in two days will add another season to the list. I remember Steelers fans were up in arms over Tomlin being hired as our coach. I wasn’t one of them. I have had a Tomlin AV since he got hired because I wanted to support him amongst all the racism that his hiring brought out of the fans. I say he might even be a unanimous first ballot HOFer with the way race is going right now. But if the Steelers manage to pull out the undefeated season Tomlin will be in rarefied air with only Belichik and Shula. If Tomlin stays another 5 seasons he will be the Steelers all time winningest coach.
He’d turn your bears around and make them a better team. He sure as hell wouldn’t put up with your QB situation.
I'm fond of Tomlin as a coach. I've been a skeptic about him on occasion but, ironically, it's not the 7-0 start that has turned me into more of a believer. It was last year's 8-8 record with Hodges and Rudolph at the helm. Getting Ben R coming into his prime as a QB is a nice way to start off. The team he inherited had Cowher's stamp on it. But last year showed me that Tomlin can field a competitive team regardless of having Ben or not. He has consistently developed players and has turned an old team into a younger one. I think I feel better about the Steelers when Ben does retire because I think they can find the right guy and develop him where a lot of teams can't do that. I'll be curious to see what Matt LaFleur can do when Rodgers is gone. Is he a HOFer? I don't know. If they win another SB with him then maybe so. Either way, I'm happy with him
He is a great coach. I think Matty might be commenting on the Billichek comparison which I understand is not anything more than the undefeated possibility. Frankly, I don't consider Tomlin in the BB class but that is not an insult to Tomlin.
So are you saying he can't actually pass Cowher this season? Or he can? Did you just manage to completely contradict your own statement in the very next sentence?
This. A lot of HCs can be made to look better than they maybe are thanks to superior QB play. It tricked some people into thinking Mike McCarthy is actually good.
I think Tomlin is fine. The knob slobbering of the thread and the original post is a bit much though.
My two cents: Tomlin is an outstanding coach, and he hasn't always been properly appreciated by Pittsburgh fans and media. However, he is not a perfect coach, and there are specific shortcomings I would love to see him improve. Over the years, lots of Pittsburgh fans (and some media) have been unreasonably hard on Tomlin, failing to give him proper credit. He is (and has been) one of the three or four best coaches in the league throughout his tenure. I am usually one of the people defending him from ridiculous attacks. That being said, I think there are some genuine critiques that could be leveled. Two things stand out as areas in need of improvement. One is his lack of interest in external motivation. Coaches like Belichick and Reid are great at motivating their teams, and motivation matters when teams are evenly matched in a hard, physical game; but Tomlin has always taken the approach that the players are professionals and ought to motivate themselves. Ideally he is correct, of course, but reality isn't ideal. Every Pittsburgh fan can point to many games (especially on the road against weaker teams) where the Steelers have just come out flat and been out-hustled by their opponents. The team mindset and focus are a part of a head coach's job. The other complaint I have is that he refuses to game-plan for specific teams. Belichick and Reid will adjust their playcallling and insert special plays and formations based on their opponent's strengths and weaknesses. Tomlin seems to adopt the philosophy of "We are what we are; we aren't changing; try to stop us." I appreciate stability, but I get frustrated when Tomlin deliberately refuses to attack an opponent's weakness and refuses to even pay attention to an opponent's strengths. I love his confidence and his consistency, but I wouldn't mind a little strategy as well. All of this being said, he is one of the best in the league at coaching fundamentals, instilling discipline, and getting players to play hard for each other. His players are always prepared, and his coaches are held to high standards. He never panics, and he never blinks. That's one of the things that separates Tomlin from a lot of other coaches. And results speak loudest of all; Tomlin brings the results. Pittsburgh struck gold when they hired him as a very young and virtually unknown candidate.
I really like Tomlin. I think he's first ballot HOF Monday-Saturday and above average on gameday, if that makes sense.
I will continue to think he is overrated until he does something to prove otherwise. Time and time again in big moments he blows it (imho). Had the steelers been at 4 and inches today tomlin would have crapped his pants. Then made some new tomlinism in thempresser to make everyone think he is fantasticly smart.
We could probably say this in some other seasons too but a few ex Steelers of note are heading to the SB - Arians, Bell, and AB. I know AB & Bell did next to nothing in KC’s and TB’s run to the big game but I still find it comical that they will be there and Tomlin and Ben have been sitting at home for last 2 weeks. It’s a damn shame.
