Category: Mike Tomlin

Steelers legend James Harrison blasts Mike Tomlin’s ‘standard’

“The standard is the standard” used to mean something to the Pittsburgh Steelers players and organization. Now it’s meaningless hot air.

“The standard is the standard” has been the mantra of the Pittsburgh Steelers organization for decades. It used to mean something, but like many fans of the team, a Steelers legend agrees they’re now pointless hot air.

“It’s not what you’re used to. The standard is the standard. It feels like a saying now. It’s not something you actually see,” James Harrison said on the Jan. 22 episode of Willie Colon’s “Why Willie Show.”

This isn’t the first time the two-time All-Pro has called out Mike Tomlin and the Steelers front office.

Last year on “The Pat McAfee Show,” Harrison was vocal about lowered expectations for the storied franchise.

Harrison believes Tomlin is largely to blame for Pittsburgh’s five-game skid and eight-year playoff win drought.

“If I’m the head coach of a football team, and I’ve been the head coach of this football team for however long that’s been, and now the team’s not doing well — that all has to fall on my shoulders,” Harrison said.

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Steelers CB offers word of warning for Tomlin haters

Donte Jackson tells fans to be careful what they wish for.

There is a huge member of the NFL community inside and outside of the Pittsburgh Steelers ecosystem who believes the Steelers should move on from head coach Mike Tomlin.

Another group, also fairly significant, supports keeping Tomlin, often citing the unknown of moving to a new head coach as reason enough to stick to what you already know.

One Steelers player who offered his insight into the situation as someone who has seen it go the other was was cornerback Donte Jackson. After spending a tumultuous six seasons with the Carolina Panthers, he offered some insight into how the idea of changing coaches can be harmful when he spoke to the media.

“The message to the Tomlin haters. I would just be like, ‘Be careful what you wish for.’ I’ve seen in my six years in Carolina, I’ve seen three coaches get fired during the season. Some guys go through their whole career and not see one head coach get fired, period. Not let alone during the season, bro. I’ve seen three get fired during the season, bro. That’s crazy. I’ve been under three interim head coaches. And in six seasons. That’s in six seasons.”

The counter to all this is the Steelers situation when they hired Tomlin. When Bill Cowher retired, the Steelers replaced a legend with a complete unknown in Tomlin with zero head coaching experience. That worked out pretty well so you cannot look at sticking with the bad you know for the unknown.

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Steelers made a mistake rejecting potential Bears-Mike Tomlin trade

The Steelers missed a great opportunity by rejecting the Bears’ offer for Mike Tomlin, keeping them locked outside the top 20 in 2025 draft.

It has become public knowledge—thanks to insider Adam Schefter—that the Chicago Bears were apparently rejected in their attempt to negotiate a trade for Pittsburgh Steelers HC Mike Tomlin.

Trades involving head coaches are typically rare, but the compensation packages have been enormous over the past few decades, as seen with two of the most famous examples: Jon Gruden in 2002 and Sean Payton in 2023.

The Bears recently signed former Detroit Lions OC Ben Johnson as their next head coach, and the Steelers may regret not pulling the trigger heading into the 2025 offseason.

Plenty of other HC candidates, including Johnson, could have adequately filled the theoretical vacancy left by Tomlin, and the trade compensation would have likely been enormous.

Instead of potentially acquiring the Chicago Bears’ 10th overall pick in the 2025 draft—along with additional picks—the Steelers will once again be forced to draft outside the top 20, locking themselves into another 10-7 ‘winning’ season under Tomlin in 2025.

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Terry Bradshaw predicted the Steelers’ Russell Wilson disaster

Terry Bradshaw warned Mike Tomlin about benching Justin Fields for Russell Wilson. The Steelers didn’t listen—and it cost them dearly.

HC Mike Tomlin refused to listen to the masses regarding the criticism of benching Justin Fields in favor of Russell Wilson, and it cost the Pittsburgh Steelers toward the end of the season. Former Steelers legend, QB Terry Bradshaw, tried to warn the Tomlin-led team that this would be the case.

Fields was benched despite winning four of his first six starts for the Pittsburgh Steelers to begin 2024, and Bradshaw was one of the biggest critics of the decision to start Wilson in Week 7 of 2024:

“I know that Wilson came over from Denver. If Sean Payton, one of the greatest offensive minds in the NFL, gives up on a guy that’s thrown 25 touchdowns and six interceptions after 15 games, I’m telling you that there is something wrong with Wilson that I don’t know.”

If Tomlin had listened to Bradshaw’s warning and wisdom for the team he loves, one could argue that the Steelers may not have lost five straight to end the 2024 season.

Will Tomlin rectify his mistake by choosing to move forward with Fields in 2025, or will the Steelers’ head coach once again rely on the aging Wilson to lead the team to another subpar 10-7 season?

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Mike Tomlin would be a fool to leave the Steelers

Mike Tomlin has it great in Pittsburgh and has no motivation to leave.

We all knew there would be options for the Pittsburgh Steelers this offseason when it comes to head coach Mike Tomlin. Despite his postseason struggles, Tomlin’s resume is as good as any in the NFL minus a handful of names so there will always be teams who hope Tomlin’s message will be fresh for their team where it’s gone stale in Pittsburgh.

But there’s zero motivation for Tomlin to leave. Tomlin signed a three-year, $50 million contract extension and has the full confidence of Steelers ownership. It has become clear the Steelers expectations do not center around Super Bowls anymore which fits with what Tomlin can do. Winning records every year, stretches within the season of exceptional play which offers just a glimmer of hope for next season when the team inevitably falls flat in the playoffs.

In the case of the Chicago Bears, it was reportedly the Steelers who rebuffed the call. But despite the team’s ongoing loyalty to Tomlin, there had to be a moment when the idea of a boatload of draft capital for Tomlin, while there are so many exceptional coordinators out there in line for head coaching jobs, looked pretty darn tempting.

We don’t expect the Bears call to be the last one the Steelers take. But we expect the results to be the same. The Rooneys are committed to Tomlin and Tomlin knows how good he has it in Pittsburgh. We just hope Tomlin wants to find some answers to get this team over the hump and bring back the team the fans want to see.

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Bears fail in attempt to lure Steelers HC Mike Tomlin

The Chicago Bears called the Pittsburgh Steelers to see if they would be allowed to talk to and potentially try to trade for Mike Tomlin.

A no-trade clause did not sway the Chicago Bears from inquiring through the Pittsburgh Steelers about a trade for Mike Tomlin.

According to a league source of ESPN’s Adam Schefter, the Bears recently called the Steelers about the Super Bowl-winning head coach:

The Bears recently called the Steelers to see if they would be allowed to talk to and potentially try to trade for longtime head coach Mike Tomlin, only to have Pittsburgh rebuff their inquiry, league sources told ESPN.

But discussions never made it to Tomlin.

Schefter divulged that another team had also checked into the idea, but the no-trade clause halted efforts.

Teams can try all they want, but Tomlin isn’t going anywhere. Last offseason, he signed a three-year extension, keeping him with Pittsburgh through the 2027 season.

When asked about the rumors in his season-ending press conference, Tomlin simply responded: “Save your time.”

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Steelers HC Mike Tomlin needs to ask himself one critical question

After 18 seasons as head coach of the Pittsburgh Steelers, Mike Tomlin finds himself at a crossroads.

After 18 seasons as head coach of the Pittsburgh Steelers, Mike Tomlin finds himself at a crossroads. Despite his impressive streak of never having a losing season—which fans are beyond tired of hearing—postseason success has eluded Tomlin’s teams.

He needs to look at himself in the mirror and ask himself one critical question: Do you still have it in you?

For Tomlin, it shouldn’t just be about maintaining the status quo. It should be about reigniting the spark, embracing innovation, and adapting to an evolving NFL landscape. Steelers fans and media alike question whether Tomlin should move on entirely from coaching or take on a fresh challenge with another team.

Tomlin’s legacy in Pittsburgh is undeniable, but great coaches know when to push forward or step aside–just as Bill Cowher did in 2006. The Steelers might just need new blood and perspective to reclaim their postseason glory. As Tomlin evaluates his next steps, the answer to this question will define his future—and the franchise’s direction in 2025.

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Mike Tomlin’s favorite word from Steelers season-ending press conference

Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin often latches onto a key word, weaving it into his opening remarks and responses to reporters’ questions.

Steelers Nation knows how Mike Tomlin is critically selective about the words he uses during his press conferences–almost to the point where he gives the media absolutely nothing to work with. He’s been at this for a long time, so it’s second nature to him.

Fans harp on Tomlin for needless “word salad,” which makes up most of his pressers 20 or so minutes. Sometimes, there are more questions than answers when he steps away from the podium.

Tomlin will often latch onto a specific word and sprinkle it throughout his opening remarks and responses to reporters’ questions.

In Tuesday’s final press conference of the 2024 season, the word of the day was “unearth” (or some variation of), which Tomlin used seven times. He had this to say in response to closing the gap between where the Steelers are now and where they want to be next season:

I think I’m just at the very early stages of unearthing that, to be quite honest with you. I acknowledge we have some things to unearth, but these exit interviews and things of that nature will the very beginnings of that and that’s something that’s going to be asked and discovered over the upcoming days and weeks and months even as we prepare for the draft and free agency
because, obviously, talent acquisition is a major component of it, and, obviously, the strategic component of it in terms of the schematics, and so those are questions that will be addressed and subjects that will be addressed over the course of the next days, weeks, months.

Tomlin and Omar Khan are just beginning a deep dive into what needs improvement–and there’s a lot. Tomlin emphasized the importance of exit interviews as a foundation for their offseason strategy. From talent acquisition in free agency and the draft to refining schematics, the focus is on creating a competitive edge. While it’s early in the process, fans can expect changes–likely starting with the coaching staff–to elevate the Steelers’ performance in 2025.

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Mike Tomlin has hilarious three-word response to Steelers trade rumors

Mike Tomlin shuts down trade rumors with a simple, hilarious message amid speculation about his future with the Steelers.

For any fans of the Black and Gold who need a little humor after their beloved Pittsburgh Steelers lost five straight to end the 2024 season—and with the team seemingly on the verge of a rebuild—HC Mike Tomlin has you covered.

Ever since insider Adam Schefter discussed the potential of multiple head coach-less NFL teams calling the Pittsburgh Steelers to inquire about Tomlin’s availability and the cost for a trade, these dreaded rumors have been hard to shake—until Coach T addressed the controversy head-on in Tuesday’s press conference.

Reporters asked Tomlin what his potential message would be to any teams looking to acquire his services. At first, the head coach shot it down:

“I have no message.”

However, with one quick shrug of the shoulders, Tomlin practically killed off any trade rumors with this hilarious three-word response to those teams:

“Save your time.”

Tomlin could be alluding to the no-trade clause in his contract, or he could simply understand how unlikely it is that the Pittsburgh Steelers would entertain any of these conversations.

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Mike Tomlin’s Justin Fields comments reignite Steelers 2025 QB debate

Mike Tomlin’s comments on Justin Fields spark questions about who the Steelers signal caller will be heading into the 2025 season.

Just when Pittsburgh Steelers QB Russell Wilson slammed the door shut on Justin Fields’ odds of being the team’s 2025 signal-caller, HC Mike Tomlin has kicked it wide open.

In reference to the opportunity to re-sign with the Pittsburgh Steelers in 2025, Wilson boldly claimed that it was the “plan” to remain with the Black and Gold.

Contradicting this, however, Tomlin recently spoke during Tuesday’s press conference about Fields’ ability to take over the starting duties in 2025, answering a reporter’s question on what steps the young QB would need to take to earn the 17-game starting role:

“I think he took them. I thought the way he handled his professional circumstance was impressive. I thought he brought an urgency to his day-to-day work regardless of his role.”

Tomlin finished with a powerful compliment, inspiring confidence that Fields may indeed take over the 2025 signal calling duties:

“I thought the way he conducted himself makes that a legitimate thought or idea at this juncture.”

Has Tomlin truly committed to one QB at this time and is simply refusing to reveal the cards up his sleeve? Or is this QB competition still up for grabs heading into the 2025 season?

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