Tag: Mike Tomlin

Is Steelers HC Mike Tomlin on the hot seat in 2024?

The Steelers continue to build a contending roster and now it is up to HC Mike Tomlin to get the best of them.

Pittsburgh Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin has gone 17 seasons as the team’s head coach without a losing season. That’s a pretty remarkable stat. But not all of the stats during Tomlin’s tenure have been so good. An 8-10 playoff record and a playoff win drought going back to 2016 does nothing to quiet the critics.

This offseason, the Steelers front office has taken the proverbial big swing. The team completely gutted the quarterback depth chart and brought in Russell Wilson and Justin Fields both on one-year contracts. It feels like this roster is being built for a big run in 2024.

This is in addition to multiple other roster upgrades as well as a brand new offensive coordinator. All of this makes us wonder if Tomlin is feeling some pressure to be more than just a competitive team in the regular season and if his job be in jeopardy if the team doesn’t take that next step this season with all the new additions.

Cast your vote and let us know if you think Tomlin is on the hot seat in 2024.

[lawrence-auto-related count=3]

Jaylen Warren highlights ‘biggest difference’ between Arthur Smith, Matt Canada

Jaylen Warren takes a subtle shot at his old offensive coordinator.

For what felt like months (because it was), all of the Pittsburgh Steelers fandom was screaming from the mountaintops for head coach Mike Tomlin to fire offensive coordinator Matt Canada. It got to a point where it seemed that Tomlin was the only person in all of football who didn’t see the harm Canada was doing to the offense.

But mercifully, Tomlin finally found his way to relieve Canada of his duties during the season and after an OC by committee approach in the second half of 2023, this offense belongs to Arthur Smith now. Smith struggled as the head coach of the Atlanta Falcons but his experience as the offensive coordinator of the Tennessee Titans before that and be excited about what he brings to this offense.

One guy who seems to be excited about the change is running back Jaylen Warren. He was on the Not Just Football podcast with Cam Heyward and took a shot at Canada when he talked about how Smith runs his meetings.

“His biggest difference is he’s very interactive in the meetings,” “You want to pay attention because he’s gonna call you out if you’re not paying attention. That’s happened a couple times. I think his approach to being the OC is really good.”

Every Sunday it seems like Canada was just mailing in the gameplan so it makes sense he was mailing it in during meetings too.

[lawrence-auto-related count=3]

Pittsburgh Steelers decline RB Najee Harris fifth-year option

Former Alabama running back Najee Harris entering what will likely be his final year with the Steelers

After being drafted No. 24 overall in the 2021 NFL draft by the Pittsburgh Steelers, it appears as if former Alabama Crimson Tide running back Najee Harris’s time in Pittsburgh is coming to a close. The franchise decided to decline the former Pro Bowler’s fifth-year option on his rookie deal which will make Harris a free agent next summer while saving the team nearly $7 million.

As quarterbacks and the passing game continues to dominate the NFL, the value of running backs has dropped quite significantly. With Harris being a former first-round pick, he does have a bit of a price tag that and the Steelers feel as if they will be able to find similar production for a cheaper price. The Steelers also moved off former first-round quarterback Kenny Pickett after just two years as Mike Tomlin and the franchise begins to turn a new page.

Harris has taken some criticism during his time in Pittsburgh, but the fact of the matter is the offensive line play has been at the bottom of the league for the entirety of his tenure. Despite that, he has posted over 4,000 career all-purpose yards, 28 touchdowns and just six fumbles in three years.

Contact/Follow us @RollTideWire on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Alabama news, notes and opinion. You can also follow Sam Murphy on Twitter @SamMurphy02.

WATCH: Steelers share Mike Tomlin’s draft call with WR Roman Wilson

One of the coolest parts of the post-draft process is Steelers HC Mike Tomlin’s calls with his rookies.

One of the coolest parts of the post-draft process is Mike Tomlin‘s calls with his new rookies. Tomlin is known for connecting on a special level with his players and these calls are just the beginning.

The Pittsburgh Steelers shared his call with wide receiver Roman Wilson as “the call that starts it all.”

“Isn’t it cool, man, the conversations we were having in Mobile and all that stuff, getting to know each other,” Tomlin said. “That’s just football life, though; that’s just how we work. You did a hell of a job through the draft process as we got really comfortable with you. We need big-time contributions, so you better be ready to come in here and work.”

“Welcome to the ‘burgh, man. I look forward to getting after your ass.”

[lawrence-auto-related count=3]

Steelers HC Mike Tomlin on the offensive line: ‘We just wanna roll people’

The Steelers loaded up on offensive linemen in the 2024 NFL draft.

The Pittsburgh Steelers offensive line has been a work in progress for the last few seasons. Despite the front office’s best efforts, the offensive line has been the weak link in the offense.

Last season the Steelers took a huge step to improving the offensive line by trading up to select offensive tackle Broderick Jones. In 2024 they upped things even more by selecting three more offensive linemen including two guys, Troy Fautanu and Zach Frazier, who should start as rookies.

After the draft, head coach Mike Tomlin talked about the decision to load up on nasty, physical offensive linemen in the draft.

“We just wanna roll people, man, to be honest with you guys,” Tomlin said. “We have some backs that we like. We have a good offensive line. We took Broderick Jones a year ago. This draft pool or class we thought was really loaded with some top-end offensive line talent and we just wanted to draw from that well.”

The new Steelers offense under new offensive coordinator Arthur Smith is shaping up to be a physical, punishing run game with this new offensive line and tandem of powerful backs.

[lawrence-auto-related count=3]

Steelers eyeing potential return of CB Cameron Sutton

The Steelers cornerback problems might be solved.

According to Pittsburgh Steelers beat writer Gerry Dulac, the Pittsburgh Steelers brass including head coach Mike Tomlin and General Manager Omar Khan met with former Steelers cornerback Cameron Sutton last week.

We theorized a return for Sutton after his sudden release from the Detroit Lions. Sutton was facing some criminal allegations which were later reduced from domestic violence charges down to just a misdemeanor battery. Sutton was released by the Lions on March 21.

Sutton spent his first six seasons with the Steelers after Pittsburgh drafted Sutton in the third round of the 2017 NFL draft. Sutton left the Steelers in 2023 for a big free-agent contract in Detroit.

If the Steelers meet with Sutton and are satisfied with his off-field situation and can bring Sutton back, we are here for it. Sutton was the team’s best cornerback his last two seasons in Pittsburgh and worked his way to that big free-agent deal. He could be looking to come back to the team that turned him into the pro he is and if the contract is manageable, all he can do is help this team.

[lawrence-auto-related count=3]

Steelers GM Omar Khan says team had chance to trade down

The Steelers passed on the opportunity to trade back and stuck with their guy in Troy Fautanu.

There were plenty of options for the Pittsburgh Steelers when they went on the clock with the No. 20 pick in the first round of the 2024 NFL draft. We immediately wondered if the Steelers would consider a trade back to stockpile extra picks and still get one of their top-rated guys.

According to Steelers General Manager Omar Khan, the team had opportunities to trade back but head coach Mike Tomlin quickly interjected and said that Washington offensive tackle Troy Fautanu was their top-rated guy and they weren’t going to move off of him as the pick. Had the team moved back, they still could have landed an excellent player but clearly, Fautanu was their guy.

Tomlin called Fautanu a “black and gold type of a guy” and says the team views him as a tackle, not a center. The Steelers have three picks on day two of the draft and should have an opportunity to continue to build the offense with a starting center and wide receiver.

[lawrence-auto-related count=3]

Can Steelers HC Mike Tomlin keep Russell Wilson in check?

Russell Wilson came to the Steelers with a diva quarterback moniker.

Quarterback Russell Wilson came to the Pittsburgh Steelers last month with some baggage. He was no longer the team-first kind of guy that the Seattle Seahawks drafted a dozen years ago.

Wilson changed after his marriage to pop star Ciara, as evidenced by his contractural demand for a personal office (on the second floor with coaches and executives) and the use of his own private quarterbacks coach. There was even a report, which Wilson has denied, that he tried to get future Hall of Fame head coach Pete Carroll and general manager John Schneider fired in 2022.

All of this is old news but perhaps new to Steelers fans, who are exclusive to their team and were unaware of Wilson’s diva-like tendencies.

“There’s a lot to Russ,” Ian Furness of KJR Radio and Fox-13 in Seattle told TribLive’s Tim Benz in March. Furness covered Wilson for his decade-long career with the Seahawks.

“A lot of things started to change when that happened,” Furness said when referencing Wilson’s 2016 marriage to Ciara. “He kind of became a ‘Look at me guy.’ We used to joke out here, it used to be their saying was, ‘Why not us?’ Then it became ‘Look at me,’ for Russ. He just changed, and he became a problem inside the facility, with the front office and with the staff. It just snowballed from there before they traded him.”

“He operated on his own agenda. And it was about Russ. In the ultimate team sport, it was all about Russ — to the point the ‘diva quarterback’ moniker was placed on him. And for good reason.”

Perhaps his ill-fated seasons in Denver humbled him, and it’ll be new city, new Russell. If not, though, how will Mike Tomlin handle him? Can Tomlin keep him in check?

Tomlin has juggled his fair share of strong personalities in Pittsburgh. While they are different scenarios, he somehow kept Antonio Brown‘s extreme ways under wraps until it all came crashing to the surface. Most recently, George Pickens‘ character issues have come into question.

Tomlin has an innate ability to connect with his players and that process has begun with Wilson. Let’s hope, for the sake of the Steelers, that he doesn’t become a bigger-than-the-team nuisance.

[lawrence-auto-related count=3]

Steelers HC Mike Tomlin shares importance of Top 30 visits

The Steelers always max out their Top 30 vists as part of the predraft process.

The Pittsburgh Steelers have always made a point to be very deliberate and intentional with their pre-draft visits. On Monday, Pittsburgh Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin addressed the media ahead of the 2024 NFL draft and he spoke on the franchise’s importance of those visits to the team.

You know, in some instances it’s significant and in some instances, it’s a box check. We got several ways to gain exposure to players during this process. You know, those that participate in the Senior Bowl, we get an opportunity and interview those guys down there. Obviously, we get Combine opportunities, Omar (Khan) and myself, we traveled to a lot of pro days. And
so, the 30 visits are another means of gathering pertinent information. Sometimes the guy is a non-combine invite, and we want medical information for example. Sometimes a guy wasn’t a Senior Bowl participant, and we didn’t interview him at the Combine. We also have local visits that are nonencounters. I just think largely for us, it’s about exposing ourselves to as many of these guys as we can. And the 30 visit is just a means of catching something if some of the other opportunities have not provided
that.

The Steelers have brought in a wide variety of prospects for visits and we fully expect the team’s first-round pick to come from that list. The Steelers are in a position to pick from top prospects at multiple positions including offensive line and wide receiver with the No. 20 overall pick.

[lawrence-auto-related count=3]

Steelers HC Mike Tomlin looking for a leap from young CBs

The Steelers have some quality young cornerbacks on the roster.

The offseason has been busy for the Pittsburgh Steelers in an attempt to turn over a solid chunk of the roster. One position where there were plenty of changes is at cornerback. Out are Patrick Peterson, Levi Wallace, Chandon Sullivan and Elijah Riley.

But as we’ve already pointed out, the Steelers might have enough cornerbacks on the roster already and don’t need to target one early in the 2024 NFL draft. Two guys in particular we are excited to see are Cory Trice Jr. and Darius Rush.

On Monday, head coach Mike Tomlin talked about those two guys and said he expected a significant step for them in their second seasons.

“They’re going into their second year,” Tomlin said. “We expect guys going into their second year to make a significant step.”

If the Steelers have confidence in Trice and Rush, in addition to new cornerback Donte Jackson, they might not need to spend a top pick on a starter or even a slot cornerback.

[lawrence-auto-related count=3]