Behind the Steel Curtain
Up until a 2 p.m. meeting on Tuesday, Mike Tomlin was the Pittsburgh Steelers. The longtime head coach defined the team’s culture, decision-making, and consistent season-by season results.
Whenever any team loses a head coach, it results in massive change. But in the Steelers’ case, it feels especially seismic. He was the longest-tenured head coach with a team in the entire NFL before stepping down, leading a franchise that is famously loyal to its leadership.
In the coming days and weeks, we’ll have in-detail breakdowns on everything related to the Steelers’ head coaching search this offseason. But in the meantime, here are some instant takeaways from Tomlin’s sudden departure:
This isn’t necessarily refuting that it was time for Pittsburgh and Tomlin to part ways. Think of it similarly to when Ben Roethlisberger retired: There are many good reasons why it had to happen, but the Steelers have been in quarterback purgatory ever since.
While signing a good head coach isn’t dependent on draft position like quarterback, both positions are in high demand in the NFL because it is difficult to find a quality one. In recent years, Tomlin’s Steelers teams had fallen short in the playoffs. But he was also one of the best floor-raisers in the league.
There’s no denying Tomlin has set an unusually high standard for whoever follows him in Pittsburgh,
And of course, when the Steelers hired Tomlin, they hadn’t been in the market for a new head coach since 1992. Pittsburgh has successfully hired head coaches for longer than any other franchise in the league.
But this is also an organization — and ownership — that hasn’t had to undertake the extensive process of hiring a new head coach in almost two decades. The inexperience could be worrying, but more interesting is the lack of precedent. The team could go in a number of directions with its head coaching search, and it’s hard to know what exactly that will look like.
This one is the most obvious takeaway. There will be a new head coach who will do things differently than Tomlin — including bringing in some of the staff changes fans have been requesting for years. It’s hard to see a future where names such as offensive coordinator Arthur Smith or defensive coordinator Teryl Austin stick around as the new braintrust sets up shop.
And depending on if the new head coach is defensively- or offensively-minded, the coordinator hire on the other side of the ball will be especially important.
Like all head coaches in the NFL, Mike Tomlin has had an influence in the Steelers’ roster construction over the years. Now, that will be replaced with another coach’s preferences.
But on the flip side, Tomlin’s reputation around the league led to a lot of players wanting to join or continue playing...
