The Renegade: Mike Tomlin on the Hot Seat or No?

Is Mike Tomlin on the hot seat going into the 2019 season? This has been a conversation not only among fans, but also national media members, and the jury seems to be split on whether he is on the hot seat or not. With two years left on his contract, this is normally the time that the Steelers would extend their HC, but again, fans are split on whether this should occur. We are here to settle this debate as we will look into the pros and cons of Coach Tomlin being the HC of the Steelers along with looking at some popular fan theories as to why Tomlin is not a good coach to truly answer our question. Let's do this.

Mike Tomlin Pros

Winning Record and Pedigree

Tomlin has coached the Steelers for 12 seasons and has amassed a record of 125-66-1 (screw that Cleveland game giving us a tie last season) and he has never had a losing season in the black and gold. Those stats right there are impressive enough to debunk any fans saying he should be fired. Along with that amazing record, Tomlin has been to two super bowls, winning one of them (thanks, Rashard Mendenhall), along with winning the AFC North in 6 out of his 12 seasons. That is one of the best resumes of any coach in the NFL, except for Bill Belichick of course, and fans should not take for granted how much winning this team has done under Tomlin. 

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Players Love Him

It cannot be underestimated how important it is that the players on the team love Tomlin. Anytime there is criticism of their coach, the players come flying in to defend their coach (even after all of the drama of these past two seasons, but we will get into that shortly). One of my favorite stories of Tomlin is how during the week of practice leading up to Super Bowl 43, he made sure that any time there was an INT that all players on the defense rallied behind whoever got the INT all the way to the end zone. Think that helped with this play?

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Mike Tomlin Cons

Playoff Record and Loses

Despite being to two Super Bowls, Tomlin has a playoff record of 8-7, which includes the blowout loss to the Patriots in the 2017 AFC Championship game, the terrible defensive performance against the Jaguars in the 2018 Divisional Round, and the infamous Tebow loss to Denver in the Wild Card Round. He has had some great wins in the playoffs, but the loses hurt a little more and are more recent.

Challenge History

Tomlin is 32/71 on challenges and is 0/9 on challenges in the last two seasons. Not winning a challenge since the 2017 AFC Championship Game is a huge problem and the Steelers are hopefully addressing that problem with letting Teryl Austin assist Coach T in that department this season. 

Drama of the Last Two Seasons

I could write an entire article about where the blame falls for all of the drama the past two seasons, but I will keep it short as we need to forget about it and move on. I do not believe it is Tomlin's job to baby sit grown men in their personal lives in the NFL, but he absolutely could have done more to control the drama. 

Fan Theories

"He won with Cowher's players!!"

This argument makes me so angry, because it is so false and stupid. Bill Cowher went 8-8 in his last season and Tomlin turned that into a 10-6 season the next year and then a 12-4 season with a SB win the next season. "But he won it with Cowher's players!!" Does the 13-3 (which should of been 14-2) season in 2017 mean nothing? Also, I guess Sean Mcvay, everyone's favorite coach, has just been winning with "Jeff Fisher's players." Give me a break!

"He only wins because of a Hall of Fame QB!"

Again, this also makes me angry because it is beyond stupid. If it is all about the QB, why even have a coach? Since Brady is the GOAT, does that take away from Belichick's accomplishments? Does Sean Payton only win because of Drew Brees? Aaron Rodgers is considered one of the greatest QBs of all time and the Packers have been struggling in recent years; maybe the right coach would help out in that situation? Getting off my soap box before I never stop. 

So what is the answer to our question, "Is Mike Tomlin on the Hot Seat in 2019?" After taking everything into account, here is what I think about Tomlin on the hot seat:

1. If the Steelers make the playoffs, he is obviously not being fired and will get an extension.
2. If the Steelers just miss the playoffs with 8-8 or better, he will not be fired, but will be on the hot seat in 2020. 
3. If the Steelers have a losing record, he will be fired. 

I do not believe Tomlin will get a contract extension before the season because I think the Rooney's want to see this season play out and see how Tomlin does without the big stars like AB and Bell. 

Overall, I do not see Tomlin's seat as being that hot unless this season ends with a losing season, which I do not think will happen. Thanks for reading and let us know your thoughts on Mike Tomlin's hot seat!

-Aaron, TGYK