Via Last Word On Pro Football, by Cody Flavell
Whether you like it or not, the Pittsburgh Steelers have themselves the coach that perfectly suits their team and I’m not sure there is much of a debate. That guy is Mike Tomlin.
Term’s such as “The standard is the standard” and “We don’t live in our fears” have been clichés that fans have mocked for years. Tomlin has taken those sayings and given them meaning.
Stop With The “Fire Mike Tomlin” Nonsense
Only days after being called a “cheerleader” and “not a great coach” by former Steelers quarterback Terry Bradshaw, Tomlin had as big of a hand in Sunday’s 31-27 victory as any of the Steelers 53 rostered players.
Late in the fourth quarter with the game on the line, Mike Tomlin called a play well-knowing that if his receiver did not get into the end zone, time would expire and the game would end along with almost any chance the Steelers had at the postseason. Props to Antonio Brown for his awareness. Props to Mike Tomlin for not living in his fears.
Two notable defensive players endorsed Tomlin after the game by going against what Bradshaw had said earlier in the week.
Middle linebacker Lawrence Timmons, Tomlin’s first ever draft pick back in 2007, had this to say to the Pittsburgh Tribune Review:
“I feel like he’s the best ever,” Timmons began. “I stand by him and endorse him. I feel like he’s the premier NFL coach; if I was thinking of an NFL coach, I would think of Mike Tomlin.”
Steelers’ free safety Mike Mitchell also gave praise to his coach.
“I love Coach T,” Mitchell said. “Anyone talking down on him or bad about him, that’s just absurd. We’re not even going to listen to that.”
The NFL has become a vocal league these days and when players don’t like a coach, it’s usually made public by players criticizing their coaches ways. That’s not happening here. There is a genuine gravitation from the players to coach Tomlin.
This six-game winning streak has shown me a lot. When the going gets tough, the tough get going. When Pittsburgh’s losing streak ran for four straight weeks, nobody in the locker room got down on themselves because they knew the grind. They knew they could run the table and potentially push themselves back into the playoff race. They have done that and that all starts at the top with the “cheerleader” of a head coach
I will come out and say it: I’ve always been hard on Tomlin and have criticized his every little move at times. I went as far as saying that he should’ve been fired during the four game skid. I had lost faith. In this town of football where the Steelers and Heinz Field are the beating heart and soul of the city, it’s hard to accept anything less than success. Overreaction will play a factor when the Steelers lose, especially four straight. You don’t have to like Mike Tomlin, but you do have to respect his overall body of work as the head coach of the NFL’s only six-time Super Bowl champions.
