The remainder of this article was written BEFORE this breaking news was made available…Mike Tomlin has stepped down as head coach of the Pittsburgh Steelers. WOW. Steelers Nation has been waiting years for a change at the top now they have one. Apparently, the Steelers terrible wild card loss had much to do with Tomlin’s decision. Back to the current matters at hand.
Steelers fans…it’s over. Your season that is. For the sixth time in a row, a Mike Tomlin season has ended in the first round of the playoffs with a momentous thud. The Houston Texans put it on the Steelers in Acrisure Stadium last Monday night blowing Pittsburgh out of their own stadium 30-6. This loss was the largest deficit as a playoff loss in Pittsburgh Steelers history. OUCH.
There were so many negatives regarding yet another first round playoff loss to a team that brought a nasty defense but was beatable and a handful of odds working against the visiting Texans. First and foremost, the Steelers had won 23 straight games in Pittsburgh on Monday Night Football and Tomlin had a record of 10-0 for that night at home. Record snapped. The Texans had something like a 1-6 record in the postseason when playing on the road. Win number two.
Domed teams in the last decade playing in 30-degree weather or colder had a record of somewhere around 1-14 but last Monday night the weather had no impact on the dome playing Texans. The first half was close with a 7-6 Houston lead at halftime. In the second half, the Steelers simply fell apart. To their credit, Pittsburgh’s defense did force three C.J. Stroud turnovers but could not capitalize with a touchdown on any of them. The word on Houston’s offense heading into the game was they were just mediocre. Not a strong running game and a so-so offensive line.
The Steelers’ defense played to Houston’s offense allowing them to make successful running and passing plays. So much for the weaker offense. Stroud passed for 250 yards and one touchdown and Pittsburgh’s run defense which had improved dramatically towards the final games of the season took a major step backwards resembling the porous defense put on display early in the season. Woody Marks finished with 112 yards rushing and an outrageous 5.9 yards per carry mark. A past nemesis named Nick Chubb added 48 more yards and a per carry average of 4.8.
Pittsburgh’s defense had no answer for former Jacksonville Jaguar Christian Kirk who hauled in eight passes for a stupid 144 yards and a touchdown. Jayden Higgins caught three more for a per reception average of 13 yards. C.J. Stroud connected to six different receivers. But it was the Houston defense that made the difference in the game scoring two defensive touchdowns one on a pick six the other off a fumble by Aaron Rodgers.
The Steelers’ offense was abysmal. Credit to Houston’s defensive line for putting heavy pressure on Aaron Rodgers and sacking him four times but the play calling was a head scratcher. It was thought the return of DK Metcalf would provide a huge boost for Aaron Rodgers. Early in the game Metcalf made several solid catches but after a long pass downfield that he dropped and he should have caught, Rodgers stopped throwing to him.
Metcalf was targeted only five times. A bigger mystery regarding the Steelers’ offense not just this game but all season is the disappearance of Pat Freiermuth. The Steelers’ tight end has some of the best if not the best hands on the entire team. Yet, he was targeted just three times last Monday night and made just one catch that for 18 yards. Freiermuth is as close to a sure thing than any other receiver on the team. He could have made a bigger difference in this game if targeted more.
Then there is the running game. Jaylen Warren had only 43 yards for the night but only toted the rock 12 times. Kenneth Gainwell ran just six times. The RPO that had worked so well prior to this game failed miserably against Houston. Gainwell’s receptions resulted only in a 6.5 yards per reception number. Jaylen Warren caught just one for four yards. Only two of Aaron Rodgers’ passes went for over 20 yards, a 25-yarder to Metcalf and a 21-yard shot to Adam Thielen.
If Mike Tomlin and offensive coordinator Arthur Smith saw what we fans were witnessing that the offense was not clicking, then changes and adjustments should have been made but they were not. For the record, since Mike Tomlin’s last playoff victory (2016) 28 other head coaches have won a playoff game, and five coaches have won a playoff game with two different teams. More insult to injury…the Steelers are now the only team in NFL history to lose five straight games by double digits. It can’t get any worse than that.
With the season over and Mike Tomlin creating a coaching vacancy for the Steelers, who does Art Rooney replace him with? Should General Manager Omar Khan keep his job? I think he needs to go. Whoever the next coach is it is my hope he replaces the entire coaching staff minus special teams coach Danny Smith who is incredibly good at his job. Tyrel Austin should be the first to be fired. This defense has talent while also having players past their prime, but the new coach should center the defense around the younger guys like Nick Herbig and Jack Sawyer who made a big play against Houston.
If I was Art Rooney II I would be calling Jon Gruden. I believe Gruden, who wants to get back on the sidelines, would be an awesome fit in the ‘Burgh. What about John Harbaugh? What a hoot that would be to have him back in the AFC North. I heard on the radio an interesting twist about the head coaching firings. Only the Cincinnati Bengals have kept their head coach on the job. Cleveland, Pittsburgh, and Baltimore will all have a new head coach in 2026.
The biggest problem for the new head coach will be who plays quarterback? The Steelers don’t have a viable draft pick that would give them one of the best collegiate quarterbacks in the draft that takes place right at home this year in Pittsburgh. In checking the available free agents for this year at this position only Daniel Jones makes any sense but even he is not a franchise quarterback. My opinion is let rookie Will Howard have the ball from day one to see what he can do and back him up with any veteran.
The bottom line here is Steelers Nation is ecstatic. Listen to Pittsburgh sports radio and fans are rejoicing. As for Tomlin, he was a particularly good coach. I’m with James Harrison in saying he is not a GREAT coach and sure he can make winners out of mediocre teams, but he can’t win the big games, namely playoff games. When he won his only Super Bowl it came just a few years after Bill Cowher retired thus, he won the title with Cowher’s players. The second time he made it he lost to Aaron Rodgers and the Green Bay Packers.
I hear Pittsburgh sportscasters giving the opinion that Tomlin quit on his own terms and the “fire Mike Tomlin” chants had nothing to do with it. I disagree. Tomlin had to have known that if he returned for a 20th season he would have gone to training camp under heavy scrutiny and the pressure brought him to his decision. I believe this happened to Chuck Noll. The game had passed him by, and he knew it, so he retired.
Soon I will be authoring an article on the drafts Mike Tomlin oversaw. He had some particularly good players but none that truly stood out as superstars. That story to come. Future articles on the Steelers are coming including a review of a season that began with promise and ended with utter disappointment.
