Mike Tomlin does many things well, but the three finalists for NFL Coach of the Year do something great for their team that the Steelers HC does not.
The Pittsburgh Steelers have one of the longest-tenured head coaches in the NFL in Mike Tomlin. The future Hall of Fame coach began his career with the team all the way back in 2007 and brought home a Lombardi Trophy early in his head coaching career.
The problem many Steelers fans are having these days is that Tomlin’s team hasn’t seen much true success in recent years. Pittsburgh has now gone six years without a playoff win, and when they did make the tournament in recent years, they were humiliated by the Browns and the Chiefs.
Recently, the Associated Press released their top-three finalists for the 2022 Coach of the Year award. These included Giants coach Brian Daboll, Jaguars coach Doug Pederson, and 49ers coach Kyle Shanahan. When you look at the success each of their teams had this season, it’s not hard at all to figure out why they were chosen as candidates for this award.
Daboll was the offensive coordinator for the Buffalo Bills last season. After his team went 11-6 and nearly won in the divisional round of the playoffs, he was hired to be the head coach of the New York Giants. In just one year, Daboll brought a 4-13 dumpster-fire franchise to a 9-7-1 team that earned a playoff berth despite being void of elite talent.
Pederson did something very similar in Jacksonville this year — making the playoffs with the Jaguars at 9-8 after being the worst team in the league at 3-14 just a season ago. Meanwhile, Shanahan’s team went on a 10-game winning streak to close the 2022 season and is still going strong into the NFC Championship game.
Each of these three coaches is able to do something that Mike Tomlin cannot: call a successful offense. Obviously, Tomlin was hired as a defensive-minded head coach and the Steelers have benefited from this in the past. However, the league is going in a different direction, and Tomlin can’t help Pittsburgh where it matters most.
Steelers need a more innovative offensive mind
While I’m certainly not advocating that Art Rooney II fires Mike Tomlin, it’s clear that the lack of offensive creativity is holding this team back. Though the Pittsburgh Steelers certainly have talent deficiencies at some positions, other coaches this year have been able to overcome this to find success on offense.
The outdated philosophy of playing ball-control offense and good defense is only going to get you so far. The Steelers seem to be stuck in limbo with this mentality, and they won’t be able to get over the hump until they find more offensive success.
Sadly, this seems unlikely to come with Matt Canada as offensive coordinator in 2023. Though the running game was working in the second half of the season, his team was still just 19th in the NFL in scoring over this stretch with a poor red zone offense. The passing concepts are far too dull in Pittsburgh and are intentionally designed to prevent turnover-worthy plays. However, not utilizing the middle of the field and trying to create yards after the catch greatly caps the ceiling of this offense.
I don’t think it’s any coincidence that all four remaining head coaches entering the championship games are offensive-minded. Last week, 7 of the 8 head coaches in the divisional round were the offensive brains to their respective operations (Sean McDermott being the only exception… and his team put up 10 points at home against the Bengals).
I certainly wouldn’t be shocked if Mike Tomlin leads his team to a playoff berth next year. However, until this team gets a true offensive genius who can outcoach his opponent offensively, I’m afraid the Steelers won’t find true success in the post-season. When the Steelers and Tomlin do eventually decide to part ways, Pittsburgh should be looking for an offensive-minded coach.