You won't find many fans in Mike Tomlin's corner when it comes to how he handled the Pittsburgh Steelers' quarterback situation during the 2024 season. The Steelers entered last offseason with two quarterbacks most believed were still capable starters in this league: Justin Fields and Russell Wilson.
While Wilson dealt with a calf injury, Fields took the reigns to begin the year. But after chipping in 10 total touchdowns and throwing just one interception while operating Tomlin's game plan in the first six weeks, the head coach pulled the plug on his young quarterback and never looked back.
When it came time for Fields to decide his next destination in free agency, he chose the New York Jets over the Steelers. Recently, the dynamic QB sat down with Jets reporter Ethan Greenberg and explained that head coach Aaron Glenn was his biggest reason for the change of scenery.
"I think, No. 1, Coach Glenn," Fields told Greenberg. "I've played against him early in my career. I know how passionate he is about the game, the way he coaches, the way his players play. So I think that was the biggest thing for me."
And there you have it. Straight from the mouth of Justin Fields. After one year with Tomlin, Fields was ready for a new head coach.
Mike Tomlin is responsible for Justin Fields' early exit from the Pittsburgh Steelers
It's becoming increasingly clear that the plan this offseason was for the Pittsburgh Steelers to sign Justin Fields. While both team president Art Rooney II and general manager Omar Khan expressed that they would like to retain Fields or Wilson, we know now this team doesn't have much interest in a Wilson reunion and they tried to sign Fields to a contract in free agency.
Their efforts fell short, and as a result, the Steelers have just Mason Rudolph and Skylar Thompson under contract at quarterback. You can thank Mike Tomlin for that.
When Tomlin benched fields ahead of Week 7, I wrote about how he could be making one of the worst QB decisions of his head coaching career. This wasn't because I necessarily believed Fields was the future in Pittsburgh, but it was easy to see the writing on the walls. Fields was a 25-year-old former first-round QB who was having his best NFL season when Tomlin swapped him for Russell Wilson, who turned 36 late in the season.
When Wilson crumbled down the stretch, Tomlin refused to go back to Fields with the season on the line. So why would Fields elect to go back to a team with a head coach who doesn't believe in him when Aaron Glenn clearly does?
Justin Fields' sour departure from the Pittsburgh Steelers is all on Tomlin, and if the talented quarterback revives his career with Glenn and the New York Jets, fans are only going to feel more resentment toward Tomlin.