Mike Tomlin's against-the-grain decision proves Steelers Nation was wrong

Over the years, many Steelers fans have grown to struggle with the decisions Mike Tomlin has made. No matter if it was waiting too long to start rookies or different players he refused to move on from. Sometimes he does something against the popular vote that ends up being successful. Despite some members of the fanbase saying otherwise, Tomlin remains one of the best coaches in the NFL.

He might not always make the right choices along the way, and a lot of his scrutiny is deserved. He does make some poor decisions when you look back on certain scenarios. That has led to Pittsburgh not winning a playoff game since 2017. Tomlin needs to find ways to win in the postseason because the "never had a losing season" trope is getting stale. Fans of the Steelers want more success than that.

It is hard to make a change in the NFL when you are winning football games. The Steelers had Justin Fields starting their first six weeks of the season, and they won four of those games. A troubling trend of small chunks of points continued to happen for the most part with Fields at quarterback. That is when Tomlin stepped in and made the controversial decision at quarterback.

For as much as Steelers Nation complains, Mike Tomlin deserves praise

Tomlin went against what most around the world said and turned toward Russell Wilson as his starting quarterback. At the time, the Steelers were coming off of a victory where they scored more than 30 points. That wasn't all because of the offense, but Fields wasn't playing too badly. He was one of the more effective starters during the first six weeks of the season, and many thought he earned the starting job.

When Wilson signed with the black and gold in the offseason, he had a handshake agreement in place with Tomlin to become the starter. His calf injury allowed Fields an opportunity to take the starting job, but the offense continued to struggle to add points to the scoreboard. Despite the Steelers winning with Fields, Tomlin still made the risky decision of turning to Wilson at quarterback.

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Only bad decisions get magnified in the NFL, and that is why being a top coach in the league is a thankless position. When someone like Tomlin makes a good decision, the fans will be happy, but they will always be looking for the next negative thing to point at. It is ok to criticize Tomlin for his miscues as the Steeler's top coach, but he also deserves credit for the choices he gets right.

At the time, changing the quarterback position seemed unnecessary. Many thought Wilson was washed up with how boring of a game he played in Denver. He has certainly shut those doubters up as Wilson not only pushes the ball down the field, but he has been able to command the offense. Those are two major things the group was missing with Fields. Right now, Tomlin looks like a genius.