As the Pittsburgh Steelers are enjoying their time during the holidays and getting set for a divisional matchup against the Cleveland Browns on Sunday, we can't help but pause and try to get in the spirit ourselves.
Well, sort of.
We thought we'd take a converse approach to the holiday spirit and talk a bit about one particular coach who, if he were going to get a symbolic gift this year from the Steelers, it would be one giant lump of coal.
We're talking about none other than defensive coordinator Teryl Austin.
Pittsburgh Steelers' DC Teryl Austin deserves a big, fat lump of coal this year
One of the growing frustrations for Steelers fans, all season long, is how poorly the defense has played.
Stop me if you've heard this before. The Steelers have the most expensive defense in the NFL this year. So that means, they'd have to be one of the best defenses in football, right?
It would make sense, but that's not quite where we're at. Austin's group has underperformed all season long, as the Steelers currently allow the fifth-most yards to opposing offenses in the league.
This defense is also allowing the second-most third-down conversions, per game, on the season.
Austin's only saving grace is the fact that Pittsburgh has somehow forced as many turnovers as they have, where they rank in the top five. They are also in the top five when it comes to sacks per game. So you would think, with some numbers like these, the defense should be a whole lot better.
But, they're not. This unit still allows far too many yards per game, and they're only in the middle of the pack in terms of points allowed per game. This is a classic example of a team investing a ton into one side of the ball, but their coordinator is in over his head -- and that's Austin.
If you wanted to pinpoint one specific reason for this defense not being good enough, look no further than the fourth and final quarter. Going into Week 16, the Steelers were allowing the most points per fourth quarter in all of football (10.2).
So, maybe the Steelers defense doesn't play half-bad for the first three quarters, as they allow around 13 points in those first three. But when the fourth quarter begins, that's when the defense unravels.
You can put that squarely on leadership, thus, Austin. The Steelers will soon be looking for a new defensive coordinator, regardless of how this season turns out.