Blow it up. Blow it all up. I know that this is how most fans feel after their favorite team ends their season in disappointment, but I don't ever remember Pittsburgh Steelers fans on board with hitting the reset button and cleaning house.
The angry mob of Steelers Nation has spoken, and they have made it clear that they want change. Real change; not any of this 'fixing holes in sinking ship with duct tape' kind of stuff. Some of this comes in the heat of emotion, no doubt. This outrage is a direct result of Pittsburgh getting trounced 31-17 in the Wild Card round of the NFL Playoffs by the Buffalo Bills.
However, most of us were well aware that this was a fraudulent team from the beginning. The Steelers had gaping holes on their roster. Left tackle, center, cornerback, and safety were easy positions for opposing teams to exploit, while several others proved to be just adequate in 2023.
Worst of all, the Pittsburgh Steelers naively thought that they could get by with a trio of unspectacular quarterbacks, and it wouldn't shock anyone if they elected to roll with Kenny Pickett and Mason Rudolph again in 2024.
I'm sick of hearing about 'the standard is the standard.' What standard is that, exactly? Plateauing at slightly above .500 and getting humiliated in the first round of the playoffs? Enough is enough. The utter lack of postseason success cannot continue, and the Pittsburgh Steelers finally need to wave goodbye to Mike Tomlin.
Steelers cannot move forward with Mike Tomlin
I'm well aware that there are a plethora of problems with the Pittsburgh Steelers. We can't just blame the head coach for everything. But when you have a constant lack of postseason success for so long, it's hard not to look at the head coach as the biggest reason why.
Their ugly loss to the Buffalo Bills in the Wild Card round of the playoffs was the fourth straight time that Pittsburgh has been embarrassed in the playoffs -- getting down by a multiple-score deficit and never being able to recover.
With their most recent playoff loss, it has now been 7 years since Pittsburgh's last playoff win and just 3 postseason wins in the past 13 years. The Steelers are 3-8 in the playoffs during this span.
It's hard to believe that 23 NFL teams have had more success than the Pittsburgh Steelers since they started their winless playoff drought. How long can they let this continue?
We can't throw the blame all on the lack of talent either. After all, Mike Tomlin has his hands in too many baskets and is largely responsible for many of the moves this front office makes. Tomlin has openly admitted his pre-draft infatuation with players like Patrick Peterson and Myles Jack, and he pounced at the opportunity to finally sign these players (even though they were past their prime). He did the same with William Jackson III (who was the CB he wanted in the first round of the 2016 NFL Draft).
When a head coach stays this long, the checks and balances system no longer exists. Tomlin has tried to be the head coach while being heavily involved in the offseason processes. This is probably a big reason why the Steelers drafted poorly for five straight years before Omar Khan and Andy Weidl took over.
It's also worth noting that this head coach hiring circle has some excellent candidates currently in the coaching carousel. Guys like Jim Harbaugh, Ben Johnson, Mike Vrabel, Bobby Slowik, or even Bill Belichick could give this team a spark and help them get back on a playoff-winning track.
Every Pittsburgh Steelers should be appreciative of Mike Tomlin and what he has done for this franchise over the years, but at some point, you have to rip the band-aid off. Things have gotten incredibly stale with this franchise, and it's time to implement serious change. It's time to blow it up and start over again.