The great Steelers breakup
I’m not sure which elicited a louder gasp or cheer across Steeler Nation: the Ravens’ kicker missing the potentially game-winning field goal in the final seconds of the last regular season NFL game or Mike Tomlin’s announcement that he was stepping down as head coach of the Steelers after 19 seasons.
Of course, Steelers faithful were jumping for joy at the missed field goal, which clinched the AFC North Division title for the Steelers and sent them into the first round of the playoffs. There’s that word… playoffs.
I chuckle remembering former Indianapolis Colts head coach Jim Mora repeating that word over and over in a press conference after another loss for his 4-6 team and a game that saw Peyton Manning throw four interceptions. It seemed like such a ridiculous notion to be talking about playoffs when they couldn’t even win that game. Mention “playoffs” to Steelers fans and the reaction over the past decade might be similar. We haven’t won a playoff game in nine years. Mike Tomlin-led teams have lost seven straight playoff games tying Marv Lewis for most consecutive playoff losses by a head coach in NFL history.
Much like the Pittsburgh Penguins in recent years, the Steelers seemed to be backing their way into the playoffs only to lose in the first round. Tomlin’s famous streak of 19 straight non-losing seasons (the entirety of his career in Pittsburgh) doesn’t mean the team always had a great record, but they went at least .500. Is that good enough? If you ask long-suffering Cleveland Browns, New York Jets or Las Vegas Raiders fans, they would most certainly say yes. But I truly believe many Steelers fans would answer no.
I still don’t understand why Tomlin would repeatedly reference his, “The standard is the standard,” mantra when most folks I know around Pittsburgh (including myself) would most recently react to that with a resounding, “That standard isn’t good enough.” I kept wondering if “the standard” meant to back into the playoffs only to lose in the first round? The Penguins fell into that trap, but they had the courage to change head coaches. I’m not certain at all that the Rooney family would have had the courage to do that.
Fortunately, in my humble opinion, Mike Tomlin took care of that for us. He had a wonderful run in Pittsburgh and I, along with most fans, will always be grateful for and happy with his coaching of the team through many years. That being said, however, I agree that it was time for a change and time to move on for both Tomlin and the Steelers. Breaking up is never easy, but sometimes it’s in the best interest for both parties long-term.
Thanks for the memories and all of your hard work, Coach Tomlin … Steeler Nation will be forever grateful. Now, it will be interesting to see what the next regime will do.
Kristin Emery can be reached at kristinemery1@yahoo.com.