How does Tomlin not get fired?
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As I was born into a Steelers family and am a big fan I can elaborate some on this (yes, my family actually lived near there....Rams are my NFC team).....it goes way above Tomlin. It has more to do with nepotism than anything to be honest.
Dick Haley (Todd's father) was the Steelers' Director of Player Personnel from the early 70's until around when Cowher took over the team. The entire Haley family is held in high regard by the Rooney family (there is a reason....Dick did draft 4 hall of famers in one draft class....1974 is bar none the greatest NFL draft class ever for 1 team that will never be duplicated). And that is way above Tomlin. The Rooney's are the ones who wanted to get back to "Steeler football" and hired Haley to make them a ground and pound team again over Arians fullback-less deep passing attack. This was a mistake in my opinion as Arians is a very good coach.
This offseason is going to be an interesting one because the Rooney family will probably have to choose either Haley or Ben, because the two do not get along or work well together. Pretty much everyone saw that train wreck when he was hired and nothing has happened to change that. Arians was a perfect fit for Ben because he favors a deep passing attack where Haley is an old school kind of OC who favors a stronger running team. Either that, or they pay Ben to deal with it with a contract similar to Brees etc....and as much as I love Ben he isn't worth it.
As far as Tomlin goes I don't think Steeler fans consider him anything but a downgrade to Cowher....questionable game mgmt decisions are a big reason for that but more than anything in the Steel City its his drafting that has had him in hot water. His 2008-9 classes are pretty much gone or never did anything with busts (Ziggy Hood is awful). Jarvis Jones is doing nothing (fwiw I said Ogletree was the best defender on that team...not JJ), and the 2012 class is looking awful as well aside from DeCastro. Under Tomlin, the Steelers have struggled to draft the kinds of depth that made them a perennial playoff contender. They tried to get one more SB run out of the vets and mortgaged away the future by backending all those contracts....now the piper has come to get paid and the Steelers are handcuffed. This more than anything is a HUGE change in philosophy from this organization which remained competitive by letting high money guys walk and from grooming talent in later rounds from great drafting. This was a staple under Cower: put a great system in place, and find talent in later rounds that fit the system.
So yea, I agree with the OP (and so do most Steeler fans I know) that the team has eroded under his control, moreso from bad drafting than anything.
Dick Haley (Todd's father) was the Steelers' Director of Player Personnel from the early 70's until around when Cowher took over the team. The entire Haley family is held in high regard by the Rooney family (there is a reason....Dick did draft 4 hall of famers in one draft class....1974 is bar none the greatest NFL draft class ever for 1 team that will never be duplicated). And that is way above Tomlin. The Rooney's are the ones who wanted to get back to "Steeler football" and hired Haley to make them a ground and pound team again over Arians fullback-less deep passing attack. This was a mistake in my opinion as Arians is a very good coach.
This offseason is going to be an interesting one because the Rooney family will probably have to choose either Haley or Ben, because the two do not get along or work well together. Pretty much everyone saw that train wreck when he was hired and nothing has happened to change that. Arians was a perfect fit for Ben because he favors a deep passing attack where Haley is an old school kind of OC who favors a stronger running team. Either that, or they pay Ben to deal with it with a contract similar to Brees etc....and as much as I love Ben he isn't worth it.
As far as Tomlin goes I don't think Steeler fans consider him anything but a downgrade to Cowher....questionable game mgmt decisions are a big reason for that but more than anything in the Steel City its his drafting that has had him in hot water. His 2008-9 classes are pretty much gone or never did anything with busts (Ziggy Hood is awful). Jarvis Jones is doing nothing (fwiw I said Ogletree was the best defender on that team...not JJ), and the 2012 class is looking awful as well aside from DeCastro. Under Tomlin, the Steelers have struggled to draft the kinds of depth that made them a perennial playoff contender. They tried to get one more SB run out of the vets and mortgaged away the future by backending all those contracts....now the piper has come to get paid and the Steelers are handcuffed. This more than anything is a HUGE change in philosophy from this organization which remained competitive by letting high money guys walk and from grooming talent in later rounds from great drafting. This was a staple under Cower: put a great system in place, and find talent in later rounds that fit the system.
So yea, I agree with the OP (and so do most Steeler fans I know) that the team has eroded under his control, moreso from bad drafting than anything.
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While I don't agree that Tomlin should be fired,I fail to see how intentional baiting ,characterizing makes the point.
I think the Steelers have repeatedly let higher end FA's walk and walk and walk and after a time you let the wrong ones walk.
The Haley /Rothlesberger incongruity threatens the Steelers ability to keep Ben and now the trade talk has started, it's just harder to stay on top than ever and if Tomlin isn't as good at it as Belicek ,that doesn't indicate to me he isn't worth keeping.
Player identify with Tomlin like few coaches in this league,they play their asses off for him,I say THAT'S why he keeps his job his assistant choices notwithstanding
I think the Steelers have repeatedly let higher end FA's walk and walk and walk and after a time you let the wrong ones walk.
The Haley /Rothlesberger incongruity threatens the Steelers ability to keep Ben and now the trade talk has started, it's just harder to stay on top than ever and if Tomlin isn't as good at it as Belicek ,that doesn't indicate to me he isn't worth keeping.
Player identify with Tomlin like few coaches in this league,they play their asses off for him,I say THAT'S why he keeps his job his assistant choices notwithstanding
I think Colbert and Dick LeBeau have to take some blame in it too. Can't put all the drafting blame on Tomlin.
As far as Haley, I said that was a bad move from D1. His offense is not a good fit for Ben and they seem like two arrogant guys whose personalities would not mesh well. Plus, Ben loved Arians.
I thought Arians retired from the Steelers when his contract ran out?
I think Tomlin is a darned good coach. I dont see how you blame him for the player decisions. Bettis was gone long before he got there.
He's 40 games over .500 in his career, pretty impressive.
I think Tomlin is a darned good coach. I dont see how you blame him for the player decisions. Bettis was gone long before he got there.
He's 40 games over .500 in his career, pretty impressive.
LosAngelesRams
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HometownBoy
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I wouldn't say fire him, but the Rooneys would be wise to scrutinize his choices a little more as a result of the Haley hiring. Guys a Bowl winning coach, the players love him and the teams have been good so far. This is his first bad season, only one bad season is the exception, not the rule, that comes if the issues persist.
Tomlin will be around a long time. He would have to fail for 5 years straight before the organization would even think of it.
