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- #21
I wanna know why everyone is so upset that I don't like Tonkin, I read 20 retarded threads a day and if I don't like them, I move on.
Or Tony DungyTomlin should not be fired in as much as Lovie Smith should not have been fired.
Din't the Bucs fire him or try to hire the Tuna ,he backed out, and Tony was dead man walking?I'm not positive but I thought Tony quit.....?
Boom. Also, Haley sucks....Tomlin is not the problem.
The aging roster, is.
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.