- Pittsburgh Steelers fans chanted for coach Mike Tomlin to be fired during a recent home loss to the Buffalo Bills.
- Tomlin, who has never had a losing season in his tenure, acknowledged his and the team’s frustration with their performance.
- Quarterback Aaron Rodgers defended Tomlin, stating players need to take accountability for the team’s struggles.
PITTSBURGH – It would have been so much like Mike Tomlin to rip off some clip-and-save catchphrase in response to the instant feedback that got so personal as his Pittsburgh Steelers were embarrassed on Sunday in yet another debacle under his watch.
This had to sting. The Steelers couldn’t stop Buffalo, couldn’t score and took the fun out of waving those Terrible Towels. Not even the traditional Renegade serenade helped. They also booed that. The mood has become so sour, which is what happens when a team plummets from a promising 4-1 to half-empty 6-6 in a little more than a month.
If there was ever a time for a pointed one-liner from Tomlin to put it in some hopeful perspective, this was it. You know the messages.
The standard is the standard.
We don’t live in our fears.
Excuses are the tools of the incompetent.
Tomlin certainly heard the catcalls. Yet during a game in which his offense was shut out in the second half and his defense was gashed for 249 rushing yards – most ever by a Steelers opponent at Acrisure Stadium/Heinz Field – what Tomlin saw was much worse than what he heard.
No, there was no inspirational quote to counter that.
Fire Mike Tomlin? After 18 winning seasons, coach doesn’t deserve this
When someone asked Tomlin whether he had a sense of how restless and frustrated the crowd was, he said: “I know how restless and frustrated I was, so I assume they were in the same state we were in.”
What went through his mind when the crowd is chanting to fire you?
“Man, I share their frustration tonight,” Tomlin responded. “We didn’t do enough. That’s just the reality of it.”
Tomlin, who has never had a losing season during his nearly 19-year run as Steelers coach, doesn’t deserve this. That’s not to suggest the fans can’t scream for changes. He knows. That comes with the territory of his high-profile, high-powered job. There are no untouchables. Ask Bill Belichick. Coaches are hired to be fired.
Yet Aaron Rodgers, who followed Tomlin at the podium on Sunday night, maintained that his coach doesn’t deserve all the heat because the players share in the accountability realm.
Sure, Rodgers heard the negative noise coming from the fans.
“That’s part of it,” Rodgers said. “They pay money for a ticket. So, they have a right – good, bad, indifferent – to say what they want. I totally understand the frustration. I’ve been booed on offense, even at Green Bay over the years.
“That was a boo-worthy performance, and I understand the frustration.”
Still, Rodgers echoed linebacker T.J. Watt in considering how flat the Steelers were for such a big game. He pointed to a lack of energy on the practice field last week, although he stopped short of concluding that it carried into Sunday’s game.
Regardless, it’s reasonable to expect the tone to be set by the head coach, and in this case Tomlin. When asked, Rodgers pushed back on that theme.
This response came wrapped with its own dramatic vibe. Rodgers hesitated before he answered, grabbing a bottle of water and twisting the cap as he apparently settled on his words.
“I know what you’re trying to ask, and I’m not going down that road at all,” Rodgers said. “I believe in the coaching staff. I believe in Mike Tomlin. That’s why I came here.”
Then Rodgers, nobly, shared the responsibility.
“Players need to take accountability, myself included, and I will,” he said. “I will continue to. I’ve got to play better. But there’s 11 starters on offense, 11 on defense, plus (more) with the personnel groupings that we run.”
‘Keep watching’? On field product must improve for Steelers faithful to believe
Later in the session, someone asked Rodgers about players not holding themselves accountable, which prompted an instant correction.
“I didn’t say that,” Rodgers shot back. “I said we need to hold ourselves accountable.”
Indeed, that’s what he said.
Still, in the context of the here-and-now, there’s enough accountability for all involved.
For the fans calling for Tomlin’s job, hold that thought. The Steelers have had just three coaches since 1969, with Tomlin following Bill Cowher, who followed Chuck Noll. And the philosophy of Steelers owner Art Rooney II is hardly driven by knee-jerk reaction.
No, the fact that Tomlin hasn’t won a playoff game since 2016 is not a good look. Yet the immediate matter involves trying to claim the AFC North crown that once seemed firmly in Pittsburgh’s grasp, with much to be determined by the showdown at the Baltimore Ravens on Dec. 7.
Instant feedback is one thing. Yet there’s still a season to finish for Tomlin, Rodgers and the rest of the Steelers.
Tomlin had a succinct response when maintaining that the people are already in place for the Steelers to turn around their drab performances of late to make a legitimate run.
What makes him so confident of that?
“Keep watching,” he said.
Rather than a catchphrase from Tomlin, it sounded like truth or dare because what the Steelers have given their faithful to watch lately is clearly part of the problem.
Contact Jarrett Bell at jbell@usatoday.com or follow on X: @JarrettBell
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