Former Pittsburgh Steelers Legend Calls Out Mike Tomlin’s Conservative Approach

Pittsburgh Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin is regarded by many as one of the best coaches in the NFL. 

He’s won a Super Bowl and been to another, but his overall playoff record is 8-11 according to CBS Sports. Critics would argue that his lack of a coaching tree around the league points to the fact that he doesn’t have a track record of former assistants going on to do much elsewhere. 

A major reason why this is true is because of the type of coaches Tomlin likes to hire. Recently, he’s brought in older coaches like Arthur Smith, Matt Canada, Randy Fichtner, and Todd Haley. 

While there are benefits to that approach, such as valuing experience, they weren’t very inspiring hires and seem conservative, according to former Pro Bowl safety Ryan Clark. 

“If there is a criticism of him, conservatism is a part of it. There has been some late-game mismanagement at times. But yes, he hasn’t found two guys on each side of the ball that has learned to excel in the most important moments,” Clark said. 

Tomlin specializes in the defensive side of the ball, so it’s worth noting that he actively participates in defensive play calling and scheming. 

Defensively speaking, the Steelers have typically been very good with Tomlin at the helm, besides a few seasons. However, since Ben Roethlisberger’s retirement, he hasn’t been able to get the offense right.  

“I do believe, and I can be honest, I never really thought about replacing Bruce Arians and Dick LeBeau. What I’ll say about that is, those actually weren’t [Mike Tomlin’s] hires, per se. Honestly, picking your coordinators is a big deal. Especially when you don’t call plays, because he doesn’t call defense for the team.”