When the Standard Stops Moving Forward

The End of One Era and The Search For The Next

On January 22, 2007, the Pittsburgh Steelers made one of the most important decisions in franchise history, announcing Mike Tomlin as the successor to Bill Cowher. Cowher, who was ironically in the same spot as Tomlin 19 years ago, decided to step away after 15 seasons and a Super Bowl XL win over the Seattle Seahawks. Cowher left behind one of the most stable organizations in professional sports, creating a rare opening for a franchise that had employed only two head coaches since 1969. The expectation among much of the media and fan base was that Pittsburgh would promote from within, with assistants like Bruce Arians or Ken Whisenhunt viewed as great replacements to preserve continuity.

Instead, the Steelers went outside the building, hiring Tomlin, a 34-year-old defensive coordinator from the Minnesota Vikings with just one season of coordinator experience. The decision was widely viewed as unexpected at the time, in part because Tomlin lacked deep ties to the Steelers and was not a household name in Pittsburgh. However, team ownership emphasized that Tomlin had separated himself during the interview process through his preparedness, command of leadership principles, and football intellect. Tomlin was also a part of the Tony Dungy tree, which carried a reputation for discipline, accountability, and player-first leadership that aligned closely with Steelers values.

Media reaction initially reflected surprise and skepticism, particularly given Tomlin’s age and limited résumé, but there was also recognition that the Steelers were betting on long-term vision rather than familiarity. The hire made Tomlin the first African American head coach in franchise history and one of the youngest head coaches in the NFL at the time. The Steelers believed they were not replacing Cowher’s personality, but selecting the next leader to build a culture of consistency, defense, and leadership.

The Early Tomlin Years: Stability and Immediate Success

From 2007 to 2011, Mike Tomlin taking over the Pittsburgh Steelers felt less like a rebuild and more like a seamless handoff. Almost immediately, it was clear that the team had not lost its edge. In his first season, Tomlin stepped into a locker room filled with veterans like Ben Roethlisberger, Troy Polamalu, and James Harrison and did something that is harder than it looks. He earned their respect. The Steelers went 10-6, made the playoffs, and still looked like the Steelers.

The real validation came in 2008. That season felt special almost from the start. The defense was dominant. The games were physical. Nothing about the team felt soft or transitional. When Pittsburgh beat the Arizona Cardinals in Super Bowl XLIII, it did not feel like a fluke or a carryover from the previous era. It felt earned. Tomlin became the youngest head coach to win a Super Bowl, but age never seemed relevant on Sundays. What stood out when rewatching Super Bowl XLIII was his demeanor and calmness. Big moments did not rattle him. Big personalities did not overwhelm him. It felt like the franchise had somehow gotten younger without losing its backbone. But unfortunately, that would be the only championship they won under his tenure.

The seasons that followed only reinforced that belief. From 2009-2011, the Steelers stayed in the hunt every year. Another Super Bowl appearance. More playoff runs. Even when injuries piled up or the roster shifted, the team still mattered in January. That consistency meant something. By the end of 2011, Tomlin no longer felt like the coach who replaced Bill Cowher. He felt like the coach of the Pittsburgh Steelers. Expectations rose because of that stretch, and so did scrutiny after an upset loss as 7.5 pt favorites to the 8-8 Denver Broncos led by Tim Tebow on the road in Mile High Stadium.

The Middle Era: Transition Without a Reset

From 2007 through 2011, Tomlin went 55-25 in the regular season, one of the best five year starts by any head coach in league history. In the postseason during that same stretch, the Steelers went 5-3, highlighted by a Super Bowl win and another Super Bowl appearance. From a fan perspective, that résumé mattered. It bought trust and patience. It also raised expectations that would linger well into the rest of his tenure.

From 2012 to 2016, the Steelers entered what felt like a strange in between era. The team was still competitive, but something had clearly shifted. The league itself was changing fast. Offenses were opening up. Passing games became more aggressive and spread oriented. Rules continued to favor quarterbacks and receivers. With this, the consistency that defined the early Tomlin years was harder to find. Defensive dominance slowly faded. From 2007 to 2011, the Steelers allowed an average of 15.94 points per game, an exceptionally low mark that included three regular season finishes ranked first in the league in scoring defense. That unit set the tone every week. From 2012 to 2016, however, the average climbed to 21.2 points per game, a noticeable shift. Over Tomlin’s first ten seasons, that amounts to roughly a five point increase per game from his first five years to years six through ten, a change that reflected both an aging roster and a league that was rapidly becoming more offense driven.

Meanwhile, Pittsburgh was slowly transitioning away from its defensive identity while trying to retool on the fly. The emergence of Antonio Brown and Le'Veon Bell helped continue the prime of Ben Roethlisberger, and explosive offensive stretches made the team fun in a new way. Over Tomlin’s first ten seasons on the offensive side of the ball, there was roughly a two point increase per game from his first five years to years six through ten. During this span, Tomlin’s teams went 44-35 in the regular season, making the playoffs three times. Those seasons were rarely bad, but they were often uneven. From week to week, it was hard to know which version of the Steelers was going to show up.

The playoffs during this era made those feelings louder. From 2012 to 2016, Pittsburgh won only three playoff games and never reached the Super Bowl. Every loss seemed to carry the same question. Why does this team look so dangerous on paper but so vulnerable in key moments. It did not feel like failure. It felt like stagnation. As a fan, this was the point where trust turned into tension. Tomlin was still winning. The Steelers were still relevant. But the league was changing around them, and it felt like Pittsburgh was transitioning without ever fully resetting. That sense would only grow stronger in the years that followed. 2016 would also be the last time the Steelers won a playoff game under his tenure.

The Turning Point: The 2017 Season

So now we enter year 11 of the Tomlin era. This is the turning point of the Pittsburgh Steelers era under Mike Tomlin. Coming off of a blowout loss to the eventual Super Bowl Champion Patriots, the Steelers still maintained that fun exciting offense. The offense felt modern and explosive, built around “The Killer Bees.” Ben Roethlisberger at the controls of a passing game that could score from anywhere on the field with prime Antonio Brown, a dynamic Martavis Bryant, and a rookie JuJu Smith-Schuster making a name for himself. Additionally they were also one of the best teams in the trenches. With three Pro Bowlers on the offensive line blocking for Le’Veon Bell who racked over 1,900 scrimmage yards, it was the best offense the team had ever seen. On defense, there were exciting pieces too. The defensive front consisted of a young up and coming players like T.J. Watt, Bud Dupree, and Stephon Tuitt led by prime Cam Heyward and veteran James Harrison. But the engine of that defense was none other than Ryan Shazier. Coming out of OSU he was fast, instinctive, everywhere. Even with the secondary lacking, it finally felt like the Steelers had rebuilt their defense for the modern NFL without losing its edge. This had to be the year that the Steelers would conquer the elusive 7th Super Bowl trophy.

That season also included smaller moments that stuck with fans for different reasons. The problem was not that the Steelers lost games. It was how control slowly slipped away. What once felt sharp and imposing began to feel reactive, and 2017 became the season where those cracks finally showed. One of them was the bizarre pregame display against the Chicago Bears, when the Steelers did not come out of the locker room for the national anthem. Alejandro Villanueva, a former U.S. Army captain, was the only one who came out of the tunnel. Regardless of individual opinions on the decision itself, it was jarring for a franchise that had long projected unity, structure, and attention to detail. As a fan, it felt like another distraction layered onto a season already carrying heavy emotional weight. The sense of singular direction that once defined the team felt harder to find. Looking back, it became another moment that symbolized how 2017 was drifting away from the Steelers’ usual sense of control, even before the season ultimately unraveled on the field.

But even after that loss to the Mike Glennon led Bears, the Steelers continued to win. Even after that moment the Steelers won 7 of their next 8 games to improve to 9-2. Then everything changed in an instant. Against the AFC North rival Cincinnati Bengals on Monday Night Football, Ryan Shazier suffered a spinal injury late in the season, a moment that was devastating on a human level above all else. But as the weeks went on, it also revealed how fragile the defense had become. As a fan, the shift was impossible to miss. The speed was gone. Communication slipped. The Steelers defense gave up 24 or more points in three of their last four games to close out the regular season. In comparison to giving up over 24 points in just twice through the first 12 games of the season. What once felt fast and aggressive suddenly looked cautious and unsure.nThe cracks widened quickly. The Jesse James catch against the New England Patriots became symbolic of that season. Whether it should have counted or not, it felt like another moment where control slipped away late. That loss cost Pittsburgh home field advantage throughout the postseason, and the consequences showed up fast.

In the Divisional Round, the Steelers could’ve had a much easier matchup against a Tennessee Titans team they beat earlier in the season 40-17 but instead would have to face a team with a real identity of their own. Sacksonville. From my perspective, the 2017 Divisional Round loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars was the most frustrating game of the Tomlin era. Playing at home and coming off a bye, with all the offensive talent in the world, the expectation was to dominate early and control the game. Instead, the defense collapsed almost immediately. Jacksonville scored early and often, ripping through missed assignments and broken coverages through the air while Leonard Fournette tore them apart on the ground. The Steelers came out of the bye looking unprepared and overwhelmed. The Jaguars had a 21-0 lead less than 20 minutes into the game. But even when the offense finally responded with a 23 yard Antonio Brown TD and the defense did get the stop they desperately needed, Ben Roethlisberger coughed up the football as Telvin Smith ran it 50 yards back to make it 28-7. By the time the game settled, Pittsburgh was already in a hole that felt too deep. The offense, led by Ben Roethlisberger, did mount a late push and put up points in bunches, but it always felt reactive rather than commanding. Every score came with the pressure of knowing the defense could not get a stop. When the clock ran out, it was not just a 45-42 loss. It was the realization that the Steelers had been beaten at home because they could not defend, and the offense simply ran out of time trying to cover for it. A team with a coach that had the identity of building a defense that once thrived on big moments gave up explosive plays early and never recovered. The season ended not with a fight, but with frustration.

That loss marked the moment where Tomlin seemed to lose his edge defensively. Not overnight, but noticeably. The adjustments were slower. The answers felt incomplete. The Steelers were still talented. Still competitive. But the identity that once made opposing offenses uncomfortable was gone. Since 2017, it has often felt like the defense survives on effort and individual brilliance rather than structure and dominance. That season did not just end a Super Bowl run. It changed how the Tomlin era felt, and it planted the question that has followed ever since.

Where the Tenure Became Stuck

This is where the Tomlin era starts to feel stuck rather than stalled. It begins in 2018, a season that still feels hard to explain. The Pittsburgh Steelers before the season got into a contract dispute with Le’Veon Bell and he never played a snap for the team. Even without a top 3 running back in the league they managed to open the year 7-2-1, controlled their own destiny, and somehow missed the playoffs entirely. Watching that collapse week by week was jarring. Games slipped away that Tomlin teams usually close out. The pinnacle of this was when JuJu Smith-Schuster was voted team MVP instead of Antonio Brown after a crucial fumble vs the Saints to essentially knock the Steelers out of playoff contention. The reaction was immediate and ugly. Brown took to social media and made it clear he did not take it well:

The margin for error disappeared, and when the season ended, it felt like a warning sign. The talent was still there, but Tomlin’s grip on the team was loosening.

That feeling deepened the following year. After an 0 and 2 start in 2019 and the season ending injury to Ben Roethlisberger, the Steelers made a franchise altering decision. They traded a first round pick for Minkah Fitzpatrick. As a fan, the move was exciting at the moment because Fitzpatrick was clearly elite. He was the biggest game wrecker in the secondary at the time but it also felt like the organization was refusing to reset. Instead of letting a lost season play out and positioning themselves for what many viewed as an all time quarterback class, with guys such as Burrow, Tua, Herbert, Love, and Hurts in the class, the Steelers doubled down on staying competitive at all costs. That decision summed up the last eight years of Steelers football. Win now, even if now is limited.

Since then, the results have hovered in the same uncomfortable middle ground. The Steelers have avoided bottoming out, but they have not seriously threatened for a Super Bowl either. The regular season records are barely above .500. Mike Tomlin was only somehow 4 games worse than the Ravens during this stretch with a winning record against them in spite of a rotating QB room with a mix of unproven guys like Kenny Pickett and Justin Fields or veterans such as Aaron Rodgers and Russell Wilson. But the playoff results do not reflect this. Wins are harder to come by in January, and when they do get there, the gap between Pittsburgh and the league’s elite teams are obvious. The team is never bad enough to rebuild and never dynamic enough to break through. Tomlin is still winning more than he loses, including playoff appearances sprinkled in, but the overall postseason record during this stretch reflects it was a team getting bailed out by opponent turnovers and the offense doing just enough to not lose them games.

Even this 2025 season is a perfect example. The Steelers have the highest paid defense in the league and a veteran QB in Aaron Rodgers in an attempt to modernize the offensive side of the ball. To be honest, the result was not a failure. They still won the division, and for a moment it felt like there was a path to something unexpected. Looking back on it, the Steelers had gone 1-6 against playoff teams, and the league’s highest paid defense ranked just 13th against the run, 26th against the pass, and 19th in EPA per play. Even with the warning signs, hope lingered. But none of that seemed to matter once January arrived.

The Steelers are at home on Monday Night Football, an environment that had long favored Mike Tomlin and the Pittsburgh Steelers. Tomlin had never lost in that spot, and the franchise itself had not lost a home Monday night playoff game since 1991. History felt like it was on their side. Then the game happened. The Houston Texans defense looked just like the Pittsburgh Steelers defense of old. The Texans dismantled the Steelers 30-6, with their defense having more points than our offense. Even despite C.J Stroud doing his best to throw the game away to the Steelers with three turnovers, the offense couldn’t capitalize. Any lingering optimism vanished in the 4th quarter. It was not just a loss. It was a confirmation. The gap was real. The Steelers were stuck with Tomlin. He just physically looks out of it too. His facial hair wasn’t well kept with gray hairs flying out all around. He just doesn’t look like the youthful energetic coach he was when he started. Monday night made it impossible to ignore the elephant in the room that had been building for years. Both sides have to move on from each other. Now, that has happened. Tomlin has stepped away and I will forever be grateful for his contributions to the city on and off the field. But with that being said, “There is a fine line between drinking wine and squashing grapes.” I think even Coach Tomlin would agree, he has been squashing grapes since 2017.

What Should Mike Tomlin Do Next?

Now that Mike Tomlin has stepped away, the emotions are complicated. There is appreciation first. You do not coach in one place that long, win that much, and leave without leaving a mark. But there is also relief and excitement for a new vision. It feels like the story is actually moving forward instead of going into a loophole once again for the 2026 season.

If Tomlin never coaches another game again, television feels like the right landing spot. He has always been more than a coach buried in game preparation. He has a great presence and a fun personality. He is someone who commands attention without forcing it. His best moments in the back half of his tenure were not always on Sundays. They were at the podium in his “Tomlinisms.” The way he framed the game in the postgame. A pregame desk would fit him like a glove. It would let him stay close to football without carrying the weight of results, criticism, or organizational inertia. From a fan’s perspective, it feels like a role where his strengths would finally be the focus again.

If he does decide to coach again, the path has to look different than what the final years in Pittsburgh became. Can Tomlin still win at a high level? I truly think so. But his success has always depended on having high-level people around him. He won with the elite players and coordinators he inherited from Cowher such as Roethlisberger, Holmes, Polamalu, Harrison, Arians, etc. When those pieces were in place, he thrived. When they were not, the limitations showed. Any return to the sideline would need to be with a team that is already close, not one asking him to rebuild culture or squeeze wins out of thin margins. He needs to be handed the keys to the team that needs help getting over the top, not a team that needs help being built.

The End of One Era and The Search For The Next Pt. 2

The most important part of this is where do the Steelers go next. Art Rooney II has only been a part of two coaching searches in his time as an owner. Both hires were young cutting edge defensive coordinators. But with 7 of the last 8 Super Bowl’s being won by offensive head coaches, will he go in a different direction than he did 19 years ago? Rooney said in his press conference that, “I don’t want to sort of put any real parameters around it. We’re gonna be an open book in terms of who we look for.” What he did mention is that the main thing he is looking for is “leadership, and trusting this person can stand up in front of your team day in and day out and hold their attention and have them motivated to do what they do. So, that's the most important.” Here are a list of candidates based off of that criteria from his press conference and how I would rate them:

1. Chris Shula, Los Angeles Rams Defensive Coordinator (39)

Shula is a young, defensive coach who fits the mold of previous Steeler hires. With the Rams allocating $44 million to the defensive side of the ball this season (4th lowest in the league per Spotrac), Shula has proven not only can he develop young talent, but also squeeze the most out of his players. With the Steelers having a team philosophy of defense wins championships and a willingness to have the highest paid defense in the league, expect the defense to improve. He also comes from a family of football royalty with his grandfather being the late great Don Shula. Shula would be a part of the McVay tree and would have the opportunity to bring in his offensive minded coworkers to the team.

2. Brian Flores, Minnesota Vikings Defensive Coordinator (44)

Flores is someone who has had previous head coaching experience (24-25 with the Miami Dolphins) and also was a former member of the Steelers coaching staff. He is a creative defensive coach who brings exotic blitz packages wherever he coaches. The Vikings defense ranked 4th in EPA/Play this season. His leadership ability is unquestioned and he can help bring back the “Blitzburgh” identity and gives the Rooney’s a chance to use their own “Rooney Rule.”

3. Nate Scheelhaase, Los Angeles Rams Passing-Game Coordinator (35)

A young rising star on the offensive side of the ball could also be a way the Steelers look. With the Steelers two previous hires being 34, Scheelhaase fits the mold. He has been working directly under Sean McVay in an offense that ranks #2 in EPA/Play this season. I see Scheelhaase as a high risk, high reward coach just like Tomlin was 19 years ago. Scheelhaase has never called plays at the NFL level but has received high praise about his leadership abilities from both Sean McVay and Matt Campbell. He comes from a very successful McVay coaching tree and would also give the Rooney’s a chance to put the Rooney Rule into effect.

4. Jesse Minter, Los Angeles Chargers Defensive Coordinator (42)

Minter is another young, defensive coach who fits the mold of Steelers hires. With the Chargers in his first NFL season in 2024, his team held opponents to 17.7 PPG. This year they ranked 9th in points allowed, and 5th in yards allowed as the 2nd highest paid defense (per Spotrac). Minter also has AFC North familiarity as a former Ravens Defensive Assistant.

5. Robert Saleh, San Francisco 49ers Defensive Coordinator (46)

Saleh is someone who has had previous head coaching experience (20-36 with the New York Jets). He is known as one of the best defensive minds in the game and had the Jets defense as a top 10 unit in EPA/Play his last two full seasons there. With Saleh, I don’t think it is the perfect fit for either side. He does come with some limitations on the offensive side of the ball as he has already proven he was unable to hire the right guys to develop the QB position around him in New York. The Steelers main priority should be to find a guy who can turn both sides of the ball around.