NFL coaching changes are never easy. They bring out a lot of acrimony and frustration.
Especially when you only do them every two decades or so.
That is the case with the Pittsburgh Steelers and their fans in the wake of Mike Tomlin’s resignation last week.
But fret not! PiratesFest is this weekend to make all of us feel bett …
Nah. I can’t even sell that one to myself. Here is this week’s “U mad, bro?”
A few days ago, I mentioned that it was a rough end to Mike Tomlin’s time in Pittsburgh. This person disagrees with that characterization.
Tbh Tim, was Tomlin’s Pittsburgh ending that rough?
In August, Vegas predicted the Steelers to take 3rd in the division.
Our expectations are just unreasonable. pic.twitter.com/ZkvQBx3hqb— steelcitydw (@steelcitydw) January 17, 2026
By “rough,” I meant losing to Cleveland, getting throttled by Houston in the playoffs and twice having his name chanted to be fired.
That was pretty “rough.”
I’ll also disagree with your assessment of “unreasonable” expectations from Steelers fans. Expecting one playoff win over a nine-year stretch — or better than just two seasons with a playoff victory over a 15-year patch — is well within reason.
Jeffery has an opinion on Mike Tomlin’s legacy.
“Chuck Noll took an also-ran franchise and turned it into one of the most recognizable brands in professional sports.
“Bill Cowher brought a team that had stagnated back to the top, had his own struggles and worked through those struggles to return the team to championship form.
“Tomlin took over a championship team and won with it. Then steered it into consistent mediocrity and even negligent underachievement in the mid 2010’s.
“I do not suspect that there will be boos ringing out if/when Coach Tomlin returns to Acrisure. I expect the reception to be just like his tenure = mediocre.”
I can see potential for that, I guess.
Not quite as bad as “Renegade” these days, you mean?
Renegade is booed for the first time ever pic.twitter.com/kXBgpcVV64
— Matt Light (@MattLight) November 30, 2025
Kevin isn’t mad, but he raises an interesting question.
“When was the last time (if ever) a city replaced all 3 of its major league team coaches (Pens and Steelers) and manager (Pirates) in an 8-month period of time? I remember we were hanging out prior to the AC/DC concert in May when the Pirates information broke, Sullivan was right after that and Tomlin this month. I know Chicago did in 2023, but that, I believe, was over a longer period of time. 8 months could be a record!”
Kevin, to quote AC/DC: “Goodbye and Good Riddance to Bad Luck.”
Maybe it’s time for all of their fortunes to change.
Here’s a response from @Chubbybubbles77 to the news of Mike Tomlin’s resignation.
My tinfoil theory:
Danny is now the actual owner…but they will allow it to lag before it official for years
That’s exactly how it’s been done the last times prior
And they realized they were at a crossroads and had to pivot before more qb and philosophy mistakes
No option
— Chubbybubbles77 (@Chubbybubbles77) January 16, 2026
Eh, that’s not “too tinfoil.” But it is a little too early, Chubby.
It’s not that far down the track yet. Not as far as it was previously, when Dan Rooney passed it off to Art.
Related
• First Call: Another team showing interest in Steelers coaching candidate Anthony Weaver; new Brian Flores developments
• Tim Benz: Concern over Mike Tomlin’s Steelers legacy is unnecessary … and James Harrison’s story shows why
• Madden Monday: Art Rooney II ‘wasted a decade,’ so expect the Steelers to ‘hire the wrong guy’
On social media, I saw a guy named @TheAngryYinzer posting about the 20th anniversary of the Steelers winning their 2005 AFC Divisional Round playoff game in Indianapolis after Mike Vanderjagt missed a potential game-winning field goal.
“I’m definitely not a Tomlin defender by any means, but no one ever talked about Cowher lucking into this victory the way they did with Tomlin about Baltimore a few weeks ago.”
1. By that point in 2005-06, Cowher’s Steelers had already won one playoff game and the team had been in the AFC Championship Game the previous year.
2. They were on the road versus the No. 1 seed and did everything they needed to do to win. Then Jerome Bettis fumbled.
3. They had already gotten hosed on the Troy Polamalu interception call.
4. Do you think winning the Super Bowl a few weeks later helped?
This is an apples-to-motorcycles comparison.
For someone who says they aren’t a Tomlin defender, this is going to the mat pretty hard on an odd choice of a defense, Counselor.
Finally, somebody named Tom also emailed me trying to cut down Cowher and Noll as a way to make Tomlin look taller.
“(Tomlin) is a very good coach, and the Pittsburgh media has just completely turned on him for some reason. You and your counterparts constantly bring up the ‘non-losing seasons’ crap. It’s just lazy journalism. The grass may not be greener, we shall all find out.”
They’ve been on the other side of that green grass since 2016. The grass has been burned out and brown in the playoffs for nine years now. We’re talking a mere three playoff wins since the start of 2011.
Give the next guy 15 years of runway, and I bet he gets at least four.
Raise the bar. Stop being satisfied with mediocrity because you are selling out to the team colors.
But Tom wasn’t done.
“They were very mediocre with Chuck Noll in the 80’s and Cawher Pawher from 98-2003, but yinz in the media seem to forget that. Not trying to start fights, just report the truths.”
The Steelers won the division, were 13-3 and won a playoff game in 2001 under Cowher. They also won the division and a playoff game in 2002.
They never went nine straight years without a playoff win in the ‘80s under Noll, either.
Maybe it’s you who should worry about the truth, Tom.