We’re within the thick of the NFL playoffs, which additionally means groups that want a brand new head coach are busy purchasing. And this yr, there are plenty of consumers, after greater than 25% of groups mentioned “thanks and goodbye” to the man they began the season with.
A lot of the coaches had been fired. Most of them didn’t make the playoffs this yr. Most of them didn’t even end .500. None of that describes Mike Tomlin.
After main the Pittsburgh Steelers to the workforce’s twenty fifth division title — eight due to him — he determined to step down after 19 years on the job. Upon listening to the information, the Athletic reported, gamers turned very emotional, together with future Corridor of Fame quarterback Aaron Rodgers, who was mentioned to be in tears. The gamers’ response is per Tomlin’s decades-long fame within the league as an incredible mentor and buddy.
Sadly, as a result of we’re all trapped on this what-have-you-done-for-me-lately meets rage-bait world, there may be this narrative on the market that Tomlin isn’t an all-time nice coach. Actually, some Steelers followers on-line and former NFL gamers on podcasts are suggesting he was mediocre as a result of the workforce hasn’t received a Tremendous Bowl since President Obama’s first month in workplace. A few third of the league’s groups have received a championship since Tomlin. For the fanbase for groups just like the Cleveland Browns or the Arizona Cardinals, a Tremendous Bowl in any yr can be sufficient. Nevertheless, the Steelers devoted have a special historical past and better expectations.
I get it.
That’s nonetheless no cause to disrespect one of many biggest coaches in league historical past as he walks out the door. Recency bias usually comes with a touch of amnesia. Sprinkle within the tempo of the trendy information cycle and the algorithms’ insatiable starvation for outrage, and you’ll see why persons are tempted to say adverse issues about somebody who has by no means had a dropping season. That achievement isn’t perfection, which is usually the bar set on social media by naysayers looking for clicks, however it’s unequivocal excellence. No different NFL coach together with his variety of years in cost could make such a declare. That can also be true within the NBA, the MLB and the NHL.
The one quarterback the Steelers drafted within the first spherical throughout his period, Kenny Pickett in 2022, is at present on his fourth workforce. For perspective, Brock Purdy, the present San Francisco 49ers beginning quarterback, was obtainable. That’s not meant to be a dig on the Steelers entrance workplace. Each workforce has its hits and misses throughout the NFL draft. That’s simply to remind you of Pittsburgh’s decadelong carousel below middle. As coach, Tomlin has extra seasons utilizing three totally different beginning quarterbacks than he does ending the yr 8-8.
There’s no medal or ring for by no means having a dropping season. Nevertheless, that accomplishment ought to all the time include respect. As a result of successful an NFL sport has by no means been straightforward.
For perspective, in 2022, whereas the Steelers had been busy not drafting a franchise quarterback, former Rams coach Dick Vermeil was inducted into the Corridor of Fame. In 15 years, Vermeil had seven dropping seasons. Like Tomlin, he has one Tremendous Bowl ring. Vermeil, who was well-known for turning groups round in three seasons, left the sport with a .525 win proportion. After 20 years, Tomlin received 63% of his video games, which ranks within the high 10 all time and is the most effective in Steelers historical past.
To query if he’s an all-time nice isn’t simply counterintuitive.
It’s disrespectful. And for what? To generate some content material between playoff video games? An irrational should be a contrarian?
There’s extra to Tomlin’s story that’s being underdiscussed. Lower than 2% of all Ok-12 lecturers are Black males. The proportion of Black head soccer coaches within the high division has by no means been greater than 15. Chances are high Tomlin is the primary Black man lots of his gamers have ever witnessed be in cost. There have been stretches wherein he was the one Black NFL head coach and thus the primary individual journalists reached out to when it’s time to speak concerning the Rooney Rule. He’s carried that unstated accountability, that invisible weight, quietly for 19 years.
And he did so with out ever ending the season having misplaced greater than he received.
As a substitute of asking if Tomlin is an all-time nice, the dialog within the sports activities world needs to be targeted on how nice Tomlin is.
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