Mike Tomlin was the head coach for the Steelers for 19 years before he chose to step down following another disastrous playoff loss.
Tomlin has not won a playoff game with the Steelers in the last nine years.
Not only has he not won a playoff game, but the losses have been embarrassing.
The Steelers have fallen behind by 21 points or more in seven straight playoff games.
Despite the National media always protecting Tomlin, the criticisms from Steelers fans are warranted and justified.
Mike Tomlin Criticism Is Warranted & Justified
Mike Tomlin stayed far too long with the Steelers. He spent 19 years with the team and has not won a playoff game in almost a decade.
Despite it being time for the Steelers move on from Tomlin, Art Rooney II actually said he wanted Tomlin back for another year. He still refused to fire him.
To Tomlin’s credit, he did step down, and it was about time.
Tomlin appears to be Teflon to media members, but not Steeler fans.
Steeler fans chanted to fire Tomlin when they got destroyed against the Bills, and once again, following the playoff embarrassing loss to the Texans.
Tomlin has done nothing to better the Steelers. He has not built a good roster, his offensive and defensive schemes are outdated, and he constantly gets outcoached by better coaches.
Despite the National media’s love and adoration for Tomlin, Steelers fans have the right to criticize him.
CBS Sports Reporter Aditi Kinkhabwala Defends Mike Tomlin
CBS Sports Reporter Aditi Kinkhabwala went on CBS Sports HQ and defended Tomlin.
Kinkhabwala stated, “Let’s acknowledge that the fact that the Steelers have even been in contention every December is really and truly a credit to Mike Tomlin. These rosters have not necessarily been up to par with the best teams in the National Football League. The fact that in six of the last seven playoff losses, we talk a lot about this, the Steelers haven’t won a playoff game in nine years, six of those seven losses in those nine years have been absolute blowouts. That’s a statement on the fact that those teams shouldn’t even have been in the playoffs. They probably had no business being in there.”
Kinkhabwala continued, “Mike Tomlin has covered up a lot of issues in this organization by the sheer force of his ability to coach, by his personality, by the way that he works.”
"Mike Tomlin has covered up a lot of issues in this organization."@AKinkhabwala says the Steelers NEED a rebuild. pic.twitter.com/kuMvmwzVHT
— NFL on CBS 🏈 (@NFLonCBS) January 14, 2026
There is so much wrong with what Kinkhabwala said. Mike Tomlin is the reason why the roster is so poor. He is the reason the Steelers’ draft picks since 2018 have been mostly busts. Tomlin wanted Mitch Trubisky, Justin Fields, Russell Wilson, and Aaron Rodgers at QB. The roster the Steelers have is because of Mike Tomlin.
To credit Tomlin for overcoming a poor roster of his own doing is ludicrous.
Tomlin had success early in his career because he took over a team that had a ton of talent. When those players left, and it was up to him to build a roster, he couldn’t.
Kinkhabwala’s comments are the exact reason why Steeler fans get sick of hearing the National media talk about Tomlin.
Another national media member who defended Tomlin but actually called Steeler fans stupid for wanting Tomlin gone is ESPN’s Matt Barrie. Here is a clip:
Congratulations on our PM Team callers getting on Sportscenter with their Mike Tomlin reactions. And shame on anchor Matthew Barrie for calling them stupid. What a Tomlin apologist. Brutal take by him. pic.twitter.com/FTj3OE0rFQ
— Andrew Fillipponi (@ThePoniExpress) January 13, 2026
While Matt Barrie thinks Steeler fans are stupid for wanting Tomlin gone, Steeler fans think Barrie is stupid for defending a coach who has not won a playoff game in a decade.
Steelers Will Give Next Head Coach A Lot Of Time
While the next Steelers’ head coach will have his hands full fixing Tomlin’s mess of a roster, each head coach candidate should prioritize the Steelers, as job security is through the roof.
Pittsburgh does not like firing its head coach, as they have had just three head coaches since 1969.
Whoever becomes the next head coach will have a lot of time to build a better roster.
The next head coach will need to find a franchise QB and build a much better roster than what the Steelers currently have. Lucky for him, time will likely not be an issue.
