A former player of the Cleveland Browns doesn't think the Pittsburgh Steelers will ever be the same.
The Pittsburgh Steelers are about to do something they haven't done in two decades, and that's enter a season without Mike Tomlin as their head coach.
It's also the reason former Cleveland Browns wide receiver Josh Cribbs is feeling quite confident in his old team's ability to have success in the AFC North in 2026, especially against the Steelers.
"I'm so ready for football season. I'm so ready because this division doesn't scare me," Cribbs said . "We don't have Tomlin. It is nothing to take away from the Steelers and McCarthy. He's [McCarthy] a valuable coach. But Tomlin had a winning season every year. He was in the thick of it every year now. Those are the questions. Only that you can't answer on paper from the team. 'Yeah, on paper, we look good,' but I can't do that no more because coach Sam Rutigliano embarrassed me. He was like, 'Oh, yeah, toilet paper.' I'm gonna always say this. I never say we look good on paper. We gotta go out there and actually do it."
New Steelers head coach Mike McCarthy does have very big shoes to fill. Tomlin never had a losing season in his 19 years of coaching the team along with making it to two Super Bowls (XLIII and XLV) and winning one.
Pittsburgh Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin celebrates after his team's 27-23 win over the Arizona Cardinals in the NFL Super Bowl XLIII football game, Sunday, Feb. 1, 2009, in Tampa, Fla. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip)
However, it's not very smart of Cribbs to completely write off the Steelers already.
McCarthy has an impressive resume, too, with a 174-112-2 career record and .608 winning percentage. His Green Bay Packers also defeated Tomlin's Steelers in Super Bowl XLV, and his quarterback, Aaron Rodgers , is now in Pittsburgh, too.
This article originally appeared on Steelers Now : Browns Legend Claims Steelers Downfall is Here
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