Mike Tomlin could be the last coach standing in the AFC North
Yahoo Sports host Andrew Siciliano, senior NFL writer Frank Schwab and senior NFL reporter Jori Epstein discuss Pittsburgh Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin and how he keeps churning out winning seasons. Check out the full conversation on “Inside Coverage” - and subscribe on Apple Podcasts , Spotify , YouTube or wherever you listen.
Video Transcript
And it's amazing how, a month ago, uh, matter of fact, the clip is still getting comments on Instagram.
Come at me.
It's okay.
You, me, Brooke Prior, we all said it.
It looked as if it was over.
It is not over.
Clearly.
Matter of fact, Mike Tomlin might be the only One standing in the AFC North.
Yeah, it's a great question because, as we know, just a few weeks ago at Accretor Stadium, Home field for the Pittsburgh Steelers, that fan base was chanting, "Fire Tomlin."
And there started to be this question of, If the Steelers don't make the playoffs, if they don't win the AFC North, Is this the year that Mike Tomlin and the Steelers finally decide that it's time for Something new?
Now, the win over the Lions secures that.
The 19th straight season.
Every season that Mike Tomlin has been head Coach of the Pittsburgh Steelers, they have not had a losing record.
They'll have a winning record this year.
There are some 500 years in that mix.
And on top of that, regular and post-season wins included, He hit his 200th win against the Lions.
So, as he and Aaron Rodgers and veteran Defensive player Cam Hayward was walking off the field, You have, uh, Tomlin all hyped up saying, "These guys are monsters," and Rodgers is Looking at the camera, pointing at Tomlin, "200 effing wins right here."
There was definitely Quite a bit of, uh, celebration, confidence, arrogance, you could say it.
But it was kind of like, "Hey, well, we're gonna take this lap."
We don't know what's coming," I think what's interesting to me is that, in many ways, The Steelers look like the most functional team in the AFC North right now.
I think that the Steelers' defense rounding into form is one of the most impressive parts Because we all remember at the end of last year, when they had their five-game skid at the end.
Of the season, the defense was really the big thing.
It didn't matter if they were against Philly or if they were against Baltimore, Who it was, everyone was kinda running right over them.
And they looked really good against the Detroit Lions.
I mean, even without T.J. Watt, who continues to be out of commission from a partially collapsed lung and the surgery to recover that, and without Nick Herbig, They've got some other guys missing.
Even without that, The defense looked good.
And so, when I looked at that game, I kinda had this feeling of, yes, of course, Aaron Rodgers wants to be great.
And, of course, the Steelers want to get as much out of Aaron Rodgers as they can.
But I don't know that Aaron Rodgers has to be great for them to win a playoff game.
Because they had over 200 rushing yards against the Detroit Lions.
Their defense, when they were fresher, because of some of that run game, Although I guess if you keep having 45-yard touchdown rushes, You're not necessarily that fresh 'cause they're still quicker possessions.
That defense was fresh enough that they were making, uh, An impact.
And it was kind of this time where I'm like, For so much of Aaron Rodgers' career, he was carrying the group, And it felt like maybe this is a team that doesn't need them to carry him.
So, I'm curious what you guys think.
One, how great does Rodgers need to be?
And two, is a playoff berth enough to say, "Let's keep Tomlin," or do they need to finally Get that playoff win that they haven't got ten years, close to a decade?
