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Mediocre Mike and the Mavens of Mundane

Ya know, I had some downtime at work today and I went and watched some old games of Pitt when Canada was the OC in 2016, some of his LSU games and Maryland games. I also watched some Titans games with Arthur Smith as OC as well as some of his Falcons games. Both coaches attacked the middle of the field. Both coaches were aggressive when they wanted to dictate the terms of the game. I'm not saying neither of these guys are blameless. It's their schemes, however, they scheme the game HCMT wants.
Matt Nagy trusted Mitch Trubisky to attack the middle of the field, Pat Narduzzi allowed Mark Whipple to scheme and call plays for Kenny Pickett to throw to where? The middle of the field. The biggest common denominator out of all of these coaches and QBs is HCMT. There is the possibility if he possibly allowed Canada to just use the whole football field vs 2/3 of the field, he might have been a descent coordinator and could've been the first coach to spread from the HCMT coaching tree. When you don't allow the OC to just run the offense and micro manage them to 2.6 yards and a cloud of dust with no throws to the middle of the field, you're too predictable.

I know, if- ifs and what's were candy and nuts we all have a Merry Christmas. To me, the biggest hang up for all of this is HCMT.

I keep thinking of this one scene from 'Remember the Titans' when a coach looks at the playbook and comments that there is only 6 plays and Coach Boone (Denzel) replies-"I run split veer. It's like novocaine, give it time it always works". This makes me think of HCMT of the way he wants his offense run.
 
Currently, there is nothing about the entire Steelers organization that is above average. Nothing.

Ownership? No.
GM who assembled this team? No.
Head coach? Not even a discussion.
OC? The stats clearly say no.
DC? The stats say bottom feeders.

The future doesn't look much better with Rodgers, Cam, Watt and several other starters being well past their primes.

This is going to be ugly for a while.
 
It helps if you just look at the NFL as entertainment.
I used to get super emotional for wins or losses.
After a loss I couldn't watch the nfl until at least Thursday. No? I watched the 425 game and Sunday nitro.

Think of it as a movie.
Watching the Steelers used to be like watching Star Wars at the drive-in for the 1st time. That exciting

Now it is like watching the empire strikes back. It was OK, but you have to wait a few years to see how it ends.

We watch rich spoiled coaches and players play a game. It means more to most of us than it does them.

Still sucks when they lose, but then I just turn the channel and somehow go on with life.
 
You cannot have the highest-paid defense suck and not hold someone accountable.

You cannot bring in Rodgers, DK, trade for Ramsey and Jonnu only to win 8-9 games and not hold someone accountable.

You cannot go 9 years without a playoff win and not hold someone accountable.

The team is going nowhere. They aren't fun to watch. Nothing will change unless they clean house.

Last year's talk of change was complete BS. It's all the same. The exact same and it's going to be the same next year and the year after that and the year after that, etc.
 
timsim00 said:
So funny that no one in the building has the cojones to point out these ridiculous stats for an offense and defense.

MT is the Teflon Don of NFL coaches!
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I’m sure Art 2’s inter-pool have mentioned these things to him at the right time & place.

I’m hoping that Tomlin’s contract expires or he is terminated 1 year early. At that time young Dan steps in and replaces a retired Art Duece and goes about finding a new coach / complete staff with coach input but Rooney approval. I think they have been grooming young Dan more in the team type stuff than what Art2 was brought up in.

Patience but urgency is deemed suitable at this stage of mediocrity.

Imagine not winning another game this year……. What could be a possible change



Salute the nation
 
Drink IRON City said:
I’m sure Art 2’s inter-pool have mentioned these things to him at the right time & place.

I’m hoping that Tomlin’s contract expires or he is terminated 1 year early. At that time young Dan steps in and replaces a retired Art Duece and goes about finding a new coach / complete staff with coach input but Rooney approval. I think they have been grooming young Dan more in the team type stuff than what Art2 was brought up in.

Patience but urgency is deemed suitable at this stage of mediocrity.

Imagine not winning another game this year……. What could be a possible change



Salute the nation
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This organization has become chicken **** when it comes to change and it's become 100% to their detriment.


But hey,congratulations! They've managed to completely destroy everything that was great about the Steelers and what they represented.


There's nobody left to even carry the torch.

Thankfully everyone still gets paid a kings ransom. I wouldn't want anyone starving over this.

What I'll never forget is "Go Pack Go". That was some sad ****,but it fits with the new standard.

Each year gets more disappointing than the last.
It's sucks when you know the team has zero chance to win a championship before the season even starts.
 
Yeah it’s so sad to me as I read all these posts from dedicated, loyal fans who are disgusted, heartbroken, and see absolutely zero hope.
Been following this organization since 1960 as a young kid always hoping for the best. Thinking maybe this is our season but of course the 60’s as you all know were ******* brutal.
Then hope came with the Emperor, Billy Nunn, and young Dan Rooney.
The 70’s were magic! The 80’s a downturn but when Cowher came, a revitalization occurred.
Highs and lows basically because we didn’t have franchise QB until Ben but some great teams nonetheless. AFCCG’s and SB with Neil O’Donnell, AFCCG with Kordell Stewart.
Always great rosters and great defenses and fun, exciting offenses.
Then 2007 got here and things just changed and perspectives, standards, the brand started to change.
Yes we won another SB and got to one other one but that was do to the remnants left from the Cowher years in players and coaches.
After 2010 it started changing drastically and not for the better.
Art II had full control and probably should never, ever been put in that position. Just didn’t share the same passion as his father and did things in a more business like atmosphere and not a football one.
The organization is broken and the sad part is Art doesn’t realize it.
 
Steelr4evr said:
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To Deebo's point, this is a snapshot of the most expensive defense in football - 11 Uncle Jarvises lollygagging around while 4 receivers streak through 7 defenders, hands waving 'I'm open"""'.
See first video - link can't be embedded... https://invalid Link - Check SN Home Page/2025/11/the-forgotten-play-that-helped-the-bears-beat-the-steelers/

BTW, A late friend who grew up with the McGinley kids once told me that the reason the Rooneys went for HCMT (after Miami passed because he was 'too hip hop') was because they felt he had a, er, unique angle on which to, um, communicate with the large majority of the team. An angle that was lost on all the very best talent that might have benefited (from Bluntonio, to Claypool, to Bryant to Bell & Blount, to AB, to Pickens, and on and on and on.).

How do you fail to field the scariest backfield in history with Bell & Bount (who went of to win 2 rings with 2 different teams) and have nothing to show for it? With arguably one of the best O lines, Heath, AB, Bryant, not to mention a stacked defense featuring Law Dog, Timmons, Shazier, and on and on and on. How do you **** that up? How do you NOT win Lombardis???!!!

Fraud.
 
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At this point, I don't even give a damn. The owners don't, I can't get wound up about a team that hasn't won **** in forever. I used to get mad when they looked like this, I laugh every game at how bad they are. They're an embarrassment. The Steelers I grew up watching through the 70's and even the down years and made that run with Ben will never happen again.

We're the Stains on steroids right now. Even their fans have hope. I'll tune in for the start of every game; I won't sit through 4 quarters of garbage ever again. They aren't worth it.
 
SteelerFan448 said:
You cannot have the highest-paid defense suck and not hold someone accountable.

You cannot bring in Rodgers, DK, trade for Ramsey and Jonnu only to win 8-9 games and not hold someone accountable.

You cannot go 9 years without a playoff win and not hold someone accountable.

The team is going nowhere. They aren't fun to watch. Nothing will change unless they clean house.

Last year's talk of change was complete BS. It's all the same. The exact same and it's going to be the same next year and the year after that and the year after that, etc.
Click to expand...
I'll add in...

You cannot go 61 games in a row and counting scoring 7 or fewer points in the first quarter...
 
speedicut said:
Rooney and Tomlin have been building the Factory Of Anger and Frustration to compete with Cleveland's Factory of Sadness.
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They've built the model Factory of Mediocrity.
 
meh the legacy of collapses continues... I remember one year when we were 7-2-1, 2.5 games up on the Ravens in the division going into week 11 with a favorable schedule and somehow managed to lose it by .5 games..

Tomlin is stale, they should have moved on after Ben retired
 
BLITZ said:
It helps if you just look at the NFL as entertainment.
I used to get super emotional for wins or losses.
After a loss I couldn't watch the nfl until at least Thursday. No? I watched the 425 game and Sunday nitro.

Think of it as a movie.
Watching the Steelers used to be like watching Star Wars at the drive-in for the 1st time. That exciting

Now it is like watching the empire strikes back. It was OK, but you have to wait a few years to see how it ends.

We watch rich spoiled coaches and players play a game. It means more to most of us than it does them.

Still sucks when they lose, but then I just turn the channel and somehow go on with life.
Click to expand...
Yep. That is where I am at also. Also....If I happen to miss a game(like I did against the Bengals) it isn't that big of a deal to me.
 
steelhurt said:
Man I’m so not into the Steelers like I’ve been in the past.
This inept owner who allows this crap to continue by keeping a head coach who is so out of touch with todays’ game it’s just sickening.
The culture has been badly tarnished and we’ve become an afterthought when it comes to a winning organization.
Non losing seasons are not a good measurement for a successful organization. Success is measured in championships which we haven’t been a part of now since 2010.
The owner can offer all the season ending promises he wants, but they are hollow now. His words don’t have much meaning.
The only way to begin to fix this is to completely overhaul this organization at seasons end.
Kahn goes, Tomlin and both coordinators go.
Promote Andy Weidel to GM and let the coaching search begin. Let’s look for a young, innovative coach with fresh ideas and an offensive minded one.
This needs to be blown up!
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While I pray for this every night, and have since 2016, it's not happening.
This fraud will coach until his contract is up, AT LEAST.
Art II needs to pass the torch to Dan to start the ball rolling.
I'm hoping that comes BEFORE Tomlin's contract expires/Art II wants to renew Tomlin's contract, so that Dan can KILL IT ALL in one swoop and start anew.
I don't think the scouting department changes.
But Tomlin and whomever on his coaching staff would "not have their contracts renewed".
I'm hesitant on Khan. Maybe Dan would want to keep him since he just took over GM from Colbert in 2022, and has had to deal with Tomlin his entire stint.
Khan's been in the organization since early 2000s, so maybe he would want fresh blood there, too.
I firmly believe WE fans need to help this cause.
I saw it in earlier posts, but we need to stop enabling......as much as it's going to hurt us.
Stop buying, and stop watching. This is how Art II gets the message.
But it can't be any less painful than sitting through this incompetence week after week.
 
madinsomniac said:
meh the legacy of collapses continues... I remember one year when we were 7-2-1, 2.5 games up on the Ravens in the division going into week 11 with a favorable schedule and somehow managed to lose it by .5 games..

Tomlin is stale, they should have moved on after Ben retired
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They should have moved on long before Ben retired.
 
I think what we all know SHOULD happen is not what will happen. What will happen is A2 will continue to run the team, MT will get an extension, and more than likely we end up with a new DC, unless Art Smith wants to leave, then we end up with only a new OC.

We are used to that scenario happening, over and over.
 
I have had a hard time over the years wrapping my head around the fact that Mike Tomlin could be this stubborn or arrogant or obtuse, whichever it is, or a combination of. He is supposed to be one of the best of only 32 in the world that do what he does. I just think of his highly compensated comment from last year and how that turned out, to turn around 6 months later and talk about a legendary defense. Wouldn't you think that maybe it's best to shut up and see how it plays out? But more important than words are you would think after the meltdown of last year you'd change stuff. It should have happened years ago, but one would think that would have been absolute. Nope.

I kind of feel like a dope for defending him at times over the years. But it just seems like there is no awareness there. We've all had to learn things the hard way, maybe be kicked around some, but you learn and adjust. I just can't understand people who don't. He doesn't. So that's my defense for defending.
 
fedderone said:
While I pray for this every night, and have since 2016, it's not happening.
This fraud will coach until his contract is up, AT LEAST.
Art II needs to pass the torch to Dan to start the ball rolling.
I'm hoping that comes BEFORE Tomlin's contract expires/Art II wants to renew Tomlin's contract, so that Dan can KILL IT ALL in one swoop and start anew.
I don't think the scouting department changes.
But Tomlin and whomever on his coaching staff would "not have their contracts renewed".
I'm hesitant on Khan. Maybe Dan would want to keep him since he just took over GM from Colbert in 2022, and has had to deal with Tomlin his entire stint.
Khan's been in the organization since early 2000s, so maybe he would want fresh blood there, too.
I firmly believe WE fans need to help this cause.
I saw it in earlier posts, but we need to stop enabling......as much as it's going to hurt us.
Stop buying, and stop watching. This is how Art II gets the message.
But it can't be any less painful than sitting through this incompetence week after week.
Click to expand...



GREAT post fedderone, thank you SIR.


Here is another one, purely football perspective

In the last 17 regular season games, HCMT is 6-11.

That’s a down spiral trend, not an anomaly. MOST coaches would be at least in warm seat mode.

ADD IN
KFP debacle
No PO wins in 9 years
Continual blow out PO loss’
Non-developement of players
No changes of team play
NO structure of rebuild team.
Scheme

ANY coach would be in the HOT SEAT by now if not fired.

How long was the cheating ****-er Billicheat kept on employ………. ?


I need just a little more out of ownership, and just a little more is all would take to create a change…

F-I-R-E. The HC (immediately & in-season)





Salute the nation
 
diver said:
I have had a hard time over the years wrapping my head around the fact that Mike Tomlin could be this stubborn or arrogant or obtuse, whichever it is, or a combination of. He is supposed to be one of the best of only 32 in the world that do what he does. I just think of his highly compensated comment from last year and how that turned out, to turn around 6 months later and talk about a legendary defense. Wouldn't you think that maybe it's best to shut up and see how it plays out? But more important than words are you would think after the meltdown of last year you'd change stuff. It should have happened years ago, but one would think that would have been absolute. Nope.

I kind of feel like a dope for defending him at times over the years. But it just seems like there is no awareness there. We've all had to learn things the hard way, maybe be kicked around some, but you learn and adjust. I just can't understand people who don't. He doesn't. So that's my defense for defending.
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diver, you need no defense. Most (including myself) have fallen to the “hood-winked” into his persona. He has had the benefit of every excuse in the book, had had the media paint BIG HIGH picture of him being the best in the business, and a fully supporting owner……………… easy to buy in

UNTIL

One steps back and looks at the actual football aspect. He has been making bad football decisions for a long time. In his early days he had the “Cowher” players cover a lot of the “pox” marks. As those players left he had to make more football decisions and that is where is all started. Fortunately for him he still had the Ben Rothlisberger to cover a lot of the “pox” marks and mask the ineptitude.

NOW there is no one, all 100% his own. If you pull out just one football decision…….. like TJ Watt as an example as this deals with coaching. TJ had to rely on his brother to coach him out of a funk of rushing to far up-field…. It worked, but the point is he had to go external to acquire that coaching. Follow up with position and placement….. nothing….. just let him continuously get chipped and become invisible….. no coaching help. Many a many other examples the HC should be responsible for.

His last 17 regular season record is 6-11, trending down, is that a mark of the best in the business???? I think not.

Look to the bright side, we are all in this together.

Keep posting as I for one enjoy your post(s) both pro & con. thank You SIR




Salute the nation
 
Vincent said:
... Oh, and he's destroyed the brand of one of the cornerstone NFL franchises.
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You know Vincent ,when it comes right down to it,this is the comment that stings.

I may not be from Pittsburgh,but I grew up in a blue collar family. As a 11 year old in 1971 was drawn to the Steel City work hard, lunch box identity the Steelers organization portrayed. Toothless Jack Lambert striking fear at the opposition. Mean Joe walking down the tunnel with a little kid,with you knowing he could take on any and all players. Mel Blount ( my favorite all time)
Knocking the **** out of anyone he faced. Hines frigging Ward taking on anyone. James Harrison….the strongest meanest MF’er to don the B&G. I could go on and on. These guys gave their blood ,sweat and tears for the Steelers. And the fans could relate.

Now I know everything is not always wine and roses. I can handle rebuilds. I can handle that not every draft choice and FA signing is not going to work out. What I can’t handle is the complacency,the lack of fire,the lack of preparation, the absolute bull-**** I hear after every game about how we have to do this and have to do that,and yet it’s the same old **** year after year.

Like everyone and there dog said before the game yesterday. Run,run,run. Their LB’s are out. Throw down the middle. Their LB’s are out. I put out a graphic a day or so before the game about Minnesota having success against Caleb by blitzing him 67% of the time. What did we end up doing?

But I’m getting off track here. The Brand. The Big Bad Steelers of yesteryear. The team used to be intimidating. Give it their all. Win lose or draw…..you were in a dog fight. Opponents used to dread coming into our Stadium. Now they look forward to it. We ain’t scaring nobody. What’s our brand? Our little dump off behind the line of scrimmage or 2-3 yards downfield?
3rd and 15? Throw for 6?

We play pu ssy football. We don’t live in our fears. Mike Tomlin and his word salad, even worse because he lets it happen,Mr Rooney have totally ruined the Teams reputation. The Brand. Years and years it took to make this Brand. No wonder all the retired Players are speaking out.
 
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