Member of Rooney Family Defends Mike Tomlin over Steelers’ Playoff Win Drought: ‘I Think It’s an Organization Issue, Not Just Mike’
Pittsburgh Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin has received a lot of heat for the five-game losing streak to end the 2024 season and the eight-year playoff win drought. The fanbase is fed up with being stuck in mediocrity and not living up to the standard of the franchise.
This has led to many calling for Tomlin’s job, but Jim Rooney, the brother of Steelers owner Art Rooney II, thinks Tomlin is not the one to blame for the downfall in playoff success.
“I think it’s an organization issue, not just Mike,” Rooney said on the Ross Tucker Podcast. “I think all of us are responsible for the outcomes, but I think we take responsibility. I don’t want to get into excuse making, but the reality is we outperform the NFL mean at a greater rate than just about any team for the last 25 years.
“I think if this was a boxing match and you were judging the competition, not just looking at the winning percentage, you would say that we have performed in a harder circumstance than most and outperformed them. Having said that, I understand no one wants to lose playoff games. The goal is to win the Super Bowl, and you have to get to there. You have to get to playoff games, which we do well, and you have to win playoff games, which we haven’t.”
Schefter reported on Saturday morning that the Chicago Bears recently called the Steelers to see if they would be allowed to talk to and potentially try to trade for Tomlin, only to have Pittsburgh rebuff their inquiry.
Schefter added that at least one other team besides the Bears checked into the idea that it could somehow could try to trade for Tomlin, only to be informed that the Steelers coach has a no-trade clause in his contract.
“Discussions never made it to Tomlin, nor is it likely they would they have been successful even if they did,” Schefter wrote.
During his season-ending press conference on Tuesday, Tomlin was rather direct when asked about any team who may inquire about his availability in a potential trade.
“I have no message. Save your time,” Tomlin said.
“I don’t think that’s realistic,” Rooney said. “I don’t know, so I don’t want too get into the mechanical details of how that even works, but Mike has said over and over again that he wants to coach the Steelers, and that’s what he wants to do.
“I don’t think there’s a real interest in (a trade) happening. It’s intriguing in the world we live in. We need dialogue and content all the time, but I don’t think that’s probably a realistic action.”
Tomlin signed a three-year, $50 million contract extension that will keep him in Pittsburgh through 2027 last offseason, so it appears he won’t be leaving anytime soon despite not winning a playoff game in eight years.
“I understand the nature of what it is that we do, the attention and criticism that comes with it,” Tomlin said on Tuesday. “As a matter of fact, I embrace it, to be quite honest with you. I enjoy the urgency that comes with what I do and what we do.
“I don’t make excuses for failure. I own it, but I also feel like I’m capable and so as long as I’m afforded an opportunity to do that, I will continue. But I certainly understand their frustrations and probably more important than that, I share it because that’s how I’m wired.”