BALTIMORE — Many are calling for the Pittsburgh Steelers to make at change at head coach after Mike Tomlin lost his sixth straight playoff game on Saturday night. It has now been eight years since the Steelers won in the postseason, but that doesn’t mean Tomlin’s players would be happy to see him go.
The Steelers’ 28-14 loss to the Baltimore Ravens is just their latest first-round exit in the playoffs, but the team doesn’t think all of the blame should be put on Tomlin.
Steelers cornerback Joey Porter Jr. has been a part of two one-and-done playoff teams to begin his NFL career, so he’s more than willing to put some of the blame on himself.
“It’s not all on him. It’s the whole team,” Porter said. “This is my second playoff game. I lost two in a row, so I have to hold that accountability to myself and everybody also got to hold the accountability.”
Still, many are beginning to question if the Steelers’ problems run deeper than just their players. Pittsburgh’s short trips to the postseason are becoming like clockwork and there needs to be some kind of change to end the team’s drought.
However, Steelers tight end Pat Freiermuth doesn’t think that change should come in the form of parting ways with Tomlin or anyone else who’s had a large say in roster construction.
“We all have the utmost trust in Coach T as a leader, as a guy leading us. Utmost trust in Omar (Khan) and the front office and their vision,” Freiermuth said. “We just got to get it right.”
Freiermuth didn’t share what he thinks the answer might be, but it could be that the Steelers simply don’t have the talent to matchup against some of the top teams in the league.
That’s what it looked like during Pittsburgh’s five-game losing streak to end the season. The only non-playoff team the Steelers lost to was the Cincinnati Bengals and many could argue they should have made the tournament.
The Steelers confidence in Tomlin is not wavering, though. In fact, linebacker Elandon Roberts thinks they have all the pieces they need to win in the playoffs.
“Because it’s built right,” Roberts said. “The foundation’s right. We’ve got a great leader in Mike T. We’ve got a great front office with Omar. We’ve got a great owner in Mr. Rooney. So the foundation is very solid.”
It remains to be seen how the Steelers can translate that confidence onto the field, but they’ll have the entire offseason to try and figure that out.
Will Pittsburgh just run it back? Will the team have a major roster overhaul? Or will the Steelers do what many believed to be unthinkable not too long ago and part ways with their respected head coach? Stay tuned.
