Art Rooney Says Mike Tomlin Is The Steelers’ Coach Of The Future

[hawaiiansteeler]

Art Rooney Says Mike Tomlin Is The Steelers’ Coach Of The Future

By Alex Kozora
Posted on January 28, 2021

Despite a bitter loss in the 2020 playoffs, Pittsburgh Steelers’ team president Art Rooney II appears unwavering in his support of Mike Tomlin. Speaking with beat reporters Thursday, Rooney said Tomlin, whose contract runs through 2022, is the team’s coach of the future.

Here are Rooney’s comments via this tweet from ESPN’s Brooke Pryor.

“Comfortable in saying he’ll be our coach of the future,” Rooney said. “In terms of the job he did, we didn’t finish the way we like.”

Despite an 11-0 start, the Steelers faded down the stretch, going 1-4, the first team to ever win their first 11 games and finish with four regular season losses. It ended in being bounced in the first round of the playoffs, an ugly upset loss to the Cleveland Browns. The offense turned the ball over five times and the defense failed to get a stop in the second half as the offense rallied back.

As we wrote immediately following the loss, it marked the end of a disappointing decade. Since their last Super Bowl appearance, the Steelers have made the playoffs just six times, winning three playoff games, failing to return to the Big Game, and only making one AFC Title appearance. That was in 2016 when they got blown out by the New England Patriots. Pittsburgh’s been one of the league’s most talented teams but have little to show for it. 2020 was supposed to be the team’s last best chance to make a serious Super Bowl run and they fell well short of that goal.

Still, the Rooney’s and Steelers are models of stability so it’s no surprise to hear Rooney publicly support Tomlin. In a time where the organization is about to usher in a new era, one without the likes of Ben Roethlisberger, Maurkice Pouncey, and GM Kevin Colbert (all potentially/likely gone after 2021), it’s unlikely the team will be quick to move on from Tomlin. Whether that’s the right idea is up for debate.

https://steelersdepot.com/2021/01/ar...of-the-future/

[86WARD]

SteelersDepot needs to send their writers back to journalism school...it’s getting worse by the day...lol.

[DesertSteel]

SteelersDepot needs to send their writers back to journalism school...it’s getting worse by the day...lol.

Aren't you making a big assumption that they went the first time?

I’m just thankful for the info they do provide.

[that1guy]

If he's the coach of the future the Steelers won't sniff another Superbowl

[st33lersguy]

PA's Mike Brown is affirming that PA's Marvin Lewis is here to stay, no surprise. Actually quite fitting considering that this team has devolved into every Marvin Lewis playoff participant: Talks a lot of trash, great at making off-field headlines, but reliably crumbles when it matters most

[Six Rings]

SteelersDepot needs to send their writers back to journalism school...it’s getting worse by the day...lol.

I think Korza is a very young person, close to 22 years old. Journalism isn't what it used to be.

[fansince'76]

I think Korza is a very young person, close to 22 years old. Journalism isn't what it used to be.

Actually, Alex is closer to 30 and used to post here as Chidi29.

[hawaiiansteeler]

I think Korza is a very young person, close to 22 years old. Journalism isn't what it used to be.

you're a fountain of inaccurate information, you misspelled his name and are way off on his age.

[Mojouw]

Steelers Depot is a blog. And they are very transparent and open about their lack of background in journalism, writing, etc. If you listen to their podcast, the two main content producers (Dave and Alex) are always self-deprecating and acknowledge their limitations. One of the issues is that they don't have a press pass for the Steelers. So they can't get interviews, ask questions, etc. All they can do is read Tweets, comment on others' reporting, and put their own spin on public knowledge stuff.

For all of its limitations and drawbacks, Steelers Depot is one of the better team specific sites out there. I am not saying it is the best, but it is consistently ranked and remarked upon as a reasonable source of team information and actual worthwhile content.

Not everything they do is golden or even good. But they are at least trying to do something more than most Bleacher Report or SB Nation style "team focused content" sites.

Long story short, I will defend that site overall. They get more right than they get wrong. They are reasoned and measured in their takes (just pretend the Marczi stuff doesn't exist - kinda like Godfather III). And they provide some details on game play that you can not find other places or without paying for the game tape yourself.

[86WARD]

Steelers Depot is a blog. And they are very transparent and open about their lack of background in journalism, writing, etc. If you listen to their podcast, the two main content producers (Dave and Alex) are always self-deprecating and acknowledge their limitations. One of the issues is that they don't have a press pass for the Steelers. So they can't get interviews, ask questions, etc. All they can do is read Tweets, comment on others' reporting, and put their own spin on public knowledge stuff.

For all of its limitations and drawbacks, Steelers Depot is one of the better team specific sites out there. I am not saying it is the best, but it is consistently ranked and remarked upon as a reasonable source of team information and actual worthwhile content.

Not everything they do is golden or even good. But they are at least trying to do something more than most Bleacher Report or SB Nation style "team focused content" sites.

Long story short, I will defend that site overall. They get more right than they get wrong. They are reasoned and measured in their takes (just pretend the Marczi stuff doesn't exist - kinda like Godfather III). And they provide some details on game play that you can not find other places or without paying for the game tape yourself.

I like the site and their film breakdown is pretty good. Their writing skills, on the other hand...”not so good”. Some of its basic writing, some of it is just having a thesaurus on hand and some is as simple as just proof reading...but of all the team specific sites for the Steelers, I’ll agree that the content is better and the film breakdown is much better than most other sites.

[BlackAndGold]

There isn't another Steelers blog site, or any blog site(that I know) for that matter better than Steelers Depot. Their film breakdowns, draft profiles and Dave Bryan's cap breakdowns are fantastic, it's worthy of being behind a paywall and lucky for us, it's not.

Steelers beat writers better hope the crew over at SD do not start finding news sources, they may be out of a job if so. Though they did announce today that Teryl Austin signed a new 2-year deal with the Steelers over a week ago "per his agent".

[Steel Peon]

Don't know how far into the future we're talking about here, but a Head Coach gets his time and then he goes. Just ask Bill Cowher, who had his time as HC and then he went, and after 15 years no less. And here we are again, in year 15 of one of the longest tenured Head Coaches in the league, who's had decent success, and just like Cowher before has become a giant question mark in regards to his ability to win the biggest game in the sport, to fans and sports writers alike. So how far do we ride with Tomlin, everyone asks? The difference this time seems that Tomlin is not asking for more money, and speculation was that Cowher demanded a bigger contract so he was shown the door, but we'll see next year when Tomlin's contract is up.

As usual all I'm doing is speculating, but for me I can accept that after a bit of time has passed the old phases out and the new ushers in, and if Tomlin ever goes, it should be as a result of this natural process. Tomlin has had his time, and that's for sure.

[Lloydwoodsonjr]

Bill Cowher won 12 playoff games in 15 seasons while Tomlin has won 8 in 14 years.

The difference is Cowher's QBs were O'Donnell, Tomczak, Stewart and Maddox; not a HOF QB.

I'm fine with Tomlin. His Steelers are entertaining to watch. I like him as a person. The reality is that the Steelers have underachieved for the last ten years. The Steelers act like they won the SB last year when the 2010s were as bad as the 80s in terms of playoff success. That's my biggest criticism of Tomlin. When a Steeler says "The Browns are the Browns" before a game it implies the Steelers are entitled to a win. The only player on the Steelers who has won a SB is Roethlisberger so why do some act like they won it last year?

[katmandu]

SteelersDepot needs to send their writers back to journalism school...it’s getting worse by the day...lol.

I could be wrong but I'm pretty sure they're unpaid and don't have a Degrees in Journalism.

Bet you any money some of our top posters (here on SU) are writers and perhaps the owner (Dave) of SteelerDepot. ;>)

- - - Updated - - -

I like the site and their film breakdown is pretty good. Their writing skills, on the other hand...”not so good”. Some of its basic writing, some of it is just having a thesaurus on hand and some is as simple as just proof reading...but of all the team specific sites for the Steelers, I’ll agree that the content is better and the film breakdown is much better than most other sites.

You could ask Dave if you could write for him.

[Shoes]

Bill Cowher won 12 playoff games in 15 seasons while Tomlin has won 8 in 14 years.

The difference is Cowher's QBs were O'Donnell, Tomczak, Stewart and Maddox; not a HOF QB.

I'm fine with Tomlin. His Steelers are entertaining to watch. I like him as a person. The reality is that the Steelers have underachieved for the last ten years. The Steelers act like they won the SB last year when the 2010s were as bad as the 80s in terms of playoff success. That's my biggest criticism of Tomlin. When a Steeler says "The Browns are the Browns" before a game it implies the Steelers are entitled to a win. The only player on the Steelers who has won a SB is Roethlisberger so why do some act like they won it last year?

Probably because some of these guys have a brain of an eight year old and a body of a man.

[fansince'76]

Bill Cowher won 12 playoff games in 15 seasons while Tomlin has won 8 in 14 years.

The difference is Cowher's QBs were O'Donnell, Tomczak, Stewart and Maddox; not a HOF QB.

I'm fine with Tomlin. His Steelers are entertaining to watch. I like him as a person. The reality is that the Steelers have underachieved for the last ten years. The Steelers act like they won the SB last year when the 2010s were as bad as the 80s in terms of playoff success. That's my biggest criticism of Tomlin. When a Steeler says "The Browns are the Browns" before a game it implies the Steelers are entitled to a win. The only player on the Steelers who has won a SB is Roethlisberger so why do some act like they won it last year?

Except almost half (5) of Cowher's postseason wins had said HoF QB under center, including his only SB win which was such a poorly played game that almost everyone outside of the Steelers fanbase still thinks it was gifted to him by the refs. And if Dan Rooney hadn't pulled rank on Cowher during the 2004 draft, the Steelers wouldn't have even drafted said HoF QB in the first place. Just saying.

And has everyone forgotten the mouth on Joey Porter ("Cowher guy" Numero Uno)?

[katmandu]

Bill Cowher won 12 playoff games in 15 seasons while Tomlin has won 8 in 14 years.

The difference is Cowher's QBs were O'Donnell, Tomczak, Stewart and Maddox; not a HOF QB.

Mmm, Cowher recruited Ben in 2004... and Cowher had a Defense that was LIGHTS FUCKING OUT of this world.... and oh yeah! Troy, Ike, Debo, BIG SNACK, Farrior, Aaron Smith, Foote, Porter and many more

Cowher also had a REAL running game going on. Had some Running Back guy..... can't remember his name....... Hmmm..... some guy nicknamed..... "THE BUS"!

Helluva an Offense as well .... Hines, Ward, Alan Faneca, Marvel Smith ,,,

[pczach]

Mmm, Cowher recruited Ben in 2004... and Cowher had a Defense that was LIGHTS FUCKING OUT of this world.... and oh yeah! Troy, Ike, Debo, BIG SNACK, Farrior, Aaron Smith, Foote, Porter and many more

Cowher also had a REAL running game going on. Had some Running Back guy..... can't remember his name....... Hmmm..... some guy nicknamed..... "THE BUS"!

Helluva an Offense as well .... Hines, Ward, Alan Faneca, Marvel Smith ,,,

Cowher didn't want to draft Ben. He wanted offensive lineman Shawn Andrews. Dan Rooney forced the issue, and they drafted Big Ben. The rest is history. Cowher didn't want the guy that was the answer to finally win a super bowl.

This isn't a made up story. This is well documented fact. Rooney himself has talked about it in books and in some interviews.

[86WARD]

I could be wrong but I'm pretty sure they're unpaid and don't have a Degrees in Journalism.

Bet you any money some of our top posters (here on SU) are writers and perhaps the owner (Dave) of SteelerDepot. ;>)

- - - Updated - - -

You could ask Dave if you could write for him.

I could. I used to do it for an NHL and AHL sports franchise (for work) but I don’t have the time to do it now with kids and new work. But you don’t have to have a journalism degree, sometimes it’s just about making sure the story flows and proofreading.

[86WARD]

Cowher didn't want to draft Ben. He wanted offensive lineman Shawn Andrews. Dan Rooney forced the issue, and they drafted Big Ben. The rest is history. Cowher didn't want the guy that was the answer to finally win a super bowl.

This isn't a made up story. This is well documented fact. Rooney himself has talked about it in books and in some interviews.

I think Cowher has admitted this himself.

[st33lersguy]

Here are two objective truths about Tomlin vs Cowher

1. Cowher typically went farther in the playoffs. He made 6 AFC Championship games and never went more than 3 years without one. Tomlin has made 3 such games and has made one in the last 10 years. Also, Cowher has only 2 one and done playoff appearances, both in his first 2 years (1992 and 1993). After that he won his opening playoff games in 8 consecutive appearances upon his retirement, eight, Tomlin has yet to string together more than 2 of these. And all of this was done while Cowher had scrubs at QB ranging from mediocre to awful the vast majority of his career while Tomlin had a HOF QB

2. Cowher lost to better teams and better QBs than Tomlin. In all his postseason losses, Cowher lost to 2 QBs that weren't pro bowlers (Stan Humphries and Frank Reich who was playing for the Bills during their stretch of 4 consecutive AFC titles one week removed from leading the 35-3 comeback). Cowher's 2 one and done playoff appearances? Those losses were the aforementioned loss to the early 90s Bills during their run of AFC titles and an OT loss on the road to a Chiefs team that had Joe Montana, Derrick Thomas, and Marcus Allen. People want to shit on Cowher for his 4 AFC Championship losses but one of those were to the dominant Broncos team that won back-back Super Bowls in the 90s and the other 2 were against the Patriots dynasty, all except one (when Ben was an inexperienced rookie) were with scrub QBs. Also no team he lost to in the posteason finished worse than 11-5. Tomlin on the other hand, has lost to the head coach-QB duo of Jack Del Rio and David Garrard, he's lost to the head coach QB duo of Doug Marrone and Blake Bortes, he fell behind 28-0 against a COVID ravaged Browns team (that finished with a -15 point differential when healthy) who was forced to roll with their special teams coordinator as a sub head coach. And who can forget his loss to Tim Tebow and one of the 5 worst teams to ever make the NFL playoffs. All with a future HOF QB.

It is objective truth that Cowher went farther with worse QBs and got knocked out by better teams than Tomlin did

[pczach]

Here are two objective truths about Tomlin vs Cowher

1. Cowher typically went farther in the playoffs. He made 6 AFC Championship games and never went more than 3 years without one. Tomlin has made 3 such games and has made one in the last 10 years. Also, Cowher has only 2 one and done playoff appearances, both in his first 2 years (1992 and 1993). After that he won his opening playoff games in 8 consecutive appearances upon his retirement, eight, Tomlin has yet to string together more than 2 of these. And all of this was done while Cowher had scrubs at QB ranging from mediocre to awful the vast majority of his career while Tomlin had a HOF QB

2. Cowher lost to better teams and better QBs than Tomlin. In all his postseason losses, Cowher lost to 2 QBs that weren't pro bowlers (Stan Humphries and Frank Reich who was playing for the Bills during their stretch of 4 consecutive AFC titles one week removed from leading the 35-3 comeback). Cowher's 2 one and done playoff appearances? Those losses were the aforementioned loss to the early 90s Bills during their run of AFC titles and an OT loss on the road to a Chiefs team that had Joe Montana, Derrick Thomas, and Marcus Allen. People want to shit on Cowher for his 4 AFC Championship losses but one of those were to the dominant Broncos team that won back-back Super Bowls in the 90s and the other 2 were against the Patriots dynasty, all except one (when Ben was an inexperienced rookie) were with scrub QBs. Also no team he lost to in the posteason finished worse than 11-5. Tomlin on the other hand, has lost to the head coach-QB duo of Jack Del Rio and David Garrard, he's lost to the head coach QB duo of Doug Marrone and Blake Bortes, he fell behind 28-0 against a COVID ravaged Browns team (that finished with a -15 point differential when healthy) who was forced to roll with their special teams coordinator as a sub head coach. And who can forget his loss to Tim Tebow and one of the 5 worst teams to ever make the NFL playoffs. All with a future HOF QB.

It is objective truth that Cowher went farther with worse QBs and got knocked out by better teams than Tomlin did

It's also objective truth that Cowher had stronger and deeper rosters because he chose to build them that way. His teams would physically overwhelm most teams, but couldn't win games against the best teams because of substandard quarterback play.

Cowher chose to not spend a lot of money at the QB position, and could load up the roster everywhere else. Even when he had Ben, he had him cheap.

Tomlin had the QB, but has not had the ultra-talented and deep rosters Cowher did because of that. The quarterback can make up for things and always helped prevent losing seasons, but the teams are hurt more by injuries because of the limited depth.

It's a difference of roster building in the salary cap era. It's difficult to compare because the game has changed so much.

Why can't fans be happy that we have had both coaches? I truly don't understand why one has to be better than the other. They both have strengths and weaknesses, but they are both excellent coaches.

[hawaiiansteeler]

It's also objective truth that Cowher had stronger and deeper rosters because he chose to build them that way. His teams would physically overwhelm most teams, but couldn't win games against the best teams because of substandard quarterback play.

Cowher chose to not spend a lot of money at the QB position, and could load up the roster everywhere else. Even when he had Ben, he had him cheap.

Tomlin had the QB, but has not had the ultra-talented and deep rosters Cowher did because of that. The quarterback can make up for things and always helped prevent losing seasons, but the teams are hurt more by injuries because of the limited depth.

It's a difference of roster building in the salary cap era. It's difficult to compare because the game has changed so much.

Why can't fans be happy that we have had both coaches? I truly don't understand why one has to be better than the other. They both have strengths and weaknesses, but they are both excellent coaches.

[st33lersguy]

It's also objective truth that Cowher had stronger and deeper rosters because he chose to build them that way. His teams would physically overwhelm most teams, but couldn't win games against the best teams because of substandard quarterback play.

Cowher chose to not spend a lot of money at the QB position, and could load up the roster everywhere else. Even when he had Ben, he had him cheap.

Tomlin had the QB, but has not had the ultra-talented and deep rosters Cowher did because of that. The quarterback can make up for things and always helped prevent losing seasons, but the teams are hurt more by injuries because of the limited depth.

It's a difference of roster building in the salary cap era. It's difficult to compare because the game has changed so much.

Why can't fans be happy that we have had both coaches? I truly don't understand why one has to be better than the other. They both have strengths and weaknesses, but they are both excellent coaches.

And Tomlin has had the benefit of numerous other pro bowlers including 10 in one season where they went 1 and done

[that1guy]

The proof is in the pudding. Under Tomlin the Steelers are 3and 7 in the playoffs, haven't appeared in a Superbowl in 11 seasons and consistently lost to teams with far less talent . The fact is Mike Tomlin has benefited greatly from an entire tenure with a future HOF QB and superior ownership. Tomlin is a benefit-of-the-doubt coach, I'm not sure he isn't fired years ago by any other organization except the Steelers.

[hawaiiansteeler]

The proof is in the pudding. Under Tomlin the Steelers are 3and 7 in the playoffs, haven't appeared in a Superbowl in 11 seasons and consistently lost to teams with far less talent . The fact is Mike Tomlin has benefited greatly from an entire tenure with a future HOF QB and superior ownership. Tomlin is a benefit-of-the-doubt coach, I'm not sure he isn't fired years ago by any other organization except the Steelers.

who would you hire instead of Tomlin?

[El-Gonzo Jackson]

Mike Tomlin is going to be the head coach for now and the future.

Some folks gonna be butt hurt.

[86WARD]

It's also objective truth that Cowher had stronger and deeper rosters because he chose to build them that way. His teams would physically overwhelm most teams, but couldn't win games against the best teams because of substandard quarterback play.

Cowher chose to not spend a lot of money at the QB position, and could load up the roster everywhere else. Even when he had Ben, he had him cheap.

Tomlin had the QB, but has not had the ultra-talented and deep rosters Cowher did because of that. The quarterback can make up for things and always helped prevent losing seasons, but the teams are hurt more by injuries because of the limited depth.

It's a difference of roster building in the salary cap era. It's difficult to compare because the game has changed so much.

Why can't fans be happy that we have had both coaches? I truly don't understand why one has to be better than the other. They both have strengths and weaknesses, but they are both excellent coaches.

It’s funny when people try to argue one being better than the other when in actuality, their numbers are almost identical.

[86WARD]

[that1guy]

who would you hire instead of Tomlin?

New blood would be nice, I like eric bieniemy.