Fire Mike Tomlin? Please, Steelers stars know exactly what they’re playing for

Pittsburgh Steelers fans always want accountability, which is exactly what their head coach preaches. Now isn’t the time to fire Mike Tomlin.

Mike Tomlin has earned the benefit of the doubt and then some.

While Pittsburgh hasn’t won a playoff game since 2016, back when Ben Roethlisberger was at the helm, it’s tough to blame the Steelers inefficiency solely on Tomlin. If the last two seasons have proven anything, it’s that Tomlin is capable of taking a flawed team to the postseason. The hope within the Steelers building is that, eventually, he’ll be the beneficiary of another talented roster, and perhaps not coach in an era dominated by the New England Patriots.

Tomlin has outlasted the Brady-Patriots era, only to witness the rise of Patrick Mahomes and Josh Allen. There will always be an obvious enemy, and the Steelers must study their foes, and learn how to beat them. This version of Tomlin’s team is far off from accomplishing such goals.

Steelers are playing for Mike Tomlin, which is a first

Mike Tomlin’s teams have always respected him, but the locker room belonged to veteran players like Troy Polamalu, Maurkice Pouncey, James Harrison, Ben Roethlisberger and more. This season, there’s some unfamiliarity, though Cam Heyward and T.J. Watt remain leaders.

This team — led by a rookie quarterback and a host of young talent — looks up to Tomlin. They understand how rare it is for a head coach to last thing long at this level. And they don’t want to see his memorable streak — 15 straight years with a record of .500 better — come to an end on their watch.

To fire Tomlin is to admit defeat, and admit that a changing of the guard is needed from the top down. In Omar Khan’s first season, the Steelers need stability, rather than change.

These chants are largely social media driven, and not based in reality. To revel in Pittsburgh’s level of consistency is to also embrace the bad times. And with Tomlin, those ‘bad times’ are tolerable and few and far between.