If he is not fired, I will leave the Pittsburgh Steelers head coach…
If he is not fired, I will leave the Pittsburgh Steelers head coach…
The Pittsburgh Steelers were having one of their best seasons ever—doing more with less—a month ago. Entering Week 13, the Steelers had a 7-4 record despite having a limited (read: terrible) quarterback in Kenny Pickett, an awful offensive coach who had recently been dismissed, and a defense that gave up yards in abundance.
Even though they lost the yardage differential in every game, the squad had already made league history by being the first to sit above 500 through nine or more games. The game on December 3rd, against the 2-10 Arizona Cardinals, and the following week’s matchup with the New England Patriots—who also had just two victories—would both take place at home.
Despite Pittsburgh’s shortcomings, the opposition The Steelers made additional history by becoming the first team with a winning record to lose consecutive games against teams eight games below 500.
This should have been rather easy pickings for a playoff-bound club. Last Saturday, the Indianapolis Colts, who had allowed the Steelers to take an early 13-0 lead before scoring 27 straight points, suffered yet another defeat. At 7-7 right now, head coach Mike Tomlin’s club has little chance of qualifying for the AFC playoffs.
Can the downfall of a football club be both predictable and unexpected at the same time? Yes, the Steelers respond. No one who was paying attention believed that the Steelers’ formula—be outplayed for the most of the game but manage to win—could continue. (At least one team member stated as much while the recorders were running.) However, the Steelers’ performance in the last three games has been more than just a return to reality.
Rather, there has been an unprecedented decline that accomplishes two goals: First of all, it establishes a new benchmark for the variety of ways a team might disintegrate simultaneously. And second, it takes a proud team with six Super Bowls remaining to admit that its tried-and-true model isn’t working.
The demise of the Steelers is a case study. It’s possible that they won’t learn from it or that they will. However, the chaos they’ve caused may be ignored by everyone on the planet. since it is astounding. Of course, this has sparked a once-sidebar argument about whether the Steelers should fire their generally successful 17-year head coach, Mike Tomlin. But there’s wreckage to sort through in order to determine whether the Steelers should make that extreme move.
The Steelers’ on-field issues are not exclusive to them; they have many facets. They chose second-year player Pickett in the first round out of the nearby University of Pittsburgh, and he is among the worst quarterbacks in the NFL. While Pickett has been horrible, he has also dedicated nearly his whole career to Matt Canada, an incompetent offensive coordinator.
A week prior to the start of this losing streak, the Steelers dismissed Canada, but their two appointed assistants haven’t fared much better. (The only encouraging thing was that the Steelers scored 400 yards in their first game back from Canada, ending a 58-game run in which no team had previously accomplished that feat in the NFL.)
Pickett suffered an injury during the Arizona loss. After the most recent loss to Indianapolis, his backup, former No. 2 overall draft pick Mitchell Trubisky, was benched due to his poor play.
Throughout the league, 2023 has been a year of solid backup play, with a variety of journeymen and late-round draft picks rising to keep their teams competitive.
The Cleveland Browns, who play in the AFC North opposite the Pittsburgh Steelers, have won games with players like rookie Dorian Thompson-Robinson, selected in the fifth round, and Joe Flacco, a former Baltimore Raven who was out of football but is now 2-1 with Cleveland. After being undrafted in 2019 and never playing, Jake Browning has a 3-1 record for the Cincinnati Bengals.
The Steelers lack an inventive offensive strategy and a demonstrable ability to develop offensive talent, which is why none of their quarterbacks have produced anything of the kind.
The group has also done a terrible job of sharing chances. There are two running backs in Pittsburgh. Last year, Jaylen Warren, the talented one, signed as an undrafted free agent. In 2021, Najee Harris—the bad guy—was selected in the first round.
Because benching Harris would officially prove that choosing him was a waste, the Steelers frequently give Harris the ball. The Steelers have also experienced some unfortunate breaks, just like any other club. Their middle defense has been severely damaged by injuries, losing the majority of their safeties and inside linebackers. For the remainder of the day, another safety is not in.
