Mike Tomlin has been the Pittsburgh Steelers’ head coach for nearly two decades. His tenure started with success and an early Super Bowl, but he’s only gotten back to that stage once since, and now has six straight playoff losses to his name. It’s been a while since the Steelers were truly relevant in the AFC, which has plenty speculating on Tomlin’s future in Pittsburgh.
That speculation extends to NFL front offices. In an article with The Washington Post on Friday, Jason La Canfora shared some thoughts from an anonymous general manager on Tomlin’s future.
“I think the Rodgers thing brings it all to a head, doesn’t it?” the GM said to La Canfora. “Obviously, Rodgers is his guy. You can’t put that on Omar. Tomlin put his program on hold for this quarterback. Mike’s been there forever. At some point, he’s going to be coaching someplace else. Look at Andy Reid.”
The Andy Reid-Mike Tomlin comparison is nothing new. Given the trajectories of their respective coaching careers, there are admittedly some parallels. Reid spent 14 years as the head coach in Philadelphia. During that time, he did make the Super Bowl once in the 2004-05 season, but lost to New England.
Those 14 years were successful, but Reid could never bring consistent playoff success to Philadelphia. They were good, just not good enough, which led to Reid’s eventual exit. That sure does sound a lot like Tomlin.
That said, the comparison doesn’t make as much sense when looking at the details. For one, their coaching styles are entirely different, with Reid being an offensive mastermind and Tomlin focusing on the defensive side of the ball.
However, even when you join a new team, you still need a quarterback capable of getting you over the hump.
Reid became the head coach of the Kansas City Chiefs in 2013, with Alex Smith at quarterback. Those teams were impressive, but Reid failed in the playoffs like he did with the Eagles. Coincidentally, the Steelers’ last playoff win came against Reid and Smith back in the 2016 season, an 18-16 win for Pittsburgh.
Reid didn’t have true playoff success in Kansas City until he landed Patrick Mahomes. He wasn’t immediately successful just because he had a fresh start somewhere else. That’s not to take away from Reid’s talents as a coach, but instead to show how important the quarterback position is.
That’s something to keep in mind with Mike Tomlin. Even the best offensive-minded head coaches struggle to succeed in the playoffs without talented quarterback play. Tomlin has had subpar quarterback play for the last half-decade and has still managed to bring his teams to the playoffs.
Whether he ends up coaching somewhere else remains up in the air. However, he’s undoubtedly not going anywhere before his contract expires after the 2027 season. And if he does, it might not be the best-for-all-parties result many hope for.
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