Pittsburgh Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin says that he will to take over as the defensive play caller on game days, a duty that belongs to defensive coordinator Teryl Austin.
Tomlin, who sets the strategy the Steelers will use during the week before allowing Austin to implement it and call the plays, says that he is not going to take that duty away from Austin at this time, and no other defensive coaching changes are being considered.
In addition to that, Tomlin says that he has been pleased with the work Austin has done this year.
“You know, I’ve known Teryl a long time,” Tomlin said. “He’s very capable, he’s very thorough. I’ve largely been pleased with his work, but certainly, he and I are not pleased with where we are from a defensive unit perspective, and so we’re just gonna keep working.”
The Steelers have the worst ranked pass defense in football and the third-highest explosive play rate allowed. Those defensive struggles have cratered the team from a 4-1 start to 4-3 and now barely holding onto the AFC North lead with a gauntlet coming down the pike.
Austin is in his fourth season as defensive coordinator, with three top ten finishes in scoring defense over the last three seasons. Yet, that is unlikely to happen this season, as they have struggled mightily to turn things around.
The Steelers have not forced a turnover in a month, either, which has been the team’s hallmark for success over the last few seasons.
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