The old saying is the head coach and quarterback get too much credit when things are good and too much blame when things are bad. ESPN analyst Kimberly A. Martin thinks Mike Tomlin will be shielded from criticism even if the Pittsburgh Steelers’ 2025 season goes down the tubes. Instead, the finger will point at Omar Khan.
“If Aaron Rodgers decides not to come or he does come and they suck or whatever,” Martin said on ESPN’s Get Up Thursday morning. “To me, you would look at the GM.”
Khan took over as Kevin Colbert’s successor in May 2022, an internal promotion after the organization interviewed a long list of names. Beating out the likes of Brandon Hunt and Ryan Cowden, Khan has overturned the roster. Only a handful of players from Colbert’s time as general manager remain on the roster: T.J. Watt, Cameron Heyward, and Chris Boswell to name a few.
Khan has put his own stamp on the team. Along with assistant GM Andy Weidl, the Steelers have made heavy investments in their offensive and defensive lines during Khan and Weidl’s three drafts. Pittsburgh has spent five of its first/second-round selections on those positions, including drafting Oregon DL Derrick Harmon in the first round in April. But the name of the game is quarterback and the Steelers have struggled to figure out their future there.
Martin thinks Tomlin can only cook the meal with the groceries he’s given.
“The coach coaches the players that are there,” she said. “Omar Khan this is now his second year, I think, full time in this role. That’s where you have to look at.”
This will be Khan’s third full season as general manager and he was in the position for half of the 2022 calendar year. Martin’s comments downplay Tomlin’s power in the organization. Though every move and especially draft pick is presented as a “Steelers’ decision,” Tomlin has even more influence in the building after Colbert retired. And he’s as responsible for who the team drafts as anyone else. There’s a reason why no coach gets more involved during the Senior Bowl than Tomlin and why few match the number of Pro Day trips and dinners he takes.
When a team struggles, no one should be absolved of blame. Not the coach, not the general manager, not the players. But especially in Pittsburgh, which has a $50 million head coach and the longest-tenured one in American professional sports, Tomlin will and should get the credit or the blame for the results of the Steelers’ 2025 season.
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