Mike Tomlin Shares Perfectly Honest Answer When Asked About 'Fire Tomlin' Chants From Steelers Fans
Steeler Nation may be done with their long-tenured coach who has never endured a losing season
The Pittsburgh Steelers are still tied atop the AFC North standings despite falling to 6–6 on the season following their 26–7 home loss to the Buffalo Bills on Sunday. But frustration has taken over The Steel City, and the finger-pointing has officially begun.
After beginning the year 4–1, the Steelers have simply developed into an average football team — not exactly the storyline a team firmly in the playoff hunt wants to carry into the final five games of the regular season.
Someone has to take the brunt of the blame, and it appears many fans are pinning it on head coach Mike Tomlin.
READ: What Happened To The AFC North?
In the midst of the Steelers being outscored 23–0 in the second half against the Bills, rather loud chants of "Fire Tomlin" broke out at Acrisure Stadium. When asked about the chants from frustrated fans, the veteran coach delivered about as good an answer as one could.
"Man, I share their frustrations tonight. We didn’t do enough. That’s just the reality of it," Tomlin said.
It’s understandably difficult for some NFL fans to wrap their minds around a fanbase calling for a coach to be fired — a coach who has never posted a losing record in his 18 seasons at the helm. Then again, Tomlin hasn’t exactly found tremendous success in recent years.
Tomlin’s lone Super Bowl title with the Steelers came back in 2008, and while he led the team to a Super Bowl appearance in 2010, Pittsburgh has won just three playoff games since then.
When you simply look at the fact that Tomlin has won only three playoff games in 14 years, it doesn’t take much to see why many in Steeler Nation are frustrated with what they’ve been witnessing.
The obvious and fair pushback to Steelers fans calling for Tomlin to be canned is simple: What coach out there would be an obvious upgrade?