The Pittsburgh Steelers have gone eight straight seasons without a playoff win following Saturday night’s 28-14 road loss to the Baltimore Ravens in the Wild Card Round.
Is it time for Mike Tomlin to go?
NFL Analyst Kyle Brandt Believes Steelers Should Part Ways With Mike Tomlin
After this most recent one-and-done postseason trip, there’s a feeling that Tomlin might be coaching on borrowed time. The Steelers looked downright unprepared for the two-touchdown drubbing suffered at the talons of the Ravens, leading fans and analysts alike to ponder Tomlin’s future in Pittsburgh.
NFL Network’s Kyle Brandt withheld no punches when discussing the situation on “NFL GameDay” on Sunday morning. His point was concise. It was clear. It was brutally honest. According to Brandt, Tomlin and the Steelers must begin divorce proceedings immediately.
Brandt delivered a scathing tirade to pound home that point and many more in the wake of that 28-14 loss. He contrasted Tomlin’s “undignified” playoff drought to those of previous Steelers coaches, Hall of Famers Chuck Noll and Bill Cowher, adding that simply making the playoffs just isn’t good enough in Pittsburgh. That franchise demands excellence.
Okay, enough conjecture and background. Let’s hear it from Brandt’s mouth…
Thoughts on the Steelers this morning pic.twitter.com/4ZB5O0sGCt
— Kyle Brandt (@KyleBrandt) January 12, 2025
“This is a 10-3 team that completely fell apart and lost five to end the season. This is now eight straight seasons without a playoff win for the Pittsburgh Steelers, and this was undignified. The first half of that game was undignified. It’s also unprecedented,” he explained.
“Chuck Noll never went more than four seasons without a playoff win. Bill Cowher never went more than three seasons without a playoff win. We have now gone eight. And you say, ‘Well, you can’t figure out the quarterback,’ and I understand. But I look around the league and I see teams with rookies and retreads and seventh-round picks winning playoff games.
“There is this take which I agree with, and I think we all do, that if the Steelers were ever to part ways with Mike Tomlin, there would be 25 teams lining up to hire him, and I agree. I also think there are 25 teams in the league that would be thrilled to make the playoffs every year. It’s great. You get to the playoffs, it’s awesome, we can do business … It’s great, but I think there is a very exclusive fraternity of teams in the league that would hate just making the playoffs every year because they stand for something different.
“The Steelers are not only in that fraternity, they are the president of it. Eight straight years, it’s not working, and it’s getting worse. It was undignified last night and whether it’s talking about a trade or saying it’s not working anymore, let’s make a move. I do think it’s time to consider a divorce.”
Forget making it to multiple Super Bowls — winning one in 2008 — and 19 postseason appearances under his watch. Brandt believes it’s time to move on. The Steelers are a marquee franchise, one that values hoisting Lombardi Trophies over simply qualifying for the playoffs.
The Steelers haven’t won a playoff game since January 15, 2017. Worse yet, Tomlin’s record in the postseason is 8-11, including four straight Wild Card Round exits.
There are 28 NFL head coaches who have won a playoff game since Tomlin’s last postseason victory.
Those coaches are Andy Reid, Kyle Shanahan, Sean McVay, Bill Belichick, Bruce Arians, Sean McDermott, Doug Pederson, Zac Taylor, Matt LaFleur, Sean Payton, John Harbaugh, Mike Vrabel, Mike Zimmer, Dan Quinn, Doug Marrone, Nick Sirianni, Dan Campbell, Frank Reich, Kevin Stefanski, Pete Carroll, Bill O’Brien, Anthony Lynn, Jason Garrett, Mike Mularkey, Mike McCarthy, Brian Daboll, Todd Bowles, and DeMeco Ryans.
It’s easy to sit and point fingers at the lack of a franchise quarterback since Ben Roethlisberger’s retirement, but the real fault lies on the headset of the head coach.
Steelers Fall to Ravens in ‘Undignified’ Fashion
The Steelers were flat-out embarrassed by the Ravens in the Wild Card Round. Pittsburgh’s defense surrendered 299 yards on the ground — 186 yards from Derrick Henry alone — en route to a 28-14 loss. It was the most rushing yards ever allowed by a Steelers’ defense in the postseason, breaking a dubious 51-year-old record.
The Steelers’ defense finished with a 64.3 grade (D), according to PFN’s Defense+ metric. It was Pittsburgh’s worst Defense+ grade of the season.
“It wasn’t good enough…” Tomlin said. “None of us were good enough tonight.”
Tomlin is under contract through the 2027 season after inking a three-year extension during the 2024 offseason. There has been no indication from team ownership that they want to go in another direction.
Further, Tomlin has a no-trade clause, so if the Steelers want to explore trade options, then the 52-year-old coach would have to sign off on it.
Multiple teams would love to have Tomlin at head coach, as he has a .630 winning percentage through 18 seasons with the Steelers. His 183-107-2 regular season record speaks to his greatness. Counting the playoffs, he has the 12th-most wins of any coach in NFL history, and he has never had a losing season.
But the Steelers are known for their rich history in the playoffs and have the best winning percentage (including every expansion team) in the NFL. Also, the franchise has earned the most All-Pro nominations and are tied with the New England Patriots for the most Super Bowl wins (six) in the modern era.
This offseason, all eyes will be on the Steelers’ brass to see if they make a change.