So, does that fall on the HC or the DC? Because I will say that he is loyal to his assistants to a fault. Keith Butler should have been fired immediately after the embarrassing loss to the Jags in the playoffs several years ago. Austin, I think, has done an admirable job considering all the new faces on the D this year. Do assignments get missed, sure. Is that lack of discipline? Meh. Maybe you are right, but assignments get missed at all levels. Players read things incorrectly or the offense adjusts to exploit a weakness. All in the adjustments of the game. I would attribute the lackluster playoff performances to a few things. First, lack of elite QB since Ben retired and even the last few years of Ben were not elite. Also, lack of a consistent, effective run game due to abysmal OL play since Munchak left as OL coach. Also, I think the Steelers still value defense way more than offense in an offensive focused league now. That gets them winning records and playoff berths, but not the ability to compete with the teams who have elite playmakers on offense. I like Mike. I think he’s overall a good guy and has been a really good coach for awhile now, but if he chose to step away and the Steelers decided to hire a young up and coming offensive minded coach in the McVay, Shanahan, LaFleur mold, I’d be pretty excited about that too.
Good post and excellent points. So, question. Do you believe e the Steelers can win another SB under Tomlin's helm? IMHO, I don't believe they can.
Not in the current make up of the team. They aren’t talented enough at some key spots and the depth is razor thin.
It's been almost 15 years since the Steeler's won a SB. Certainly enough time to build a team capable of winning if all. I just believe there are intangibles that are a part of the winning formula that Tomlin doesn't bring to the show.
Fair enough. Good point. They missed their best chance with Ben, AB, and Bell. However, that was the timeframe when Butler took over for retiring LeBeau and the defense wasn’t the typical Steelers defense during those years. They appeared to be back on track with Shazier at LB then he got hurt and it took a few years to solidify the LBs again. During that time frame, they missed on some draft picks like Devin Bush. Missed draft picks set organizations back. The Steelers traditionally have drafted very well, but most recently missed on guys like Pickett and Rudolph. That hurts. With that said, I really like their last two drafts under Khan at GM. Solid, good players. Time will tell. Like I said, you may be right, if they went with someone new, I’d be excited also for a new start.
That is a major insult to us Steelers fans. Please, don’t compare us to the knuckle dragging, pea brained Iowa fans.
I'm a Steelers fan. I was part of Franco's Army and Gerela's Gorillas.
