Damien Woody: 'It's time' for the Pittsburgh Steelers to move on from Mike Tomlin

ESPN’s Damien Woody believes it’s time for the Pittsburgh Steelers to make a change and move on from their longtime leader in Mike Tomlin following another demonizing loss in the playoffs.

While Tomlin has amassed an incredible resume with the legendary franchise, Woody and other pundits believe he may have plateaued. It’s been a while since the Steelers last won a playoff game, and it’s become commonplace for Pittsburgh to sneak into the dance, only to go home before the start of the Divisional Round.

After falling to the Baltimore Ravens over the weekend, Woody believes Tomlin’s message is falling on deaf ears with the Steelers. While another team would likely scoop him up if Pittsburgh moved on, the ESPN analyst compared the situation to Andy Reid’s time with the Philadelphia Eagles, thinking both sides need to move on to move forward.

“I think it’s time. I think it’s time for the Pittsburgh Steelers to move in a different direction,” Woody said, regarding Tomlin’s time with the franchise. “I don’t say that lightly, because I love Mike Tomlin. I love what he stands for. I love the mentality that he brings. But Mike Tomlin, who’s a magician as an orator, a words magician, one of the things he always says is, ‘The standard is the same.’ Well, what is the standard in Pittsburgh right now? The standard right now is, we’re talking about a guy in Mike Tomlin, who’s the only Super Bowl-winning coach to lose six straight playoff games. Six straight one-and-dones. Is that the standard of the Pittsburgh Steelers?

“The Pittsburgh Steelers are one of the few blue-chip franchises that we have in our league. They are about championships. Not back-dooring, getting into the playoffs and then losing and you’re back home again. That’s not Pittsburgh, okay? So, I don’t want to hear about quarterback. I don’t want to hear about offensive systems. There’s a bigger problem in the Steelers organization right now. Again, I can have affinity towards Mike Tomlin, but also, in the same breath, understand that sometimes things run their course.

“We’ve seen it with Andy Reid in Philadelphia. Andy Reid was tremendous. Took multiple quarterbacks to Super Bowls. Had all types of success with the Philadelphia Eagles. But it ran its course. He moved on to the Kansas City Chiefs, and the rest is history. Going to be considered one of the best coaches ever to coach in the National Football League. Right now, in my opinion, it’s time for the Pittsburgh Steelers to move on.”

All told, Mike Tomlin is one of the more respected, if not the most respected coach in the entire league, and if his time with the Pittsburgh Steelers comes to an end, he’ll land on his feet immediately, should he choose to coach elsewhere. Whether Damien Woody is right remains to be seen, but the franchise evidently has an important decision to make at the moment.