Over the past four decades, the Pittsburgh Steelers have let go only a couple of high-profile employees. In 1991, coach Chuck Noll wasn’t fired as much as he was nudged. Tom Donahoe’s departure after losing an in-house power struggle with Bill Cowher was the closest thing to a pink slip that the franchise ever has given to one of its leaders.
So a year after winning the Super Bowl in only his second season on the job, it’s ludicrous to think that the Steelers were entertaining the notion that Mike Tomlin might not be the right man for the job.
Think again.
Team president Art Rooney II has spoken candidly regarding the rough patch that the team hit in 2009, suggesting that Tomlin might have been in trouble but for a three-game winning streak to end the season.
“I think that was important for the organization and it was important for Mike to show everybody that he’s the kind of coach who is not going to lose his team and [who will] keep them in the right direction all the way down to the end,” Rooney said, per Ed Bouchette of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.
“I think we learned something about Mike, and what we learned I think is positive for the future,” Rooney added.
Though we’re inclined to think that Rooney’s intent was to praise Tomlin, the words pasted above make us wonder whether the new steward of the Steelers will be less inclined to tolerate multiple seasons of mediocrity like his father periodically did.
Still, Rooney wants to see changes. Most importantly, he wants to see a renewed commitment to the running game.
“I think Mike and I certainly agreed coming off the season that we need to run the ball more consistently to get to where we want to get to,” Rooney said.
Amen.
Still, it’s far easier said than done, especially with Bruce Arians remaining as the team’s offensive coordinator. Infatuated with the pass, Arians will have to reprogram himself during the offseason to stick with the run. Wouldn’t it have been better to simply hire a guy with a track record of dialing up heavy doses of handoffs?
But if Arians is going to stick around, we suggest strapping Bruce to a chair, A Clockwork Orange-style, and forcing him to call pass after pass after pass while playing Madden in the hopes that he becomes nauseous whenever he considers during a real game the notion of calling anything other than a running play.
