Last year, as the Steelers were sliding to a second straight failure to qualify for the postseason, folks in Pittsburgh were grumbling about coach Mike Tomlin, offensive coordinator Todd Haley, and/or defensive coordinator Dick LeBeau. All returned for 2014, and the grumbling continued as the season got off to an inconsistent start.
But now that the Steelers have turned it around, capturing an unexpected division title and sporting three of the top individual offensive performances of the season, no one is saying anything good about the Steelers’ coaching staff.
Mike Tomlin likely won’t receive many coach of the year votes, although maybe he should. His assistants won’t generate any buzz for head-coaching openings, although maybe they should.
Sure, Haley was a train wreck in Kansas City, but is it fair to assume he hasn’t learned anything from his experiences over the last few years? (Maybe he hasn’t, but it’s not fair to assume that.)
Perhaps the key to this year’s Steelers team was the third former NFL head coach to join the staff: offensive line coach and former Titans coach Mike Munchak. The Steelers won two Super Bowls in the last decade not because of great offensive line play but despite mediocrity. This year, the offensive line helped the offense finish second in total yards, with 411.1 per game. That’s only 0.3 per game behind the Saints.
So at a time when the coaching carousel spins rapidly due to the folks who did poorly enough to be fired, let’s stop for a moment to recognize a coaching staff that found a way to to the top of one of the best and most competitive divisions in the NFL.
