Hot Seat? Steelers HC Added to Uncertain List

The Pittsburgh Steelers head coach hasn't had a single losing season (including the one with Duck Hodges as the starter). How could his seat be hot?

Jan 15, 2024; Orchard Park, New York, USA; Pittsburgh Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin walks the field before the game against the Buffalo Bills in a 2024 AFC wild card game at Highmark Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports / Kirby Leei-USA TODAY Sports

The Pittsburgh Steelers have had their good share of struggles in the post-Ben Roethlisberger era, missing on first-round quarterback Kenny Pickett and facing near-crippling struggles offensively since.

Head coach Mike Tomlin has still found a way to win despite coaching in what Pro Football Focus called the strongest division in the National Football League. But according to Eric Smithling of Yardbarker, Tomlin is one of 10 coaches on the hot seat.

"The longest-tenured coach in the league (17 seasons), Tomlin has never had a losing record," Smithling wrote. "But the Steelers also haven't won a playoff game since the 2016 season, the franchise's longest streak since its first post-merger playoff appearance in 1972 ... Change is inevitable in the NFL, even for a franchise that is the model of stability such as the Steelers (three HCs since 1969). If quarterbacks Russell Wilson and Justin Fields fail to take hold of the offense and the team flounders, next offseason might be the perfect time for the organization to make a clean break and start fresh with a new regime."

The excerpt elaborates exactly why Tomlin won't be fired even if the season doesn't go according to plan -- he's never had a losing record. He's a Super Bowl-winning head coach. With Tomlin's ability, coaching staff, and the foundation of the team -- even if Wilson or Fields somehow fail to generate an offense, one can still rely on a winning effort from the Black and Gold. But again -- the possibility of Wilson or Fields failing to provide quarterback player better than what Kenny Pickett or Mitch Trubisky could offer is very slim.

Tomlin does not belong in the same category as the New York Jets' Robert Saleh who sports an 18-33 record, no playoff berths, and dysfunction all around -- the article even goes so far to say, "Most coaches with Saleh's production aren't afforded as much time as he's enjoyed."

Tomlin is not even on the hottest seat in his own state. That title belongs to Philadelphia Eagles head coach Nick Sirianni -- whose situation is more dire and valid of hot-seat talk.

"Philadelphia self-destructed over its last six games (including the postseason), and Sirianni's inability to fix things raised concerns. He needs a big year to quiet calls for his job," Smithling wrote.

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