One year (to the day) after winning the Super Bowl, Pittsburg Steelers' Coach Chin finally called it quits. He was the longest-tenured head coach in the NFL. His reign as head coach of the Pittsburgh Steelers lasted for an amazing 15 straight seasons. Number 15 was a waste though. Cowher should have called it quits after the Super Bowl. Instead, he stayed in limbo all season, and the Steelers never quite found a balance.
The Pittsburgh Steelers were a mess last year. The 2005 NFL champs fell from the top of the NFL mountain to a sorry 8-8 record. Although Pittsburgh finished strong, the team still missed the playoffs. There were distractions galore (you know the list: motorcycle crash, appendectomy, new face for Ben and a different Coach Chin). Untimely turnovers and lingering injury issues kept the team off balance for the majority of the season. Times were tough. I mean, Raiders only won two games last season, but one of those victories came at the expense of the defending champs.
It’s very difficult not to love new Steelers' coach Mike Tomlin. He’s young, but not as inexperienced as most people make him out to be. Tomlin says all the right things. He’s a true believer in effort over scheme, fundamentals over flash. He values intensity and exertion over X’s and O’s. Tomlin won the job on the strength of his impressive football convictions. He brings a quiet, but confident intensity to the game. Tomlin tells players to “play like your hair is on fire.” Hitters and runners are what Tomlin values, and that’s the mindset he’s bringing to any already stacked team.
Tomlin's coaching philosophy revolves around “living in and feeling the urgency of now.” He stresses “playing hard, playing fast,” over everything else. What the Pittsburgh Steelers need more than anything is to get back to the basics. Tomlin is the basics. He expresses, with single-minded conviction, a desire to have his players run and hit as hard as they can. He’s a forcefully positive coach with tons of confidence, and he’s the perfect fit for Pittsburgh.
If the Pittsburg Steelers can improve their tackling on kick and punt returns, and avoid coughing up the ball in critical situations, this team is certainly capable of returning to dominant form.
