With the Pittsburgh Steelers mired in another second-half collapse and potentially in danger of missing the playoffs, calls for Mike Tomlin to be fired have grown louder with each passing week. While fans and media have long been clamoring for it, several of his former players have recently echoed those cries as well.
Former Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger played for Tomlin for 15 seasons from 2007 to 2021, so he knows Tomlin better than most. They won a Super Bowl together and appeared in over 200 games together.
While Roethlisberger has largely held his tongue about Tomlin lately, he finally weighed in on the situation during Tuesday’s episode of his “Footbahlin” podcast with Matthew Luciow.
“Maybe it’s a clean house time,” Roethlisberger said. “And I like Coach Tomlin. I have a lot of respect for Coach Tomlin. Maybe it’s best for him, too. Maybe a fresh start for him is what’s best.”
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Roethlisberger also suggested that Tomlin should consider coaching college football, saying he would win national championships if he took over Penn State’s program.
Tomlin’s in his 19th season with Pittsburgh, and even the best coaches have an expiration date. He hasn’t won a postseason game since January 2017 and is in jeopardy of posting his first losing record as a head coach.
Depending on how the rest of the season plays out, it might be time for the Steelers to part ways with him this offseason if he can’t turn things around and give both sides a fresh start.
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