Pittsburgh Steelers Head Coach Mike Tomlin has taken even more heat than usual this season. The Steelers have been very inconsistent, particularly on offense, all season. This has led to many fans screaming for Tomlin to be fired, while the majority of the media has been preaching about how the Super Bowl-winning coach has never had a losing season. It is well known that Tomlin is considered a “players coach” making it no surprise that the players, both present and past, have taken to social media and interviews to defend him. Now, Interim Offensive Coordinator Eddie Faulkner chimes in with how he perceives Tomlin’s influence.
The retirement of former Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger at the end of the 2021 season caused the offense to go into a slump. They brought journeyman Mitch Trubisky in and drafted Kenny Pickett out of the University of Pittsburgh. Trubisky got the starting job in 2022, but quickly lost it to Pickett. While Pickett was better than Trubisky, it still felt shaky.
The 2023 preseason games showed fans a confident, poised Pickett, who was able to hit a variety of different receivers and manage a solid run game. Then the season started with them getting demolished by the San Francisco 49ers.
Steelers’ Mike Tomlin Has The Buy-In Of His Coaches
As the team has struggled at numerous times this season, Tomlin took heat for keeping Offensive Coordinator Matt Canada, who was fired after Week 11. Tomlin was also criticized for acquiring Pickett and Trubisky, and not getting the team a “real quarterback.” This only intensified after Pickett got hurt and Tomlin started Trubisky, who dropped two in a row.
Now third-string quarterback Mason Rudolph is under center and the team looks like we hoped it would all along. The offense is balanced, we finally scored 30 points during a game, and we are throwing the ball down the field. In addition, with the win in Seattle, Tomlin has now had 17 winning seasons in a row. He has never had a losing season with the Steelers. While that may not carry weight with some fans, it does with his coaches. According to a video posted by Chris Adamski from the TribLive, Faulkner was asked about Tomlin’s influence.
“He sets the trajectory and it’s kind of his vision and our words and we’re riding with whatever he’s saying, we’re selling it. I feel like the guys have been buying into it pretty good,” said Faulkner.
Faulkner, who had a brief stint as a Steelers player in 2001, was hired as the running backs coach in 2019. He took over as interim offensive coordinator with quarterbacks coach Mike Sullivan as the play-caller after the firing of Canada in November.
During the interview, it was mentioned that edge rusher T.J. Watt told the media if they could see Coach Tomlin in team meetings, they would never question why he has so much loyalty from his players. Faulkner was asked about that comment and he agreed with Watt.
“Coach T is special,” said Faulkner. “I mean that’s just really all I can say about it. Everything T.J. said, I concur with. He’s a special leader of men and I am happy to be a part of his staff.”
Tomlin has been with the Steelers since 2007 and coached in 274 games, winning 172 and losing 100 with two ties. He has led Pittsburgh to the playoffs 10 times, won seven division titles, has three AFC Championship appearances, and has taken the team to the Super Bowl twice (winning once against the Arizona Cardinals). Tomlin was the youngest coach to win a Super Bowl at the time.
Now with the team bouncing back, Tomlin is getting credit for being willing to make the risky switch to Rudolph. Despite being with the team since being drafted in 2018, Rudolph hasn’t exactly blown anyone away with his performances in the past. While backing up Roethlisberger, Rudolph was actually in the opposite position he is in now. He was benched for third-stringer Devlin “Duck” Hodges.
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