OT: The Pittsburgher Thread: Ploff wins?!? Fire Tomlin

[TNT87]

 

[Snooki Stackhouse]

Even Hines had his moments. He was more of a whiner than anything else. But it started with Plaxico, and it hasn't stopped since. I think it's just the position. Athletic ability goes up, brain cells go down.

A lot of elite guys keep a professional attitude, though. Garrett Wilson has had a pretty rough go of it with the Jets - terrible offensive play, organizational ineptitude, and bringing in Rodgers' bff to steal targets - and he's kept it together. JJ and Chase seem like levelheaded guys with good community engagement. Higgins has been Robin to Chase's Batman and I don't hear a peep over there. Mike Evans has been great for so long through up and down QB play, especially through those Winston years where they were bottom feeders, without acting like a clown. Guys like AB, DJ, Pickens, Claypool, and Juju (a personal irritation of mine, though he wasn't not nearly as bad as the others) are the norm in pittsburgh but other teams seem to not have the same issues.

 

[End of Line]

Even Hines had his moments. He was more of a whiner than anything else. But it started with Plaxico, and it hasn't stopped since. I think it's just the position. Athletic ability goes up, brain cells go down.

He may of had his moments but his wasn’t a complete Pejorative Slur that we’ve had since post 2012. Hell this team traded Santonio Holmes for smoking a joint and now it’s not even on the drug test.

 

[Peat]

 

[ZorkEnchanter]

Yeah if Austin and Meyer are actually under contract, they’re going no where. That’s just how the Steelers operate. AR2 isn’t gonna pay for a guy to sit on his couch and a replacement.

It’s a big reason why even if the wheels totally fall off next year, Tomlin still won’t be going anywhere.

That's not Art... (while he is a problem) this is all Tomlin. Buddies need jobs, and he's going to do everything he can to prove his guys were not frauds. (they are)

 

[Peat]

A Running Back Who Can 'Get To The Edge' Among Steelers' Draft Priorities, Dulac Says

The Pittsburgh Steelers were meant to be a run-first team that imposed its will on opposing defenses. They ran the ball a lot, especially early in the year, but the efficiency wasn’t there. Blame it on the offensive line, the lack of explosiveness in the passing game, or just not having the...

steelersdepot.com

 

[bigdaddyk88]

That's not Art... (while he is a problem) this is all Tomlin. Buddies need jobs, and he's going to do everything he can to prove his guys were not frauds. (they are)

It is Art because he has to cut the check to the coaches under contract. They barely wanted to fire Canada

 

[Jaded-Fan]

Chris Halicke​

5 hours ago - 01.16.2025Downtown

Top 10 favorites to be Steelers' next quarterback​

The Steelers have just one quarterback under contract right now, and it's a sure bet Skylar Thompson won't be the starter come Week 1 in 2025. While it's a bit difficult to forecast who will be the next quarterback, we can at least weight the pros and cons of several options.

We'll break this down by the top-10 betting favorites, according to SportsBetting.ag:

1. Sam Darnold, free agent (3/1 odds)

The third overall pick in the 2018 draft had a career year with the Vikings, setting career highs in completion percentage (66.2%), passing yards (4,319), passing touchdowns (35) and passer rating (102.5). The advanced analytics were pretty favorable for Darnold, too. He finished with the same exact success rate (50.9) at Patrick Mahomes.

However, there's plenty of reason to be skeptical of Darnold not repeating the way he played the previous six seasons with the Jets, Panthers and 49ers. He had a great situation in Minnesota. It would be a gamble. Even with Darnold ending the season with a couple of bad games, it still may cost a lot of money. Pro Football Focus projects three years, $123.75 million with $70 million guaranteed for Darnold. That's a hefty price tag for one really good year.

2. Aaron Rodgers, cut/trade candidate (4/1 odds)

Rodgers is a future Hall-of-Famer. No doubt about that. And, even at 41 years old, Rodgers still completed 63% of his passes for 3,897 yards, 28 touchdowns and 11 interceptions. His 1.9% interception rate -- a stat Rodgers has led the NFL in six different times -- still shows he can take care of the football. That's something Mike Tomlin values almost more than anything on the offensive side of the ball.

However, the Steelers' offensive line just isn't equipped to protect an aging quarterback, especially one significantly less mobile than Russell Wilson. More importantly, there are numerous reports from both Green Bay and New York about Rodgers liking to throw his weight around and influencing roster decisions to best fit what he wants to do on offense. I'm skeptical that Tomlin would want to deal with an ego like that, especially since Rodgers' best days are clearly behind him.

3. Justin Fields, free agent (5/1 odds)

In six starts with the Steelers, Fields showed true growth in a couple of key areas. After turning the ball over 41 times in three seasons with the Bears, Fields turned it over just twice in those six games. That aided in a 4-2 start to the season. Fields also showed more dedication to playing from the pocket and getting through his progressions. And, his tools are undeniably special. He's got a strong arm and the only quarterback more electric with his legs is probably Lamar Jackson.

Committing to Fields is still risky. He's only 25 years old, so there's still plenty of room to grow and mature. But, Fields is still inaccurate on too many routine throws, especially to the flat. With the Steelers, he also struggled to lead the offense to more touchdowns after getting in the red zone. However, it might not take a huge contract to lure Fields back to Pittsburgh. PFF projects just a one-year, $11-million deal. If the Steelers could offer two years for $25 million with about $15 million guaranteed, that could be a low-cost move with moderate risk and high upside.

4. Russell Wilson, free agent (6/1 odds)

Wilson took over for Fields in Week 7, and for the next seven games, the offense hummed with him at quarterback. The team not only went 6-1 during those games, but Wilson unlocked the explosive pass plays with his patented moon balls to George Pickens and a few others.

But, as we all know now, Wilson's game deteriorated down the stretch. While he had a 103.9 passer rating during the aforementioned seven-game stretch, his 81.3 passer rating in a four-game losing streak to end the season was one of the reasons why the offense became horrifically stagnant. As epitomized in the wild-card loss to the Ravens, the offense became solely reliant on Wilson's ability to throw the deep ball. That's not an efficient way to run an offense, so it's no wonder why Wilson's 43.3% success rate ranked 26th out of 32 qualifying quarterbacks. Also, Wilson will turn 37 before the end of the 2025 season. His game can't evolve to become more of a pocket passer, so relying on him to keep playing the same way that made him successful during his run in Seattle is a huge risk.

5. Jalen Milroe, draft prospect (7/1 odds)

The first draft prospect is Milroe, coming off two productive seasons at Alabama. He finished sixth in the Heisman voting in 2023, but regressed a bit in 2024. While he completed 64.3% of his passes, he threw for 16 touchdowns and 11 interceptions last season while he threw for 23 touchdowns and six interceptions in 2023. However, Milroe would fit Tomlin's "very" important desire to have a mobile quarterback. Milroe amassed 1,257 rushing yards over the past two seasons. Milroe is also just a tad undersized at 6-2, 201 pounds. It could work while he's young and still has his speed, but that will wear down as he ages.

6. Quinn Ewers, draft prospect (7/1 odds)

Ewers is another potential option in the draft, coming off three seasons as the starter at Texas. He's an inch taller than Milroe, but he's also got a great arm and just led the SEC with 31 touchdown passes. However, he also led the conference with 12 interceptions. Like Milroe, his 2023 season was far better than his 2024 season, completing 69% of his throws for 3,479 yards, 22 touchdowns and six interceptions in 12 games. But, that was also against lesser competition before Texas moved from the Big 12 to the SEC. His mobility is also lacking, and he's not a polished enough pocket passer to be a plug-and-play starter in the NFL.

7. Kirk Cousins, cut/trade candidate (9/1 odds)

Cousins was the top name in last year's free agent class, coming off four of five seasons with the Vikings in which he posted a passer rating of 103.1 or better. The Falcons gave him a huge contract to be their next quarterback, signing him to a four-year, $180-million deal with $100 million guaranteed. The Falcons have moved on to last year's first-round pick Michael Penix Jr., so the Steelers could do what they did last year and get a quarterback at a cheap price while another team pays the majority of his salary.

The problem is Cousins did not play anywhere close to the level he did in Minnesota. He led the NFL with 16 interceptions and was benched after 14 starts. His 88.6 passer rating was his lowest since 2014 with Washington. Cousins will also turn 37 in August. For an organization that desperately needs change, getting an aging quarterback on the cheap isn't exactly the change they need.

8. Daniel Jones, free agent (12/1 odds)

Jones is hardly an attractive option based on what he did with the Giants. He had one season that stood out when he helped lead the Giants to a 9-7-1 record and win a playoff game against the Vikings. In that season, he completed 67.2% of his passes for 3,205 yards, 15 touchdowns and five interceptions while rushing for 708 yards and seven touchdowns on 120 carries. Jones would certainly qualify under Tomlin's desire for quarterback mobility.

The problem is Jones is wildly inconsistent as a passer. After that 2022 season in which Jones recorded a career-high 92.5 passer rating, he hasn't even sniffed anything higher than 79.4. While there are quarterbacks that have found success after years of struggles, including Ryan Tannehill at age 31 when he played under Arther Smith, this feels like more of a project. Not a ton of upside here. If the Steelers aren't going to find their franchise quarterback, and it likely won't be this spring, they at least need upside.

9. Derek Carr, cut/trade candidate (16/1 odds)

The Saints are about to head for a complete reset. They have the worst salary cap situation in the NFL, as they are currently $48.7 million over the cap. Carr is due for a $51.46-million cap hit. It's very hard to see them holding onto him. If they traded him before June 1, they'd still take a $40.1-million cap hit, but be free of his contract after 2025. In 10 games on a bad Saints team, Carr completed 67.7% of his passes for 2,145 yards, 15 touchdowns and five interceptions, a passer rating of 101.0 while averaging 7.7 yards per attempt.

Carr turns 34 in March. And, once he would be traded or cut, he'll cost way more than other guys such as Rodgers or Cousins. This would be for a guy that was limited to just 10 games due to injuries. The Steelers have the money, but I find it hard to believe they would want to tie up so much money to an aging quarterback.

10: J.J. McCarthy, trade candidate (16/1 odds)

Should the Vikings (literally) buy into Darnold, they could move on from their 2024 first-round pick, whose season was derailed by two knee surgeries to repair a torn meniscus. McCarthy was one of the more talented quarterbacks in a good 2024 class of quarterbacks, and he played in a pro style offense at Michigan under Jim Harbaugh. He also has familiarity with Roman Wilson, who also went to Michigan.

Should the Vikings sign Darnold and make McCarthy available, it would likely cost quite a bit in draft capital. He's a potential franchise quarterback, though that's hardly a guarantee. It would be a move that requires buying into McCarthy and dedicating to his growth into their quarterback. But, this could all be moot, at least until we know what Minnesota is going to do about their quarterback situation.

Which of those options can best hand the ball off 75 percent of the time and pass within three yards of the line of scrimmage 24.89 percent of the time?

 

[pistolpete11]

Of course they aren't getting rid of Meyer or Austin. They still have excuses to make for them.

They lost the right side of their starting line to injury and the defense finished 8th in points allowed it was just bad down the stretch.

Things still aren't at a fever pitch at HQ, so they will wait to play these cards for when things get real bad for Mikey.

 

[pistolpete11]

Doesn't explain why they aren't open to trading him. 25 other teams would line up to lick his boots after all.

I know he has a NTC, but they can and should approach him about waiving that. Maybe he'll waive it for the right situation or maybe it will light a fire under his ass if he really doesn't want to leave. Pretending like nothing is wrong is just ensuring this mediocrity. They need to make things a little uncomfortable so they go in one direction or the other.

 

[Wattsburgh]

If we don’t get a 1st for Pickens (even if it needs to be a 2026 first) then I’m done with Khan too. Teams WILL overpay to win. Just have to win the phone call.

This is in regards to him being on the trade block.

Rather keep him if it’s not for a 1st as this draft blows.

 

[Mr Jiggyfly]

Steelers offense in disrepair thanks to series of misguided, arrogant decisions

Local media is finally doing their jobs and telling the fans the truth.

 

[pistolpete11]

https://www.post-gazette.com/sports/joe-starkey/2025/01/16/steelers-russell-wilson-justin-fields-arthur-smith-najee-pickens-tomlin/stories/202501140101

Local media is finally doing their jobs and telling the fans the truth.

I agree with a lot of these points and all, but "doing his job"? He's a professional writer and this reads as a standard, albeit lengthier, HFBoard post

And he still doesn't go far enough to say TOMLIN is the issue.

 

[Mr Jiggyfly]

I agree with a lot of these points and all, but "doing his job"? He's a professional writer and this reads as a standard, albeit lengthier, HFBoard post

And he still doesn't go far enough to say TOMLIN is the issue.

About .0001% of Steeler fans read this thread, so a Hfboards style article that cuts through the normal BS is long past overdue IMHO.

He’s also one of the first local beat guys to almost mutter the “bad word” about Tomlin:

Tomlin thought he knew what the rest of the league didn’t and reached for Kenny Pickett with the 20th overall pick in 2022.

One might have thought the Pickett implosion, combined with the hiring and re-upping of amateur coordinator Matt Canada, would have cost Tomlin his job after last season.

It’s a start and the more AR2 is called out, the more pressure he will start to feel.

He’s gotten way too comfortable with the media pretending he’s not a shitty owner like his grandfather.

 

[bigdaddyk88]

 

[ColePens]

That's kind of where they are though. Rebuilding is the best option. If something is of value, they should dump that player before next draft. They should get rid of Tomlin before next draft.

The 2026 draft in Pittsburgh should be a rebirth of the franchise. Get rid of it all and start new.

Yeah i'm with you. I don't quite understand where the Pens and Steelers are going right now. Mediocracy is the definition of the Steelers over 10 years. And I say that from a Steelers perspective. When you have been at the top of the mountain for so long, you don't get the luxury of acting like a Detroit Lions or Jacksonville Jags. You do not accept the results of the last 10 years. This organization is playing for one thing - championships. If you can't even win a playoff game and collapse each time - it has to be addressed one way or another.

And laughably the Pens are the same thing. You have 5 titles since 1990. Pretty incredible. How you accept the last 6 years is beyond me.

And if you need an example of why not to go for the fancy vet player --- Erik Karlsson. These guys are not just going to magically make a coach good or give him the ability to coach and adjust.

 

[Buddy Bizarre]

Tomlin on why he drafted KP:





Translation in Tomlin speak:

“I had a big advantage watching him practice and develop in the same practice facility as me for five years, and thought his tools would translate well to the pros.”

The idea Colbert forced the KP pick on Tomlin is as ludicrous an idea as Tomlin having a HOF coaching career.

And he insisted on keeping Canada

Fichtner and Canada, two unqualified nepotism hires who will never coach in the NFL again. Yet Tomlin gets no blame for selecting and keeping them.

It's still hard to believe that the top three Steelers coaches from 2018-2020 (Tomlin, Fichtner, Butler) were all from the 1998 Arkansas State coaching staff. That powerhouse team went 4-8 with Fichtner as OC, Butler as DC, and Tomlin as DB coach. You could feel greatness in the air!

Pat Meyer was the graduate assistant at Memphis in 1997, the year after Tomlin finished his tenure there as GA. They probably knew each other then, and definitely know the same Memphis people who hired both of them. Whenever there's a questionable coaching hire with Tomlin, nepotism is almost always the root cause.

 

[Goalie_Bob]

I agree with a lot of these points and all, but "doing his job"? He's a professional writer and this reads as a standard, albeit lengthier, HFBoard post

And he still doesn't go far enough to say TOMLIN is the issue.

https://www.post-gazette.com/sports/joe-starkey/2025/01/12/steelers-ravens-instant-reaction-russell-wilson-justin-fields-tomlin-rumors/stories/202501070133

Joe already called out Tomlin to be fired and called out ARII for settling for mediocrity. Everybody in the Pittsburgh sports media is calling for him to be fired or traded.

 

[Buddy Bizarre]

Does Roman Wilson still exist?

The offense was just too dynamic for him to get on that moving train. Better luck next year!

 

[Buddy Bizarre]

View attachment 962091

Back when Tomlin had Cowhers coaches we were known to draft & coach "UP" wide receivers (Wallace, AB, Burress, etc). Since Tomlin hired WR coaches including this goober named Grady, we've been ruining them & running them out of the league at a terrifying pace (JuJu, Claypool, Dionte, & Pickens trending that way).

Its like every position corp/room/group on the team. We use to take dart throw draft picks & FA rookies & coach players up where they had ascending careers (Willie Parker, Brett Keisel, Fanaca, Aaron Jones, Deebo, Ben, Troy, Ike, Deshea). It wasn't that we drafted better. Those guys were as much dart throws as the draft picks the last 5-6 years right. It's just that the TOMLIN HIRED COACHES HAVEN'T coached "up" a single player (Maybe Watt) in the 5-6 years.

Tomlins hired coaches are killing the ENTIRE franchise. Its so bad the Steeler stigma just died off this past weekend. the whole Steeler mantra is gone. The whole world feels the same about the Steelers, after our loss, as DRAMA described in that other thread. I know I do, I had those beliefs for DECADES.

Name one? Name a player that has had an ascending career under a Tomlin hired coach??? Minka, nope, hes going backwards too. JPJ, trending backwards. Muth, nope. Benton, nope. Dan Moore, nope. Highsmith or Nick Herbig, remember them. And people say Watt went quiet.

If you can't name one, that's ok, I can't either. If you do pull one name out of the HUNDREDS of players we threw a dart at, then I will ask you to name ONE (just one) tight end our moron dunce TE end coach, has coached up his entire career. The issue with this team is so BLATANT, yet every other reason in the world gets all the attention. Our ENTIRE coaching staff is THE WORST IN THE HISTORY of the NFL.

Players, whose careers ascend due to being coached & integrated properly turn out to be good player & know as good draft picks.

 

[Buddy Bizarre]

People are all falling for Tomlin's trap when you sit here and lampoon his defensive coordinators. I know most you hate Tomlin and want him gone anyway, but the reason he has a defensive coordinator and refuses to admit he calls the play is because he doesn't want the responsibility for his own f***-ups.

The standard answer he gives on this subject is he won't discuss their "division of labor." Nothing and I mean nothing shows how fragile his f***ing ego is that he won't just admit he calls the defense. I can't think of a single other head coach play caller who refuses to acknowledge they call the f***ing plays and I can't imagine any defensive coordinator worth a damn putting up with it.

Austin is a yes-man in his position because he has no other better options. He's there to be the whipping boy come January when Mike Tomlin f***s things up again. And you all fall for it by blaming him instead of the guy who is actually responsible for the defense.

This isn't speculative like me blaming MIke for the defensive woes. This is shit confirmed by Keith Butler and Dick Lebeau now along with a shit ton of media reports on the subject.

Stop falling for it. Point the finger at the guy who actually calls and designs the defense and gameplans.

 

[ImporterExporter]

You can't make up this level of incompetence.

 

[Buddy Bizarre]

Yeah if Austin and Meyer are actually under contract, they’re going no where. That’s just how the Steelers operate. AR2 isn’t gonna pay for a guy to sit on his couch and a replacement.

It’s a big reason why even if the wheels totally fall off next year, Tomlin still won’t be going anywhere.

50 million reasons why he's not going anywhere

 

[JTG]

I’m trying to remember Plex being a diva… can’t honestly remember.

He wasn’t the sharpest tool in the shed though.

- Spiking a live ball
- Didn’t bother to pay those pesky income taxes
- Shot him self in the foot, went to prison and lost a $35m contract he had signed that August

Not the best at making sound life choices.

Plex was just a moron. But that is really when it started these boneheaded WRs in Pittsburgh.

A lot of elite guys keep a professional attitude, though. Garrett Wilson has had a pretty rough go of it with the Jets - terrible offensive play, organizational ineptitude, and bringing in Rodgers' bff to steal targets - and he's kept it together. JJ and Chase seem like levelheaded guys with good community engagement. Higgins has been Robin to Chase's Batman and I don't hear a peep over there. Mike Evans has been great for so long through up and down QB play, especially through those Winston years where they were bottom feeders, without acting like a clown. Guys like AB, DJ, Pickens, Claypool, and Juju (a personal irritation of mine, though he wasn't not nearly as bad as the others) are the norm in pittsburgh but other teams seem to not have the same issues.

He may of had his moments but his wasn’t a complete Pejorative Slur that we’ve had since post 2012. Hell this team traded Santonio Holmes for smoking a joint and now it’s not even on the drug test.

Madden's nickname for Hines (Whines Hard) was sort of applicable, but to be fair, I would say looking back Hines was just being his own advocate. Ben comes in and says he likes big WRs. Well if I'm Hines, I start getting a little insecure about that. I get why he acted the way he did, and he even said that the biggest regret in his career was holding out with the Steelers.

You can't make up this level of incompetence.

Woeful ignorance at this point. They are making it really hard to watch.

 

[Coastal Kev]

The very sad reality of situation is that hiring Tomlin most likely cost the organization multiple Super Bowls. Tomlin was unqualified from day one; but the real issue speaks to an arrogant organization that was filled with insular nepotism.

Tomlin has many faults, but if you want to know why this team is stuck in mediocrity, look know further than their drafting and developing under Tomlin.

His best draft was his first, and I'm guessing this is the one where he had the least amount of input. After that you'll be lucky to find a draft where at least 2 players worked out.

Take a look for yourself, it's pretty depressing. https://www.steelers.com/draft/all-time-picks

if you're really looking for something fun to do, take a look at draft threads here the last 3 seasons, leading up to the Steelers being on the clock, compare our picks to what they actually chose and then see who was right.

It's stunning that part time fans have a much better track record than the organization.