Steelers, Fans and Expectations.

 Steelers football. For decades the Pittsburgh Steelers have been around. And ever since 1969, when Chuck Knoll was hired as head coach, the hopes and expectations of fans have stood behind them. Mostly. In the past decade or so I have seen the most vicious and unrelenting hatred of the coachees, players, plays and style come under attack. And since we won the Super Bowl in 2008, this has been, mostly, accurate. Knoll went through his trials, his first season they only won one game. Then the best came. Four Super Bowls later his 'dynasty' ran out. And from then until 1991 when he retired he was bashed for not winning another championship.

 Then came the Chin. Bill Cowher came in and began to rebuild. And he did, leading them to a championship, but ultimately losing to the Cowboys. And he had his detractors, but then we came back and won Super Bowl 40. And then..retired.

 Then comes Mike Tomlin. Only considering 2 or 3 coaches for the job as Head Coach, the Rooney's went with the DB coach of the TB Bucs. Now people have said he walked into a super Bowl with Cowher's team(a thought held in TB with the unceremonious exit of Tony Dungy and replaced by John Gruden and winning a SB), but i disagree. From what I have seen and read, he changed the entire format and led them to a super bowl victory. 

  But from then on he hasn't really done much. 'Never had a losing season', is what they say, and that is true. But is he a 'champion'? He will eventually be in the Steelers wing of the Hall of Fame, a consideration he would not have had coaching anywhere else! I say that because the Rooney's are not the owners to release a coach for silly reasons. Had he been with any other franchise he would have been let go years ago. But not having a losing season is not the same as a winning season. You can make it to the playoffs and not have a winning season, especially in Pittsburgh!

 The past few years the scrutiny has been intense. A revolving door of Offensive and Defensive coordinators is still happening. And the criticism aimed toward Tomlin has been deflected towards the OC and DC BY Tomlin himself! Seems he does nothing wrong and everyone else is to blame and the Rooney's turn a blind eye. 

 This year has been atrocious, but I don't believe this is all Tomlin's fault. Injuries and bad play calling is just the tip. We have a sub-par OC in Matt Canada and DC Teryl Austin. Now it has been said that Ti=omlin make ALL the decisions and that may be true. In that case it all falls on him. I think it is a aweaks system all around. All three are to blame for most of the piss-poor play calling. 

 And with Big Ben retiring we are stuck with a veteran and a rookie QB. The veteran, Mitch Drubinsky has tried but can't quite get a good feel and I reckon if/once he leaves he will spill the beans on how the Steelers are defective. THen comes Kenny Pickett, the Rookie from Pitt. Every fan wanted him to start and when he did, they all think that this is the Golden Boy. Like he alone will guide them to a super bowl. Again, like the criticism of Tomlin, they will eventually turn on him as well. Just like the fans did with Bradshaw(towards the end of this career), Malone, Brister, O'Donnell, Stewart, Maddox and even Roethlisberger.  

 That is not my only pet peeve with the Steelers coaching staff. I dislike intensely the selebrating and self-aggrandising of the players. They are supposed to eb a 'Team' and there is not 'I" in Team. With arrogant ego's like JuJu and AB, that stuff needed and needs to be stomped out. Play the game. If you get to the Super Bowl and Win THEN celebrate. I see too much celebrating when the team is down in points. That should not happen. In the 70's when the team won 4 super bowls, did they do celebration dances? No. Why? Because they were the best and they didn't need to show off to prove it. Now all these players are out for themselves and their massive self-important egos. Knoll would have shot them down immediately, as did Cowher(for the most part). Knoll and Cowher had one thing that TOmlin doesn't have. Respect. The players can do what they want and Tomlin lets them. And therein the problem lies. 

 So will the Steelers rebound? Probably. Will Tomlin leave? I doubt it. Will Pickett lead them, I highly doubt that. He is just a temporary cog. As a matter of opinion it would take a massive overhaul and several years of rebuilding before the Steelers make it the Super Bowl again.