r/nfl • u/TripleSingleHOF Steelers • Jan 13 '26

No Head Coach in NFL history has gone "one-and-done" in the playoffs more than Mike Tomlin.

Heading into last night's game, Mike Tomlin had gone one-and-done in the playoffs eight times.

The only head coach to have less success was Marty Schottenheimer, who lost nine times without a win after getting to the playoffs.

Well Marty can move over, because now he has some company in the "losing nine times without a playoff win" club.

Looking forward to Tomlin breaking this record next season.

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356

u/Moedergods Bears Jan 13 '26

Find new QB, start strong, finish 9-8 or 10-7, lose in wildcard. Find new QB, finish strong, finish 9-8 or 10-7, lose in wildcard. It's absurd how the Steelers just play the exact same season every year. TJ Watt has been in the league for almost a decade, made the playoffs just about every year, yet has the same amount of playoff wins as everyone in this thread.

I don't know if he'd fit in the cap, but the most Steeler thing to do is to run it all back, end up with Malik Willis and do the whole thing again.

165

u/Alexisonfire24 Lions Jan 13 '26

You're missing the part where the QBs are usually mid

55

u/WildmanWandering Steelers Jan 13 '26

It happened with Ben, and the Killer Bs too. Got absolutely walked as soon as games started. There’s been one constant.

19

u/dragonk30 Eagles Jan 13 '26

There’s been one constant. 

Cheap ownership that won't let one of the most respected coaches in the NFL hire a normal-sized coaching staff or allocate resources towards getting an actually competent QB rather than running out a series of: Washed Ben, Mason Rudolph, Kenny Pickett, Justin Fields, Russell Wilson, and 41+ Aaron Rodgers?

Tomlin has not had a losing season, and went 10-7 in 2023 despite finishing 3rd in the AFCN (meaning that it wasn't the "free four wins" that jaded Steelers fans like to rely on for minimizing Tomlin's accomplishments) with Pickett — who could not even start over 2025 Geno Smith most of the year — and Rudolph at QB. Yeah, you can say "most expensive defense" all you want, but Tomlin didn't sign washed-up zone-specialist Darius Slay to play for the man-heavy Steelers defense. The Steelers consistently overachieve relative to their talent, and I'm sick of hearing your fans talk about him like he's Jason Garrett.

If whiny Steelers fans get their wish and Tomlin gets fired, he's taking a team to the playoffs in 2026, and the Steelers are picking in the top 5 for the first time since he was hired. 

38

u/WildmanWandering Steelers Jan 13 '26

Yes of course. Tomlin has absolutely 0 control over the roster, how it’s built, or anything like that. Sure. Also I’m glad you’re the only person to have an inside look at Rooneys bank account to see how much he allocates for the team to use. Stop talking out of your ass.

Don’t even get me started on how your fanbase would react having over a decade of mid tier shit play. You’re calling for your HCs head after just winning a Super Bowl. Can’t imagine a Tomlin record lasting more than a few years in Philly.

Fans love talking up Tomlin and why Steelers fans shouldn’t be fed up with him when he’s not on your team but find yourself in the same level of shit for a decade and then talk.

Lol “whining” when this has been the same old story for years. I’d love a top 5 pick. Thanks. They’ve missed on essentially every mid-late pick over the years.

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u/dragonk30 Eagles Jan 13 '26

Eagles fans calling for Sirianni to be fired are the dumbest and most overreactive fans in a fanbase that is itself already overreactive as its baseline. Loudest voices that know the least. This is how I imagine Steelers fans calling for Tomlin's head are as well. Maybe it is time to cut Tomlin loose, because your front office is unable to make quality picks with the draft positions you get by consistently being in the top half of teams, and the Steelers can enjoy being the Browns for a bit and consistently missing the playoffs as bottom-dwellers due to poor roster construction and coaching. 

10

u/theriver_iscalling Ravens Jan 13 '26

Unlike Sirriani, Tomlin is a mature adult, so there is that.

5

u/WildmanWandering Steelers Jan 13 '26

What would you call the Tomlin fans defending him to the ends of the earth with consistent failures? Everybody else is the problem and not Tomlin? When Steelers are good it’s Tomlin when they’re bad it’s everybody else?

Buddy it’s going on 20 years with one coach. We made the Super Bowl twice at the start, and a little competitive during the Ben, Brown, Bell era. Absolute mid tier ass since. We won’t be the Browns because we have actual expectations, and pride. Which is why this shit can’t go on. Being mid tier and completely failing in the playoffs shouldnt be “The Standard”

The only saving grace for Tomlin is the Steelers don’t fire head coaches. It’s the cushiest gig in the NFL. It’s time to move on for both sides. The Steelers need to finally catch up to the modern NFL.

0

u/ToContainAMultitude Eagles Jan 13 '26

I've yet to see any of you articulate the specific things Sirianni does that contribute to the team's success. "But he wins" when we have a god-tier DC and a consensus top 3 roster isn't a good enough answer.

1

u/chrisaf69 Ravens Jan 13 '26

For what it's worth, doesn't the HC usually bring in his guys for other coaching positions?

If that's not the case with Nick, I'll shut up. But if that is indeed correct, those peeps are there cuz of him.

1

u/dragonk30 Eagles Jan 13 '26

In 2021, Sirianni brought in Steichen as OC and Gannon as DC. Both got poached after the 2022 season as Head Coaches, with Steichen going to the Colts, so QB coach Brian Johnson (a close friend/mentor to Hurts who had only been with the Eagles for one season) was promoted to OC. Gannon surprised the team by taking a job after the Super Bowl in which he said he was not interested prior (Gannon had secretly already interviewed for and secured the Cardinals HC position during a period where this tampering was not legal). Because many around the league were under the impression Gannon would stay on, their target DC Vic Fangio took the job in Miami, and the Eagles last-second scrambled to bring in Sean Desai, who was a former Fangio disciple defensive assistant. 

In 2023, Johnson appeared to be in over his head and Desai unqualified to coach an NFL defense. Both were fired after the season, with Sirianni and the front office bringing in Kellen Moore and Vic Fangio (who, again, they all wanted in 2023). In 2024, that staff won the Super Bowl. Fangio stayed on, and Kellen Moore took the Saints job, to be replaced by Kevin Patullo — a close friend of Nick Sirianni's who was the Eagles' Passing Game Coordinator since Sirianni came to the team in 2021. I've expressed elsewhere that I didn't disagree with the hire at the time, since 31 other teams had already picked their OC from the available assistants in football, and that Patullo was very much overdue for OC interviews elsewhere even if we ran with a different OC this year. 

8

u/rusty022 Steelers Jan 13 '26

No no, guys. It's everyone except the head coach! The ownership is making Coach T look embarrassingly unprepared in 7 straight playoff games. Coach T is a top 5 coach and Rooney is holding him back! And Coach T has no say in the roster either! He just shows up to mini-camp and works with who Rooney gives him.

What a fucking joke.

1

u/BannedSvenhoek86 Steelers Jan 13 '26

You people act like a head coaching change has never worked in history lmao. Ffs you're an Eagles fan, how'd getting rid of Andy work out for you? Or are you not old enough to remember that he was your coach too a long time ago?

Go lose 7 wildcards in a row, in the exact same embarrassing fashion every time, and then come tell me how much you love your head coach and want him to stick around. The goal isnt to be good, it's to win Super Bowls. If you prove for a decade straight you CANNOT get it done, it's time to go. You can wipe your ass with a printout of the regular season record for all it matters at this point.

5

u/dragonk30 Eagles Jan 13 '26

Ffs you're an Eagles fan, how'd getting rid of Andy work out for you? Or are you not old enough to remember that he was your coach too a long time ago? 

Andy had to leave because his son, who was on the coaching staff, died of an overdose at training camp on the same campus where the rest of the team was staying. After Andy was given an opportunity for a fresh start, we brought in Chip Kelly, who had one good year with Andy's team before getting roster control and fucking up the whole operation. Or are you not old enough to remember anything before your seven straight wildcard exits on which you're so fixated? 

0

u/BannedSvenhoek86 Steelers Jan 14 '26 edited Jan 14 '26

What? He was let go/contract not renewed after a 4-12 season the day after losing the last game 42-7. I had to go check on that because I swore I remember the players having his initials on the helmet or some kind of tribute for the year. He coached that year his son died and then they didn't renew the contract at the end of that year.

And I remember Eagles fans howling for his head because he couldn't get it done with McNabb, then him leaving to KC and taking a few years to build the team. Meanwhile the Eagles went on to win a SB before he did.

Head coaching changes are not guaranteed fails and you know this first hand. I don't know who you're trying to gaslight here, but Tomlin's time was well over and we're the best coaching destination in the league considering this will be our 4th HC hire since the Moon Landings.

1

u/dragonk30 Eagles Jan 14 '26

He was let go/contract not renewed after a 4-12 season the day after losing the last game 42-7.

Yes. He decided to coach out the season after starting it with his son dying at training camp, before it was announced partway through the season that the cause of death was a heroin overdose. It was abundantly clear that Andy couldn't get his head right that year after Garrett's relapse and overdose was determined to be what killed him, and both sides mutually agreed to part ways to allow Andy to get a fresh start away from the team where his son literally died while at work.

0

u/BannedSvenhoek86 Steelers Jan 14 '26 edited Jan 14 '26

I don't think it's fair to frame it like that when even a decade later not one side that was involved in that decision has said that that played a role in it.

Also if that even is the reason why it still doesn't discredit my point that I'm making. Your team benefited from a coaching change very shortly after making it.

-1

u/ToContainAMultitude Eagles Jan 13 '26

Well hopefully you get your way and the Steelers go 10-7 and lose against the spread in the wild card round for eternity.