TOMLIN & KHAN HAVE TO GO

Here's an excerpt from my latest TribLive.com column:

The Steelers made gratuitous changes in the offseason, acquiring Rodgers, Metcalf, Jalen Ramsey, Darius Slay and Jonnu Smith.

But somehow the Steelers remain stale. Everything feels the same, has the same flaws, the same peaks and valleys, and is headed to the same destination.

We analyze, strategize, fictionalize, proselytize, rally the troops, sweat the trade deadline, lie to ourselves and try to imagine ways the Steelers can get over the top.

They can’t. They won’t.

The Steelers so badly need a coaching change. An organizational overhaul.

If they did that, it might get worse. But the current situation is incapable of getting better. It’s on rinse and repeat. It is buried in the mushy middle.

Mike Tomlin probably never was a good coach. He probably won a Super Bowl with somebody else’s team, culture and leaders.

But now isn’t the time for a history lesson.

Now is the time to recognize that the state of the Steelers is tired and hackneyed. Bringing in old guys just made things older.

How does a coach perceived to be a nonpareil motivator so often allow his team to be flat?

But Tomlin won’t ever get fired. He also won’t ever have the self-awareness to realize that he’s long since worn out his effectiveness.

To read more, click HERE.

The Steelers need to make meaningful change.

Examples abound that confirm.

It's six years since quarterback Tom Brady left New England, two years since the Patriots moved on from Coach Bill Belichick. The Pats got the right coach in Mike Vrabel, drafted the right QB in Drake Maye, and are now tied for the best record in the AFC at 8-2.

Shane Steichen became Indianapolis' coach in 2023. He's a state-of-the art offensive mind. The Colts went from 4-12-1 in 2022 to 8-2 so far this year.

Tomlin is in his 19th season with the Steelers. He drafted Kenny Pickett. His mindset is stuck on "defense first." He's got zero offensive nous. He and GM Omar Khan (who's a bean counter, not a football guy) "rebuilt" by recycling a bunch of senior citizens who won't get better, just older.

Tomlin has to go. Khan has to go. The Steelers need to make meaningful change, not merely cosmetic.