TOMLIN = ALL HAT, NO CATTLE 

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

The Steelers drew three flags on special teams, all by Miles Killebrew, that unit’s captain. The Steelers were penalized twice for illegal formations. The Steelers had to burn a timeout because they had just 10 men on the field. The Steelers got cited for 12 men on the field. (That was immediately after a timeout.) 

That doesn’t happen with well-coached teams. That’s not totally on Tomlin, just mostly. But he’s got a cheap, small coaching staff with unimpressive resumes. 

But ESPN’s Stan Verrett was hyping Tomlin for NFL Coach of the Year on Sunday night’s “SportsCenter.” After that loss. 

That’s the Mike Tomlin story in a nutshell. He is too often guilty of coaching malpractice, mismanagement at a shocking level. Sunday’s 24-10 home loss to Arizona offers plenty of evidence. 

But the media props up Tomlin. The national variety does so on a level so clueless it’s disgusting.

Tomlin has won three playoff games in 12 years, none in six. He has presided over an appalling amount of disorder. Absorbed too many absurd defeats like Sunday's.

That “no losing seasons” garbage doesn’t offset enough of that, let alone all of it. 

But Tomlin is a “great coach,” for no other reason than people saying so. He’s all hat, no cattle. 

To read the entire Trib piece, click HERE.