Steelers Incompetent Coaching In Houston Proves That Terry Bradshaw Was 100% Correct About Mike Tomlin

The Pittsburgh Steelers have a big issue. It isn’t Kenny Pickett or the offensive line. It is coaching. Mike Tomlin, Matt Canada and Teryl Austin are awful. Anything good that happens on the field has nothing to do with any play design or call by the coaches. It is obvious to anyone who has watched the Steelers play since Todd Haley's contract was not renewed after the 2018 season.

The national media will trot out the popular tropes to defend Tomlin this week. Cue up the 'never had a losing season' defense. It will be the popular, 'if you fire Tomlin, he will have another job in five minutes' observations. At this point, Steeler Nation should hope that the job is in the AFC North.  

Steelers Have To Be Honest And Admit Terry Bradshaw Was Right About Mike Tomlin

Terry Bradshaw caught massive flak when he criticized Tomlin’s coaching ability. Bradshaw played for Chuck Noll, who did not produce much fruit on his coaching tree, but was a master strategist. This was a point that Bradshaw made emphatically.

“I played for a tough sucker, and I was afraid of him, and we played our a** off for him because we feared him,” Bradshaw said of his former coach in Noll, per to Pro Football Talk in 2018. “I don’t see that with [Tomlin]. He’s chest-bumping and all that. I’m selling this thing, and I’m not delivering the goods, which is championships. You’ve got to face the criticism. I’m sorry, but he’s not my kind of coach. I’ve said it before. I’ll say it again.”

The point that Bradshaw was ridiculed for making is that Tomlin does not have a firm command of his players. He has proven that he is not a competent defensive play-caller. Dick LeBeau covered a lot of Tomlin’s warts early in his career. Since Keith Butler took over and Tomlin has exercised more and more influence on the defense, the unit has lost its identity. If TJ Watt was not the best defensive player on the planet, who knows how bad the on-field product would look?

"I don't think he is a great coach," Bradshaw relayed on Speak For Yourself. "He's a nice coach, great cheerleader guy. I don't know what he does, but I don't think he's a great coach at all."

Pittsburgh had a chance to improve to 3-1 if they had played well against the Houston Texans. The young team was missing most offensive line starters and has struggled to stop the run. After a mild improvement against the Las Vegas Raiders in Week 3, the Steelers came out flat and were ripped apart on offense and defense, underscoring Bradshaw's points about the Steelers leader. 

Veteran players want to play for Tomlin, a fact that Omar Khan started to exploit in the 2023 offseason. It has produced mixed results on the field, but at this point, it is hard to blame any one player for the on-field product. Khan should be disgusted with what the coaching staff has done with the talent he assembled.

Tomlin and Canada pretended they were going to field a power-running team. They drafted Broderick Jones in the first round, signed Isaac Seumalo, and brought in the most enormous human this side of Shaquille O’Neal as a blocking tight end in Darnell Washington. If Dan Moore Jr. had not gotten injured against the Texans, we still would be waiting to see the rookie Jones.

Najee Harris was moving the chains in the second half and having his best game of the 2023 season. The Steelers, in critical moments, refused to give him the ball. A shotgun pass on fourth and one, when the Steelers were driving to potentially make it a one-score game, resulted in disaster. The Steelers not only failed to convert, Pickett was forced to leave the game with an apparent knee injury.

The Texans are stocked with coaches from the Kyle Shanahan coaching tree. The San Francisco 49ers handled the Steelers easily in the opening game of 2023. The Texans employed the same defensive schemes under DeMeco Ryans and completely dismantled Pittsburgh. Bobby Slowik, who has never called plays in the NFL prior to 2023, used a combination of well-timed screen passes and quick-hitting routes to allow CJ Stroud to thrive with almost no pressure.

The misuse of personnel paired with buffoonish play-calling is beyond incompetent. It should result in a complete house cleaning. The Steelers have been outscored 60-13 by the Shanahan disciples. Worse than that, they have looked overmatched and out of position in those eight quarters.

After the Texans embarrassed the Steelers, they ran up the score with a late touchdown pass to Nico Collins when the game was firmly in hand. Tomlin should seriously consider being comfortable about his job security. Austin and Canada should not be allowed on the flight home. The TSA has a better chance of improving the Steelers than the organization does at this point. 

Art Rooney II has been asleep at the wheel and should empower Khan to act. If Pickett is seriously hurt, Rooney and Tomlin should refund season ticket holders because it is organizational malpractice to have retained a third-rate Pee Wee football offensive coordinator. Rooney cited continuity as his reason for allowing this circus to unfold. If it is continuity you want, go into electrical engineering and let some other member of the family try to run the franchise. 

Bradshaw's long-standing observations about Tomlin’s coaching acumen are sadly correct. There is no joy in seeing a once-great coach fall into mediocrity. National media talking heads roasted Bradshaw and supported Tomlin. In 2023, the inescapable conclusion is that Bradshaw was right and deserves a big fat apology. The spot-on analysis is probably why he has been paid to analyze the sport since he retired in 1983.

Tomlin has sought comfort in employing sub-standard coaches. If this team ends up 9-8, then for the first time, he will be definitively exposed for doing less with more. How much longer are Rooney and Khan going to let this continue to happen? Someone should ask Bradshaw. He seems to know what he is talking about on the subject. 

What do you think, Steeler Nation? Are you furious with Tomlin, Rooney, and the on-field product? Please comment below or on my Twitter/X: @thebubbasq. 

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