Steelers Head Coach Mike Tomlin Admits He Fell Short Of His 2023 Goal Of Becoming "World Champions"

One thing that Pittsburgh Steelers fans always demand from the organization is excellence. Although Head Coach Mike Tomlin has managed to have an above .500 record throughout his whole career, that is not good enough for what the fans want. Their last playoff win came in January of 2017 against an Alex Smith-led Kansas City Chiefs. After striking out yet another year in the playoffs it seems like a change is needed. They made the decision mid-season to fire their former Offensive Coordinator, Matt Canada, and hopefully, now even more strides are being made to bring this organization back to what it once was.

The Steelers Fell Short Of Where They Wanted To Be

The "Steeler Way" has been a big topic for the team this season, with the team's former quarterback Ben Roethlisberger saying that it may be gone. The mentality that was once there has not seemed to leave Tomlin. During his end-of-season press conference, he was addressed the fact that he has been one and done in playoffs and what their goal is going forward. Tomlin gave a very simple answer that he wants to be a world champion again like he was after Super Bowl XLIII.

"We want to be world champions. Every year we build with that intention. We're not this year. So, there is disappointment obviously with that, there are consequences of that. We really are at just the beginning stages of the why, and then continually plot of course to move forward. Those will be our intentions in 2024 to become world champions."

If the Steelers want to get themselves back into a position where they are world champs, some changes are going to have to happen this offseason. However, some people may look at their season and see that they were on their third-string quarterback, with no true offensive coordinator, several injuries throughout the season, and call that a win for Pittsburgh. But when Tomlin was asked about what goals he accomplished in 2023, he seemed to have the same answer as before. Because they are not going to be world champions, the Steelers fell short of where they wanted to be. 

"I'm not looking to seek comfort. We wanted to be world champs, but the tournament is still ongoing and we're not in it. So, from that perspective, we fell short. I'm less concerned about some of the boxes we checked and really I'm just at the information-gathering stage of all of this in an effort to position ourselves where we are not having this conversation next year."

Although Tomlin hopes that they don't have to have the same conversation of being one and done next year, this same thing has been said in the last 10 years. Even with Omar Khan crafting an insane 2023 draft class and having an impressive free agency last offseason, the Steelers still managed to fall short of where they wanted to be. 

Some may want Tomlin to be gone next season, but that is not going to be the case. Many of the players have started to back him up and are convinced that he is not the problem. Tomlin definitely has the potential to still be a great coach in the NFL, but one of the things that he needs to do is give up some of his power within the organization.

The biggest thing that he can do is to bring in a new offensive coordinator from outside the organization. He confirmed that he plans to do this during his end-of-season press conference which could be a step in the right direction. 

What do you think about Tomlin's goal, Steeler Nation? Would a new offensive coordinator from outside of the organization help this franchise achieve it? Let me know your thoughts in the comments below!

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