There can be little doubt that the Steelers were handed a humiliating defeat yesterday by the Browns. Charlie Batch notwithstanding, 8 fumbles is an embarrassing performance in any coach's book. Yet, despite the raw shame that Pittsburgh fans feel at the thought of losing to the Cleveland Browns, we should all take heart and find great strength in the person of Mike Tomlin.
Not many are qualified to truly evaluate his skills as a football coach. As fans we like to think we have what it takes to do his job (or at least to tell him what he's doing wrong), but the truth is that only a select group of individuals gets the title of "Head Coach" in the NFL. The best we can do is second guess his decisions and then share our "wisdom" with the outraged fans screaming at the sports talk programs.
Yet Mike Tomlin the man is a far more valuable example of leadership and accountability. His comments after the game reveal an individual who understands the burden of leaders, which is ownership of the actions of others whom they cannot control. He does not look for scapegoats nor does he engage in the art of finding fault with specific players. Phrases like "We own it" and "It is what it is" are far more than just a cagey strategy for answering uncomfortable questions. Coach Tomlin's language--both spoken and unspoken--reflects a highly developed sense of accountability for himself and his coaches and players. To be fair, he seems to have always been that sort of guy; I think I wasn't paying enough attention until now.
So I propose that we change Coach Tomlin's job title to CAO -- Chief Accountability Officer, and then, during the off-season, send him out to schools and youth organizations across Western PA (and, indeed, the whole country) to deliver a very simple message: Accountability, while sometimes unpleasant, is the greatest reward of leadership and an enduring source of respect.
So how about it Mr. Rooney? Could you spring for a new set of business cards for Coach Mike?
I'm not really sure what you were expecting him to say after eight turnovers and numerous holding penalties cost them a shot at the Division.
What I expected of him is the same as I expect from anyone held up as a leader--nothing more or less. My point remains unchanged: He took ownership of the team's performance using language that indicates he, in fact, gets it. Contrast that to any recent communique from our political leaders, for whom dodging accountability has been elevated to a science. The message I'm endorsing is that living in a posture of accountability was, is and will always be for me the best measure of an individual's character.
That said, I am tired of his cliches that are repeated ad nauseum, along with just dumb comments such as "unleash hell" a few seasons back. They didn't even unleash heck after that . My main concern with Tomlin is his inabilty to prepare the team well, especially against "weak" opponents, which result in debacles such as the Oakland game this year. It's the player's who play, and Tomlin's not on the field, but the lack of consistent effort is worrisome, and I believe Tomlin places too much emphasis on being a "players' coach", and the resulting lack of discipline. He is also poor in game and clock management. There are too many out of shape and overweight players on the Steelers, resulting from a lack of conditioning and lax training that is seemingly accepted by the coaching staff. Thus, we see a rash of injuries that continues each game. "We own it.", " The standard is the standard", etc. are just two of his oft-repeated, meaningless cliches, and they defintely do NOT resonate as accountability to me. Just platitudes, that's all. Tomlin is one of the last persons I would consider as a prime example of accountability. To use a few cliches, he's a mile wide, and an inch deep, and much more sizzle than steak.
Maybe the reason every single running back fumbled was because they are being implemented poorly with this RB-by-committee nonsense. Dwyer has been by far the best runner this year, but he wasn't used enough against the Ravens. He didn't even start against the Browns. Tomlin should own up to that decision-making. Instead, he merely says "we didn't make enough plays to win." Whatever.
In that context, his answers may sound repetitive and not as flamboyant as say, Bill Cowher. It does remind me of someone else, though - some guy named Noll - and that's good enough for me.
As for Tomlin, and his cliches, yes, they grow old and are tired. Most of us could sit at the Tuesday news conference and answer the questions. However, having said that, I often wonder if there is a basket outside the door to the room, a basket for the reporters to check their brains. I don't know the setup (never been there), but most of the questions are just plain stupid. For the huge amount of money involved in pro football, these events are the lowest dregs of the barrel (read: big money does not mean intelligence).
The bottom line is that Tomlin was hired to produce wins not attempt to speak well. All of the non sense that he speaks should not out value the teams record. He inherited a structurally sound Cower team and fell into a super bowl. The further away this team gets from the Cower era the more down hill it is going. I think in the coming years we will see that the Rooney's made a poor decision to hire an individual with an outrageously low experience level. I can care less about his personal values or the way he speaks. Ben is on the back end of his career, Troy has a year left, no key running back in place (becasue he treats them all a children). We will see if he is a good as you think. By the way, can you explain why he looses 90% of his challenges? Tough times for the Steelers ahead. We will revist the 80's under the great leadership of Mike Tomlin. As far as not having Ben at the moment - Bill Cower did not have a quarterback for the 1st 10 years and he did pretty good.
'Inherited a Cowher team'... you mean the team that went 8-8 following it's Superbowl run and didn't even make the playoffs? 'Bill Cower did not have a quarterback for the 1st 10 years and he did pretty good.'... and by 'pretty good' you mean never won a Superbowl which is all that matters in the NFL. ' I think in the coming years we will see that the Rooney's made a poor decision to hire an individual with an outrageously low experience level.' Cowher had 1 more year experience.... oh yeah and they were the same age... " Ben is on the back end of his career" barring major injury (and Haley's system keeps Ben from getting hit as much) Ben should play till 36-40 years old. That is another 6-10 seasons. I would expect we would see Ben retire around ~38 or so.