STEELERS CHANGE CONFIRMED AFTER MIKE TOMLIN HOLDS MEETING WITH OWNERS

Mike Tomlin has admitted the need for change within the Pittsburgh Steelers.

After a season that saw the Steelers kick off with Russell Wilson and Justin Fields at quarterback, the team began well but then stumbled, losing their last four regular-season games. Playoff hopes were then dashed in the Wild Card Round by the Baltimore Ravens, with a 28-14 defeat by Lamar Jackson and co.

This latest playoff failure highlighted a near-decade-long drought since Pittsburgh's last postseason victory. Acknowledging the team's repeated struggles when it matters most, head coach Tomlin conceded that a new strategy is on the horizon for the Steelers.

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"Certainly, there's change that comes with this time of the year," Tomlin stated during a press conference. "Certainly, there's change that comes when we don't have the desired outcome.

"So those are just realities of the business. I'd imagine there's going to be some things that change around here on a lot of levels. I understand that I'm open to that, really just beginning the processes of some of the decision-making that has to transpire."

Tomlin has already held talks with the organization's leadership to determine the best course of action for leveraging the experiences of 2024 into a more triumphant 2025.

"I met with Art Rooney," he said. "I also met with Omar [Khan] and those are just the very beginning of multiple conversations in terms of how we wrap a bow around some of the lessons learned, analyse some of the decisions made, personnel, strategy, etc."

Calls for the head coach to be fired have grown louder despite Pittsburgh's regular-season success under his leadership. One high-profile observer to lose faith is Steelers icon Terry Bradshaw.

"I don't think he's a great coach at all," said the FOX NFL analyst on the Speak for Yourself show. “He’s a nice coach. To me, and I’ve said this, he’s really a great cheerleader guy.

"I don’t know what he does. But I don’t think that he’s a great coach at all. His name never even pops in my mind when we think about great coaches in the NFL.”

2025-01-18T14:45:17Z