The Steelers' Secret Weapon this Season

Story by Yinzer Crazy Steelers Contributor Andre Curtis



Many analysts and Pittsburgh fans want the story to be about Kenny Pickett this season. There are also the people who want to see Najee Harris be the talking point week after week. Yet, there is truly only one Steeler who will be the difference maker this season. There is just one man that can harness the Steelers potential and lead them to a great season and playoff contention. This man is not who you are expecting.

Mike Tomlin is the Pittsburgh Steelers’ secret weapon this season. Tomlin has all of the sudden become one of the grandfather type coaches in the NFL. Not because of his age, but rather his vast experience and wisdom about the game. Tomlin is entering his 16th season at the helm for the Steelers, which makes him the second longest tenured coach in the NFL. The Steelers have been successful in the Tomlin era, and perhaps even more consistent. In fact, Mike Tomlin has never had a losing record as the head coach of the Pittsburgh Steelers. Amazingly, Tomlin never had to go with any other quarterback because of Ben Roethlisberger. Yes, there were weeks here and there where Ben was injured. Yet, most of the time Tomlin already had a backup guy who was hardly competing with anyone else for the starting spot. Over the years, Tomlin owns an 18-15-1 record when Ben Roethlisberger did not start at quarterback. When Ben went down a few years ago, it was Devlin “Duck” Hodges that came in for a stretch of games. Last season, it was Mason Rudolph who came in and tied the Lions in what was the ugliest game of the season. This season is very different from those years though. 

This season is Tomlin’s chance to truly cement himself as the greatest Pittsburgh Steeler coach of all time. He will be faced with tough decisions about which quarterback is the guy for each given week. For years, even if Ben had a bad game one week, Tomlin didn’t have to question whether Ben was going to be ready the next week. Ben was the starter. There were no ifs, ands, or buts about it. This season is going to be completely the opposite for head coach Mike Tomlin.