Midway through the 2024 NFL regular season, the year for the Pittsburgh Steelers did not look like it would end unhappily. They were projected to be a team that could contend for a Super Bowl berth. However, a blowout loss to the Baltimore Ravens in the Wild Card round left Mike Tomlin‘s men with question marks.
It had been eight years since the Steelers last won a postseason game, so there was some talk of breaking that streak this season. However, the reality was that Pittsburgh had fallen apart in recent games, suffering five straight defeats that eliminated Tomlin’s team from Super Bowl contention.
Tomlin has been the target of criticism as he has been the team’s leader in each of these playoff frustrations. With 18 years on the job, he is the longest-tenured head coach on his team in the league. After all this time, critics have emerged, but key Steelers cornerback Donte Jackson did not hesitate to defend Tomlin.
Jackson’s strong response to Tomlin’s detractors
“The message to the Tomlin haters. I would just be like, ‘Be careful what you wish for.’ I’ve seen in my six years in Carolina, I’ve seen three coaches get fired during the season. Some guys go through their whole career and not see one head coach get fired. Period. Not let alone during the season. I’ve seen three get fired during the season. That’s crazy. I’ve been under three interim head coaches, and in six seasons,” Jackson responded in defense of Tomlin on The Christian Kuntz Podcast.
“I’ve never had a winning season until I got here, and I Never had a playoff game until this year,” said Jackson. The Steelers’ cornerback arrived in Pittsburgh for the 2024 NFL season and played 15 games, recording 38 combined tackles.
Ben Roethlisberger had blamed Mike Tomlin for Steelers’ elimination
One of Tomlin’s recent detractors is Steelers legend Ben Roethlisberger, who after the loss to the Ravens sent a message blaming poor roster decisions on the Pittsburgh coach. “Tomlin makes most of the decisions in Pittsburgh. He can say he doesn’t and this, that and the other. We all know that he’s got a lot of pull,” Big Ben had said days ago on his Footbahlin podcast.
Steelers changes for next season
These days of turmoil will bring changes to the Steelers. One of the questions to be resolved is what will happen with quarterbacks Russell Wilson and Justin Fields, who are out of contract and will be free agents. Another surprising situation was also put to rest when it was reported last week that the Bears wanted to sign Tomlin, but the Black and Gold organization denied this possibility.