There have been dips and twists. The highs, the Super Bowls, the lows and the times you have screamed at your television during the whole Mike Tomlin Era. Yes, back to that 2007 season when a 35-year-old coach we did not know all that much about walked in here and posted a 10-6 record – we have seen it all.
Hell, we have even seen him half-heartedly try to trip a guy on the other team as he whisked down the sideline on the way to the end zone.
We all know that big stat that gets regurgitated over and over and over again: “Mike Tomlin has never had a losing season.” Right.
We’ve been told a gazillion times.
There have been three 8-8 campaigns in there but never that time where the losses tilted more heavily than the wins.
It appears fashionable for a lot of the prognosticators --- both local and national --- to put their fortune teller caps on and tell everyone this will be the first. Yep, this will be the time Tomlin understands the first losing season in his career.
This isn’t a homer, Golden Triangle, steeped in Primanti’s slaw juice take but here’s what I got: It won’t happen this season either. The Steelers will go 9-8. And they’ll slip into the playoffs, too. They will go 4-2 in the AFC North (beating the Bengals twice and splitting with the other two teams) and finding themselves with an invitation to Wild Card weekend.
At first I was incredibly apprehensive about Ben Roethlisberger coming back for what seems like his 72nd season commanding this team but he is at the very heart of why they won’t have a losing season. You know, Ben won’t let them.
Granted, Big Ben doesn’t still possess the proficiency to propel this team to a Super Bowl, but he won’t allow it to be bad enough to where it will realize a losing season.
There is also that defense, when coupled with Ben, the receivers and Najee Harris that should walk into a little more than half their games as the better team on paper --- and the chalk will most likely hold. They’ll win about half.
So the Steelers are stuck in a bit of a football purgatory.
All that said, again, they still won’t be bad enough where the losses will outnumber the wins. I’m just not seeing it.
So while it is trendy and hip to get out ahead with the take and tell everyone you know that this will be Mike Tomlin’s first foray into Loserville, I just can’t see it happening.
The days here in 2021 won’t be bright, make no mistake about that. There isn’t some Super Bowl or even Division title coming into view. Tomlin, however, will find a way.
He’ll find a way to win more games than he loses. He will find a way to still be the coach in 2022.
He always finds a way to keep moving forward. He'll do just enough to avoid that first losing season.