The Pittsburgh Steelers have yet to have a losing season under Mike Tomlin. Adam Crowley doesn’t think it would be the worst thing if that streak snapped this year.
The Steelers sit at 7-5 after a dreadful loss Sunday to the Arizona Cardinals, one of the worst teams in the NFL. Pittsburgh still holds a playoff spot though, and would have the fifth seed in the AFC if the postseason started today.
It was not that long ago the Steelers seemed to have a somewhat favorable path to getting into the postseason. But losing to Arizona has upended that, and now they have to turn to Mitchell Trubisky with Kenny Pickett out due to an ankle injury.
Despite the winning record, it has been a season rife with issues for Pittsburgh. Crowley said Monday on The Fan Morning Show that he hopes the Steelers crash and burn the rest of the way so that changes maybe could take place.
“Because they lost to a team that bad (in the Cardinals), you can’t look at any game the rest of the way and say they should do blank,” Crowley said. “You can't even have fun as a Steelers fan going ‘Well, we’re not that good but we’re going to make the playoffs.’ I don’t know that to be true.
“And so I’ll take it one step further … Here’s my (Andrew Fillipponi)-esque take of the day, boys, you ready for this one? I hope they don't make the playoffs. I hope they finish below .500 so they can take a good, long, hard look in the mirror this offseason and say we’ve got to fix stuff. Because as long as this Mike Tomlin never had a losing season streak continues, they’re not going to get rid of him. They’re not even going to have the thought in their mind of getting rid of him. …
“You either make the playoffs or you don’t, right?. That’s the only thing that should matter, and then you’ve got to win when you get there – but forget the whole no losing seasons. Who cares? Who cares? It was more fun down the stretch last year because they were “in the hunt,” right? It was more fun. But maybe if they finish the season 7-10, maybe Matt Canada is not here at the beginning of this season. Maybe they would have actually taken that good, long, hard look in the mirror.”
The Steelers already axed Canada, so they don’t seem totally averse to change. Whether things could get bad enough to really heat up Tomlin’s season remains to be seen.