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Like Reid, Tomlin has run his course (somewhat long) by strangebrew

My brother and I had this conversation earlier this year. Given the precedent with Cowher, Tomlin won't be fired outright; most likely the Rooneys will just let his contract expire in 2020.

Despite his record, there are several legitimate reasons for Steelers fans to be upset with Tomlin:

1. Penalties

The Steelers are consistently one of the most penalized teams in the league. Here are the Steelers' penalty yardage and league rank during Tomlin's tenure:

2018 64.4 28th
2017 54.2 9th
2016 63.2 26th
2015 58.2 19th
2014 55.8 15th
2013 42.3 4th
2012 58.6 24th
2011 53.8 22nd
2010 56.6 25th
2009 48.3 16th
2008 51.5 29th
2007 37.5 7th

2. The defense has backslid during his tenure.

When Tomlin took over in 2007, he was gifted with a defense that featured Pro Bowlers at all 3 levels, and would be key to their Super Bowl victory in 2009 (and re-appearance 2 years later)--Aaron Smith, Casey Hampton, Brett Keisel, James Harrison, Lamarr Woodley, James Farrior, Larry Foote, Troy Polamalu, Ike Taylor, Ryan Clark.

As these players aged and retired, they have been unable to restock (not coincidentally, Tomlin has a lone AFC Championship game appearance in the past 8 seasons after appearing in 2 in his first 4 years). The Steelers have expended a lot of draft capital on various defensive busts, projects, and reaches. They have drafted the following players in the first 3 rounds since 2008: Bruce Davis, Ziggy Hood, Keenan Lewis, Sean Spence, Jason Worilds, Cam Heyward, Curtis Brown, Jarvis Jones, Ryan Shazier, Stephon Tuitt, Bud Dupree, Senquez Golson, Artie Burns, Sean Davis, Javon Hargrave, TJ Watt, Cam Sutton, and Terrell Edmunds.

I'd say only 6 to 8 players (out of 18) have been worth the investment--Worilds, Heyward, Shazier, S. Davis, Hargrave, and Watt. Tuitt intermixes flashes of dominance with weeks of disappearing, and Sutton has shown flashes in limited minutes.

Beyond attrition due to injuries and early retirement (Worilds, Spence, Shazier), the Steelers have either over-drafted mediocre players (Hood, Jones, Dupree) or outright busts (B. Davis, Brown, Golson, Burns). I have a bad feeling Edmunds is going to fall into the latter category. Conventional wisdom usually holds that you can find starting caliber players in the first 3 rounds; defensively, Pittsburgh is under .500 in this regard.

The current defensive coordinator sucks. In what world is it a good idea to have ILBs consistently isolated on WRs, without adjusting?

3. An inability to beat the Patriots

Tomlin is 2-7 against the Patriots (1-7 when Brady plays). Maybe New England has a similar overall winning percentage since 2007, but that's probably inflated (no pun intended) by 6 wins/year against the Bills, Jets, and Dolphins. The only chance the Steelers have for a deep run in the playoffs is if the Ravens, Broncos, or Jets do the dirty work for them against New England.

4. Playing down to the competition

You can count on the Steelers to lose to one or more terrible opponents each year--especially as of late in Tomlin's tenure:

2018: Raiders, Browns (tie)
2017: Bears
2016: Dolphins
2015:
2014: Buccaneers, Browns, Jets
2013: Vikings, Raiders
2012: Raiders, Titans, Browns
2011:
2010:
2009: Chiefs, Raiders, Browns
2008:
2007: Jets

So while outsiders may look at Tomlin's career record and think we're crazy, it's a little different for those that watch the Steelers every week. Ultimately, I see a guy who's accomplished little of note despite having a loaded offense over the past decade. The 2nd half yesterday should give a preview of what the Steelers will look like once Ben moves on.