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The Pittsburgh Steelers are headed in the wrong direction this season after they lost four of their past five games.
Not only that, but players such as wideout George Pickens and Diontae Johnson have publicly or indirectly appeared unhappy about their respective roles on the team or acted against the team’s best interest on the field.
Head coach Mike Tomlin’s job status has since come into question as well as his team heads towards its first losing season since he took over in 2007.
ESPN analyst Shannon Sharpe thinks the Steelers recent decline under Tomlin as well as players’ unhappiness with the team are directly related.
He noted other past locker room struggles with players like Santonio Holmes, Antonio Brown, and Chase Claypool – all of whom were traded away for various reasons unrelated to contract issues.
“[Mike Tomlin] has allowed this to happen,” Sharpe said Friday. “Those players turned him off a long time ago, and unfortunately for him, he doesn’t realize it.”
“[Mike Tomlin] has allowed this to happen. … Those players turned him off a long time ago, and unfortunately for him, he doesn’t realize it.”@ShannonSharpe on the Steelers’ recent struggles pic.twitter.com/7LkFmBfH9c
— First Take (@FirstTake) December 22, 2023
Now, some may argue Tomlin has won despite issues in the locker room.
The Steelers have won 62.9 percent of their games in 17 seasons with Tomlin and played in 17 postseason games.
But Pittsburgh hasn’t advanced past the first round of the playoffs since 2016.
The lack of a competent replacement for Ben Roethlisberger has only added to the disappointment with Kenny Pickett playing mediocre football for the past two years.
Player management is a whole other issue, though, if that’s indeed affected the Steelers’ on-field performance over the past several years.
The franchise will have an important decision to make this offseason with Tomlin.
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