Kansas City Chiefs TE Travis Kelce has been quite vocal on what’s going around in the league on his podcast “New Heights”. In his latest episode, he criticized the media, labeling their opinion about the Pittsburgh Steelers potentially parting ways with head coach Mike Tomlin as “dumb.” NFL analyst Colin Cowherd, on the other hand, backed the media’s perspective on the whole matter.
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On “The Herd,” Colin Cowherd responded to Travis Kelce by expressing his perspective on why the Pittsburgh Steelers should consider parting ways with Mike Tomlin, who has served a 17-year tenure with the team. Cowherd sees Tomlin as an exceptional coach yet he believes the Steelers might have reached a standstill or it no longer requires what he offers. Cowherd stated, directly. contradicting Kelce,
“Nobody thinks Mike Tomlin is a lousy coach. But the NFL has pivoted to offense, and the Steelers have had a bottom 10 offense five straight years. However, what Mike Tomlin brings to the table, the ability to create toughness, high emotion, develop players, and a winning culture is needed all over this league.”
In recent years, NFL’s focus has shifted towards offense and the show’s host states that the Steelers have had a below-average offense for five consecutive years. Pittsburgh’s offense has ranked consecutively in the bottom five in recent years, which also led to the firing of offensive coordinator Matt Canada by the team in Nov. 2023.
Cowherd believes that Mike Tomlin’s winning mindset could potentially fit well with teams like like Chargers, Raiders, and Washington. Much of the noise surrounding Tomlin’s removal has, in fact, come from media circles as Kelce says. Tomlin’s illustrious career did hit a snag as the Steelers went down against the struggling Arizona Cardinals and the seemingly directionless New England Patriots, all in five days. However, one losing season to cost him his job does seem a far-fetched prospect.
Travis Kelce Praises Mike Tomlin Amid Media Speculations
After the Pittsburgh Steelers’ Week 17 win, Travis Kelce couldn’t stop himself from praising their head coach Mike Tomlin. In his “New Heights” podcast Travis emphasized Tomlin’s remarkable coaching legacy, highlighting his impressive record of 17 consecutive seasons without a losing record. Moreover, The Steelers have achieved their 20th consecutive season of finishing with a win-loss record of .500 or better. Kelce expressed,
“The media is so dumb. Why are we? Why don’t we do the media? Talking nonsense. One of the best coaches The NFL has ever even seen.”
Kelce defended Tomlin as one of the NFL’s finest coaches in the league’s history. He expressed frustration by calling the media “dumb” for suggesting that Tomlin might not be necessary as the head coach for the Steelers.
Following the Pittsburgh Steelers’ recent victory against the Seattle Seahawks, Tomlin’s impressive record sits at 180-109-2, showcasing a winning percentage of .622. Throughout 17 seasons, he has guided the Steelers to the playoffs 10 times, securing a Super Bowl championship in his second season during Super Bowl XLIII. Even though they’ve missed the playoffs for the past two seasons, the Steelers can secure a playoff berth this season by defeating the Baltimore Ravens in the Week 18 game and depending on outcomes from other teams.
