With the AFC North on the line in Week 18, Ravens vs. Steelers isn’t just going to be a win-or-go-home game; it’s going to be a referendum on two of the NFL’s longest-tenured head coaches. ESPN insider Adam Schefter added fuel to the fire this week, suggesting that the loser of the Week 18 matchup could face serious questions about the future. Fans in both cities have already voiced frustration, and Schefter acknowledged that the stakes could lead to unexpected outcomes.
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More notably, Schefter hinted that change may not come via firing, but choice. “One of them may say, ‘It’s been a great run,’” Schefter said, suggesting that either coach could decide it’s time to move on rather than be pushed out.
According to Colin Cowherd, however, the problems facing John Harbaugh and Mike Tomlin are not the same, even if both fan bases are restless.
“John Harbaugh can’t beat Patrick Mahomes and Andy Reid in the playoffs. Mike Tomlin can’t beat anybody in the playoffs.”
That blunt assessment set the tone for Cowherd’s breakdown of Sunday night’s showdown in Pittsburgh, where the winner clinches the AFC North, and the loser is eliminated entirely from postseason contention. Cowherd dismissed the idea that Harbaugh and Tomlin should be lumped together as coaches on the hot seat. One, he argued, has a ceiling problem. The other has a systemic one.
Harbaugh’s résumé, Cowherd noted, doesn’t suggest a coach who’s fallen behind the league. The Ravens have reached an AFC Championship Game recently, have fielded top-10 offenses multiple times in an offensive era, and won a Super Bowl more recently than Pittsburgh. Baltimore doesn’t feel outdated or disconnected from modern football.
Cowherd likened it to Phil Mickelson repeatedly running into Tiger Woods or NBA teams that simply couldn’t get past Michael Jordan. Mike Tomlin’s situation, Cowherd argued, is far harsher.
The Steelers have finished bottom 10 in offense seven straight seasons. They’ve failed to establish a functional run game year after year. And when it comes to playoff football, the numbers are damning.
Since 2009, Tomlin is 0–6 in the postseason against elite quarterbacks: Peyton Manning, Tom Brady, Aaron Rodgers, Patrick Mahomes, Lamar Jackson, and Josh Allen.
While Cowherd emphasized that Tomlin is still a highly respected coach — one he’d “hire in a second” elsewhere — he questioned whether Pittsburgh’s identity under Tomlin still fits today’s NFL. The Steelers have the second-oldest roster in the league and spend more money on defense than anyone, a reflection of a philosophy that hasn’t produced postseason success in over a decade. That contrast is why Cowherd flatly rejected the idea that both coaches are equally vulnerable.
