For just the third time since 1969, the Pittsburgh Steelers are on the lookout for a new head coach. Mike Tomlin, who had been at the helm for 19 straight non-losing seasons, stepped down a day after his team’s 30-6 Wild Card loss.
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It was Tomlin’s seventh straight playoff loss, and it was the fifth in a row that came by a double-digit margin. Tomlin could sense the growing frustration the fans had with his regime, even if it was clear that he never lost the locker room and remains beyond beloved by his players.
20 straight years doing something, and a fanbase that once loved you turning on you. Pretty good reason to step back and take some time to spend with family. But even with that gift-wrapped explanation, some feel the need to cook up their own theories. Sports creator Frank Michael Smith took the opportunity to lambast Tomlin for a specific 13-year interval of seemingly suspect draft results.
“On screen are the 12 first-round draft picks the Steelers have made since 2013,” Smith said. “Impossibly, just one of these guys received a second contract with the team. That is a hit rate of 8.3 percent when the NFL average sits around 44 percent. If we zoom out here, things get uglier. Over those 13 drafts, Pittsburgh selected a total 96 players. Unfortunately for Steeler fans, just seven of them made a Pro Bowl.”
Only 1 of the Steelers last 12 first round draft picks has received a second contract with the team
You won't hear it on TV, but his inability to draft and develop talent ultimately led to his playoff losing streak…which led to his departure pic.twitter.com/OX4kPiu3TN
— Frank Michael Smith (@frankmikesmith) January 14, 2026
There was a real, ‘kick a guy while he’s down, why don’t you,’ feeling from this video. Smith was clearly trying to make fun of Tomlin, even trying to use Tomlin’s own words against him. Smith showed a famous clip of Tomlin talking about how he doesn’t run from coaching, and that’s why he evaluates players in the draft the way he does. A lot of deficiencies can be fixed through coaching.
And that was Tomlin’s calling card during these dark years. He always lost in the playoffs, but he always somehow got there with one of the worst and most patchwork rosters in the league. Tomlin was taking teams to the playoffs that had no QB and no business anywhere near the postseason.
It’s also worth noting that most fans in the comments of Smith’s video did not agree with the video’s overall argument that Tomlin was an awful drafter and developer of talent. As always, Smith did some cherry-picking to make his argument seem more credible.
“This spans 13 years, excluding the Minkah trade. Three guys aren’t even extension‑eligible yet, and Shazier was paralyzed. And that’s before mentioning the non‑first‑rounders they developed into second‑contract players like Hargrave, Highsmith, and more,” said one shrewd fan.
“That’s about to change. Troy Fatanu, Derrick Harmon, etc,” argued another.
“Ok, let’s move forward, it’s over and done with,” said one exasperated fan.
“Every coach is ‘heavily involved’ in the draft, doesn’t mean he gets final say. Tomlin never throws anyone under the bus and always takes responsibility when things go awry. Either way, they better hit home runs going forward now that they don’t have Tomlin as an excuse,” said another.
T.J. Watt is the only one of those first-rounders to get a second contract. But as these fans said, Ryan Shazier would have certainly gotten one if he hadn’t suffered his career-ending neck injury. Recent first-rounders Troy Fautanu and Derrick Harmon also look very likely to turn into solid starters in the Steel City. Bud Dupree also scored a massive deal in free agency with the Tennessee Titans.
Smith is trying to rub salt in the wound as Steelers fans mourn the end of an era, even if many were begging for it. Tomlin, meanwhile, would likely cite one of his favorite quotes—“we do not care”—if ever shown this bit of internet drivel.
After 20 straight years doing it, Tomlin is likely to take at least a year for himself. He might do TV, but coaching seems unlikely, as Steelers owner Art Rooney II said that he didn’t anticipate Tomlin returning to the sidelines in the “near future.”
And perhaps it might be best for Tomlin to go out like his two predecessors, Chuck Noll and Bill Cowher: as champions and lifelong Steelers.
