The reason why Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin is holding his offense hostage

For Pittsburgh Steelers fans, the 2024 season was one of two halves. Things started well with ten wins for the first 14 games but they slumped from then on, losing six consecutive games to end their campaign at the Wild Card round.

Head coach Mike Tomlin joined the Steelers in 2007 and he led the team to Super Bowl XLIII the following year. But with playoff victories increasingly hard to come by the pressure is increasing on Tomlin.

The situation is exacerbated by the Steelers' stodgy offensive play, with Tomlin deemed frustratingly risk-averse by some fans. Steelers insiders Mark Kaboly spoke about the situation on 93.7 The Fan, explaining Tomlin’s reluctance to let his quarterbacks throw the ball.

“Mike Tomlin’s been very transparent with that,” Kaboly said. “When you throw the ball across the middle, a lot of bad things can happen."

“He’s said that before. I don’t know if he’s said that publicly, but now it is publicly. He’s said that before. So I mean, that tells you the mindset right there. He wants to stay away from turnovers, and he believes the majority of the turnovers do come from the middle of the field, throwing the ball.”

Previously, much of the blame for this conservative approach was laid at the door of offensive coordinator Matt Canada. But he left the team during the 2023 season and there has been no sustained change in the strategy. His replacement, Arthur Smith, had impressed in that role with the Tennessee Titans and helped to revitalise the career of quarterback Ryan Tannehill.

At the start of the 2024 season it looked like Smith was getting the best out of Russell Wilson in Pittsburgh but that momentum quickly slowed. The Steelers have offseason time to consider how they want to proceed in 2025 but a more gung-ho approach would help to ease supporters' concerns.

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