Steelers Legend Continues to Attack Mike Tomlin

PITTSBURGH — The Pittsburgh Steelers’ defense is the domain of head coach Mike Tomlin. Ever since the organization hired him in January of 2007, the defensive schemes, structures and play calling have been largely his responsibility. During his tenure, there have been three defensive coordinators and five offensive coordinators.

Between the turnover of coaches and underperforming under Tomlin, the Steelers have come under criticism for his choices at coordinator. That sentiment was echoed by former safety Ryan Clark on a recent appearance on the Green Light podcast with Chris Long. Talking about his former head coach, Clark discussed the poor history of assistants under Tomlin. Some of it was imposed on him by the organization, as Clark mentions when discussing the replacements for former coordinators Bruce Arians and Dick LeBeau.

“I do believe, and I can be honest,” he said, “I never really thought about replacing Bruce Arians and Dick LeBeau. What I’ll say about that is, those actually weren’t (Tomlin’s) hires, per se.”

Even if the first replacements brought in under his regime weren’t his, when it was Tomlin’s time to decide he didn’t fare any better. He selected offensive coordinators Todd Haley, Randy Fichtner, the infamous Matt Canada and the recent appointment of Arthur Smith to the position.

Former defensive coordinator Keith Butler replaced LeBeau after his legendary career, and that was a move a long time in waiting. The Steelers committed to Butler as the successor before Tomlin even arrived in the organization. After Butler retired, however, Tomlin inserted Teryl Austin into the role.

The promotion for Butler has been viewed with mixed results. Some view him as decent and a strong coordinator, but others view him as just a prop for Tomlin. Since Tomlin has so much control over the defensive play calling, his hesitancy to dole out responsibility is another area of concern Clark expressed.

“If there is a criticism of him, the conservatism is a part of it,” Clark explained. “There has been some late-game mismanagement at times. But yes, he hasn’t found two guys on each side of the ball that has learned to excel in the most important moments.”

Entering the 2025 season, Smith and Austin are the top dogs under Tomlin. Their futures with the organization after this season are a complete mystery, but there’s still time to change the narrative surrounding the underachievement of coordinators under Mike Tomlin.