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Steelers Super Bowl champion believes Mike Tomlin's voice no longer resonates the way it used to in Pittsburgh's locker room

Originally posted on A to Z Sports | By Rob Gregson | Last updated May 19, 2025 10:18 AM ET

The Pittsburgh Steelers have long been noted as one of the more stable organizations in a league built on parity.

The face of that stability for what is approaching two decades in Pittsburgh has been Mike Tomlin.

But amidst a playoff drought, some of the players who love Mike Tomlin the most have questioned if his message still rings the same...

Mike Tomlin's voice gone stale in Pittsburgh?

“To me, the most telling piece about those games is the deficits that they faced in all of those playoff games,” Steelers Super Bowl champion Ryan Clark said on ESPN's First Take. “So what is that? Is that not being prepared? Is that not being talented enough? They have to find the answer and I always and I say this and people get mad at me. I believe that Mike Tomlin is unfireable. I believe if Mike Tomlin steps away from being the coach of the Pittsburgh Steelers that that should be his decision...

"...I believe Mike Tomlin should coach in another organization. Mike Tomlin should be a fresh voice somewhere else because I believe, as great as a coach he is, and he’s a first-ballot Hall of Famer, I believe his voice has run stale there. I believe he’s allowed that team to reach the highest of heights they’re going to reach, unless they can get a top-tier quarterback.”

Steelers Super Bowl champ Ryan Clark on Mike Tomlin: “I believe his voice has run stale in Pittsburgh.” Thinks Tomlin would be better off somewhere else. Every Steelers fan should watch this.pic.twitter.com/LmZz5CyTyI
— Andrew Fillipponi (@ThePoniExpress) May 15, 2025

It's a fair point from Clark, but not because the team hasn't won in the playoffs and continues to be in quarterback purgatory. Rather, it's due to the erosion in culture in Pittsburgh.

Forever, Tomlin's trump card has been that he's a leader of men, the ultimate player's coach, and one that any player in the NFL would want to play for. But when you end the season on a five-game losing streak, see rookies refuse to play, and have veterans calling out your coaching staff, that leaves some to question Tomlin's voice, including Ryan Clark.

And maybe that's why the team pulled the trigger on trading George Pickens, a year after they did the same with Diontae Johnson. Maybe the problem isn't Mike Tomlin's voice, it's the player they have brought in.

2025 will tell us a lot.