The New England Patriots and Pittsburg Steelers have enjoyed being two of the best franchises in the league for quite some time. With two of the best head coaches and longest tenured in the NFL, Bill Belichick and Mike Tomlin, these franchises were known throughout recent decades to be examples of the best the league has to offer. As they just faced off against each other this past Thursday night, it is clear that both coaches have fallen quite far from the top of the league.
The Patriots secured just there third victory of an abysmal season, while the Steelers, although formidable at times this year, are falling out of the playoff race. The two defensive minded coaches have seen historic success throughout the years, but is that something that is doomed to remain in the past?
Clearly the once defensive dominated league has shifted within just a few years to a league now dominated by the offense. Out of the 14 teams that would make the playoffs today, only two are defensive minded coaches, highlighting the drastic change that has taken place over the last half decade.
The New England Patriots And Bill Belichick Are a Mile From Relevance
The once dominant dynasty that was the Patriots sits at the bottom the AFC with a 3-10 record following the win Thursday night. The fan base however may have been hoping for a loss to obtain a better draft pick in hopes of getting Caleb Williams or Drake Maye. With tons of rumors of Belichick perhaps departing New England at the end of the season, the defensive legend, and the Patriot way has seemingly disappeared. As the NFL has shifted into a new era of offense, will coaches like Belichick and Tomlin be doomed to remain a part of the past, or can they find a way to adapt?
Famous talk show host of The Herd, Colin Cowherd, chimed in earlier in the season that that the Patriots should fire Belichick after yet another start of an awful season of coaching and General managing. Cowherd was quoted in a Fox Sports article saying:
“Belichick would cut Belichick. That’s his brand – moving off players a year early. Belichick wouldn’t respect a coach who didn’t cut Belichick the coach. In a pivoting-to-offense NFL, he looks like a dinosaur.”
Cowherd isn’t alone in sharing this message either. The Patriots coach is arguably the greatest ever and he deserves another job in the league, but as cowherd says, Belichick would fire Belichick. How many more seasons will Patriots owner Robert Kraft give Belichick simply because of what he has done in the past. The league has changed for many years now and Belichick seems stuck in his glory days.
The Pittsburgh Steelers and Mike Tomlin are not far behind
There is a common misconception surrounding the Steelers and Mike Tomlin, saying that Coach Tomlin is always above .500 or better every year. While this is of course impressive, when you analyze it just a bit deeper it’s not something that Steelers fans expect from their franchise. Mike is definitely in a better position that Belichick, having a much more talented roster, but the Steelers are looking at another 8-8 season. Just average is not what the Steelers organization stand for, and with spectacular weapons at the skill positions, going.500 is nothing to brag about.
We have seen other teams around the league lose their best star quarterbacks throughout the year, (Cincinnati, Cleveland, and others) and continue to have very solid production from their offenses. The Steelers however, have not been able to make it happen. Tomlin hasn’t fallen to the degree Belichick has, but if things continue in the same direction it wont be long before he join Bill as defensive dinosaurs unable to adapt to the new era of offense. For example, Ghetto Gronk posted this meme on X poking fun at the Steelers after dropping a second game in a row to one of the worst teams in the league:
Mike Tomlin after losing to two 2-10 teams in 4 days but he still gets praised for never finishing below .500 pic.twitter.com/FrZrNTxYlX
— GhettoGronk (@TheGhettoGronk) December 8, 2023
We know there is always a bit of truth to every good joke, and the defensive coach has now been shifting to the hot seat even with his “impressive” notion of never finishing below .500.
The Steelers are no where near the laughing stock is the Patriots, and while Tomlin still has Steelers playing formidable on occasion, there is no evidence in sight that Tomlin is adapting or trying to adapt to the new era of offensive football.
Both the Patriots and Steelers are no where near super bowl contention and these two defensive minded coaches have fallen quite low from where they once were every year contending for the ultimate prize. While many young offensive minded coaches are on the rise, the old school, tough, defensive coaches have taken a big step back. If things continue in this direction and the coaches do not adapt to the new era, Belichick and Tomlin are going to stay in the past and be doomed to the history books of the NFL.