Two Pittsburgh Steelers legends have joined the chorus of voices calling for the team to move on from Mike Tomlin, with Ben Roethlisberger even suggesting that the longtime coach would be a good fit for the vacant job. Penn State Job.
Roethlisberger and former teammate James Harrison weighed in on Tomlin's future amid growing speculation that the struggling Steelers will part ways with the NFL's longest-tenured coach after this season.
“Maybe it's time to clean up the mess. Maybe it’s time,” Roethlisberger said Tuesday on his “Football with Ben Roethlisberger” podcast. “I like Coach Tomlin. I have a lot of respect for Coach Tomlin, but maybe this will be better for him too.
“Maybe the best thing for him is to start over. If it's a plus, maybe he'll become the head coach at Penn State. Do you know what he'll do at Penn State? He'll probably win national championships because he's a great recruiter.”
Penn State just finished a disappointing 6-6 season and is still searching for a replacement for head coach James Franklin, who was fired in October. The Nittany Lions' latest target, Kalani Sitake, announced Tuesday that he will remain at BYUextending the search for a coach in Pennsylvania.
The Steelers (6-6) are also struggling after winning four of their first five games this season. disappointment began to simmer during Sunday's home defeat to Buffalo Billsas fans booed and chanted “Fire, Tomlin!”
Harrison, who played under Tomlin for 10 seasons in Pittsburgh, said Monday that “something needs to be done” and added that he doesn't think Tomlin is a “great coach.”
“I never thought Coach Tomlin was a great coach,” Harrison said on his “Deebo and Joe” podcast. “I thought he was good [coach]. … A good coach helps you reach your potential. And right now the players that are on this team that I've seen are not reaching their potential. A good coach will help you reach your potential.”
Harrison had his best seasons in the NFL under Tomlin, earning five straight Pro Bowl selections from 2007 to 2011 and being named the league's Defensive Player of the Year in 2008. The two-time All-Pro linebacker noted that while the Steelers historically don't change coaches, change is needed in Pittsburgh.
“Something needs to be done, and I know the Steelers historically don't walk away from coaches,” he said. “But I think it's time to make history.”
Roethlisberger stressed that the Steelers should not fire Tomlin, suggesting the two sides had reached an “agreement” to end his tenure in Pittsburgh.
“Here's what you don't do: Don't fire a guy like Coach Tomlin,” the former star quarterback said. “He’s a Hall of Fame head coach and he’s respected. What you do is you come to a mutual understanding and an agreement, and it's like, “Hey, look, I think this is probably what's best for both of us.”
“You say, 'Hey coach, listen, this might be better for all parties involved, let's start over.' It happened to Chuck Noll, it happened to Coach Cowher.”
Tomlin, 53, has 189 regular-season wins — 11th most in NFL history — in 19 years with Pittsburgh, and his career winning percentage (.625) is the best in franchise history. But the Steelers haven't won the AFC North since 2020 and haven't won a playoff game since January 2017.
“Coach Tomlin has been here a long time,” Roethlisberger said. “You would put a statue of him no matter what you do because he deserves it, he’s earned it. But it's time to find the next guy. Who is the next guy that could be here for the next 20 years?”
