Pittsburgh Steelers legend Terry Bradshaw has been down on Mike Tomlin for quite some time, and he took another opportunity to criticize the coach with the start of the 2018 season just days away.
Bradshaw was a guest on the “Dan Sileo Show” on 97.3 the Fan in San Diego Tuesday morning, and he didn’t have many positive things to say about Tomlin. Bradshaw said Tomlin has done a good job of winning games but that he should have more Super Bowl appearances to show for it. The two-time Super Bowl MVP also ripped Tomlin for being too easy on his players.
“I played for a tough sucker, and I was afraid of him, and we played our ass off for him because we feared him,” Bradshaw said, referring to Chuck Noll. “I don’t see that from this guy. He’s chest bumping and all that. … I’m sorry, but he’s not my kind of coach.”
Tomlin was a defensive assistant for years in the NFL before he was named the head coach of the Steelers in 2007, and Bradshaw said he has not lived up to his reputation. He questioned why Tomlin decided to part ways with former offensive coordinator Todd Haley this offseason rather than making changes on defense. Bradshaw said the defensive staff should have been gutted after the Steelers lost 45-42 to the Jacksonville Jaguars in the playoffs last year.
“So I’ll fire (the defensive coordinator), I’ll make the change there, and everybody will look and, go, he made some tough changes,” he said. “But on offense? I’d fire that defensive coordinator, pack his a– out the highway, and I’d go find me someone else who can do the job.”
You could argue that Bradshaw has said worse about Tomlin in the past, so the comments really aren’t that shocking. There has also been talk that some minority owners with the Steelers want Tomlin out, so he could genuinely find himself on the hot seat this year if Pittsburgh falls short of expectations.
