Former Minnesota Vikings Player Warns Frustrated Steelers Nation “Stop Tripping” About Firing Mike Tomlin and “Put Your Energy Elsewhere”

NFL head coach Mike Tomlin is on the hot seat. Steelers Nation is calling for his head. “Odd Couple” co-host Rob Parker went as far as condemning The Rooney family for condoning mediocrity in the form of 18 straight non-losing seasons, one Super Bowl ring, but zero playoff wins in the past eight seasons.

The fire ‘Mike Tomlin’ group is out in full swing, but former NFL player Stephen Weatherly and legendary QB Aaron Rodgers think he’s one of a kind. Maybe the fans need to do more to make their city a destination for superstar players.

“Odd Couple” Host Rob Parker Says Fire Mike Tomlin!: Steelers Living In Stone Age

On a recent episode of his daily Fox Sports radio show, Parker said: “You can’t live off the past! Yes, Mike Tomlin won a Super Bowl. Guess what? Doug Pederson won a Super Bowl, he got fired. Mike McCarthy won a Super Bowl, he got fired. Sean Payton won a Super Bowl, he got fired. Stop it! That doesn’t give you a lifetime card. The Pittsburgh Steelers are ridiculous. They’re in the Stone Age, and they’ve got to snap out of it. Let Mike Tomlin go!”

While some critics dismiss Tomlin’s ability to win more games than he loses, former Minnesota Vikings defensive end Stephen Weatherly tells The Shadow League “Locker Room” that the record means everything when evaluating the NFL’s longest-tenured head coach’s performance.  

The Pittsburgh fan base seems to be spoiled with its six Super Bowls, and the current drought is killing them.

Ex NFL Player Stephen Weatherly Says Firing Mike Tomlin Would Be Foolish

“I’m big on the fact that he hasn’t had a losing season,” Weatherly told host Jonathan Wells, a former NFL running back with the Houston Texans “I get what the people want. They want what Patrick Mahomes has been tasting since he came into the league. They want the parade.”

Weatherly warns Steelers fans to be careful what they ask for. 

“And they think there’s a coach that can take these similar pieces, situations, relationship with ownership, which is another factor fans don’t think about. Plus the average fan thinks there’s another guy out here with pedigree; (an unproven) college or proven pro coach that can come in here and handle all these factors so much better than Mike Tomlin has over his entire career that will then elevate them over the hump and take them there,” Weatherly said.

Aaron Rodgers Has Great Respect For Mike Tomlin: Rodgers To Steelers?

New York Jets quarterback Aaron Rodgers agrees with Weatherly, as he expressed while appearing on “The Pat McAfee Show” on Jan. 16. 

“There’s only one Mike Tomlin, and he seems to understand how to motivate his guys every single year,” Rodgers said. 

“I’ve always respected Mike, and I think he’s done one hell of a job in Pittsburgh.”

Pittsburgh Steelers Fans Should Be Thinking About How They Can Make City More Attractive To NFL Stars

If the Steelers did fire Tomlin, what’s the odds that they would be able to locate the few head coaches who could do a better job? 

Weatherly says the fans and ownership should be thinking more about how they can make the franchise better for Tomlin to achieve another Super Bowl, rather than search for the 1 percent of football coaches on earth who may be better in some aspect.

“That is such a finite pool of individuals that I don’t think that’s going to happen,” Weatherly said of the Steelers finding a better coaching candidate at this juncture. 

 “What I say on it is … if you want more to pour into him. What does it take for him to get over the hump? What do you need from us as fans?  What do you need from us as a community? If you want to win you have to bring the talent, there. If it’s not just the money it has to be a community. So that’s what the average fan can do, to bring in and entice a highly touted free agent, cause it’s not Miami, it’s not L.A., it’s not New York, it’s not a huge market – it’s Pittsburgh.”

Weatherly’s take is interesting in that he highlights how an organization needs the players, owners, coaches and community moving in unison to become a destination for superstar players. Tomlin has already built a consistent winning culture, and it’s time for everyone else to start pulling their weight. 

Weatherly continued, reminding Steelers Nation to look in the mirror first before ushering Money Mike out the door.

“You can complain about the guy and you can force him out … or do your job to try and help. As a fan you can make your city the best city where everyone feels they can have a home there,” he continued.

Fired? 

“Stop tripping and if he’s this close to getting you over the hump the solution is not to find that person that’s that magical 4 percent better than him,” Weatherly admonished. “It’s at that point where anything will help, especially getting more talent. Put your energy elsewhere if you want to win that battle is what I would say to Steelers Nation.”

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