Apparently two Super Bowl appearances, one Super Bowl victory and a career winning percentage of 63% doesn’t do it for Steelers’ great Terry Bradshaw.
While appearing on “Speak For Yourself” with Jason Whitlock and Cris Carter, Bradshaw decided to clap at Mike Tomlin.
Hes really a great cheerleader guy, I dont know what he does, but I dont think that hes a great coach at all. His name never pops into my mind when we think about great coaches in the NFL.” said Bradshaw.
A really great cheerleader guy? Apparently cheering your players on and motivating them to excel on the field isn’t appealing to Bradshaw. Don’t know about you, but seeing Tomlin getting amped on the sidelines or being fully focused during a sideline interview gets me motivated to suit up. And to say “I don’t know what he does” opens up the door to so many questions about Bradshaw’s analysis.
I’ve been a die-hard Steelers fan since the 70s, so I have seen the good times and bad and have been able to watch all three coaches for team Black and Yellow (the Steelers have only had three head coaches in their history- Chuck Noll, Bill Cowher and Mike Tomlin). The team has won six Super Bowls during this time, four under Knoll, one under Cowher and one under Tomlin. But apparently Bradshaw prefers Cowher to his successor.
I have more identity with Cowher than I do Tomlin, Bradshaw said. His teams were tough. Tomlin came in from Minnesota and I didnt know anything about him, so maybe its unfair for me to make the comparison.
Well there are certain comparisons you can make that go towards coaching ability. Both have been to two Super Bowls and both have a record of 1-1. In Cowher’s fifteen years as the Steelers’ head coach, he has a record of 161-99-1, a winning percentage of approximately 62%. Tomlin, who has been the head coach since 2007, has a career record of 107-62, a winning percentage of 63%. They both coached the team to two AFC Championships and both won NFL Coach of the Year Awards. In a statistical sense, their careers and resumes are pretty similar, which means that they’re both very successful coaches.
They are also loved by their players and possess the same type of intensity. Granted, Cowher’s was more demonstrative with his glare and stern chin, but that doesn’t mean that the desire to win for Tomlin is any less than that of Cowher’s.
One major difference is that during Cowher’s time, the defense was much more in focus while during Tomlin’s current tenure, offense has been more emphasized, although that could be attributed more to the state of the League than coaching philosophies.
Now this is not meant to be a Cowher vs. Tomlin situation, because it’s not about that. What it is about is Bradshaw’s unfair perspective on, and description of, Tomlin.
If you identify more with Cowher, no problem, because there’s nothing wrong with that. But to characterize Tomlin as simply a cheerleader guy is completely wrong and unfair. In addition, to say he’s not “a great coach at all” implies that Bradshaw doesn’t think that he’s even a good coach, which should be both shocking and disturbing to hear after reviewing his coaching resume.
What won’t be shocking is Tomlin’s probable reaction to Bradshaw’s statement, which will probably revolve around him stating that he isn’t focused on comments from Bradshaw or anyone else as he’s focused on beating the Ravens on Sunday, winning the AFC North, getting back to Steelers’ football and winning their seventh Super Bowl.
Maybe that would change Bradshaw’s mind. But I doubt that Tomlin would care.
