Ryan Clark Voices Concern over Mike Tomlin’s Future with Pittsburgh Steelers

Former Steeler Ryan Clark wants Mike Tomlin to ditch the Steelers and coach another NFL team to have an Andy Reid-esque career.

Ryan Clark Voices Concern over Mike Tomlin’s Future with Pittsburgh Steelers

Ryan Clark and Mike Tomlin (Image via IMAGO)

There’s no denying that Mike Tomlin is a top football coach. He has guided the Pittsburgh Steelers for an extended period. Maybe too long, according to former Steelers defensive back Ryan Clark.

Tomlin agreed to become the head coach of the Steelers 18 years ago, in 2007. Since then, their AFC North neighbors, the Cleveland Browns, have hired and fired dozens of coaches.

Tomlin doesn’t just coach the Steelers; every year, the team from Pittsburgh finishes with a positive record. Not many coaches can brag about that.

However, finishing with a positive record in the regular season and a successful playoff run are two very different achievements. While Tomlin’s Steelers are masters of the former, they can not get their act together during the business end of the season.

In the latest segment of First Take, Ryan Clark highlighted the Steelers’ lack of playoff results as a sign that Tomlin’s words are falling flat.

As great a coach [Mike Tomlin] is, and he’s a first-ballot Hall of Famer, I believe his voice has run stale [in Pittsburgh]. He needs to go have his Andy Reid Kansas City run.

There’s truth in Clark’s statement. The Steelers remain winless in the playoffs since losing the AFC title game against the New England Patriots in 2016. It worsened after Ben Roethlisberger’s retirement, and 2025 is shaping up to be the same.

The Kenny Pickett experiment failed, followed by unsuccessful fringe cameos from Russell Wilson and Justin Fields, which didn’t impress either. All three will start for different teams in 2025, while the Steelers continue to wait for a quarterback who is one call away from hanging up his boots.

On top of it, the Steelers drew a very tough schedule. They will face the Jets, Seahawks, Patriots, Vikings, Browns, and Bengals in their first six games of the new season. ESPN’s Dan Orlovsky bullishly predicted that Tomlin’s Steelers would go 0-6 in those games.

Ryan Clark urged Mike Tomlin to leave the Steelers

Sometimes a change of scenery helps to rediscover the winning formula. Clark mentioned Andy Reid as an example of how changing clubs can also bring in good fortune.

Ryan Clark Voices Concern Over Mike Tomlin's Future with Pittsburgh Steelers
Mike Tomlin (Image via IMAGO)

Reid managed the Philadelphia Eagles from 1999 to 2012. During that era, the Eagles were in a similar situation to the Steelers of today. They won multiple divisional titles and even reached the Super Bowl, but lost to the Patriots.

Eventually, the Eagles fired Reid, and he ended up at the Kansas City Chiefs, where he won three Super Bowls in six years. Clark wants Tomlin to follow Reid’s example by leaving the Steelers and coaching a different NFL team.

I believe Mike Tomlin should coach in another organization… Mike Tomlin should be the fresh voice somewhere else.

Unlike organizations such as the Browns and the Cincinnati Bengals, the Steelers don’t simply fire their head coaches after one bad season. Chuck Noll (1969-1991) and Bill Cowher (1992-2006) are prime examples of the Steelers organization’s trust in their head coaches.

This can easily change by signing the right quarterback. At present, the Steelers have Mason Rudolph, Skylar Thompson, and rookie Will Howard in their quarterback room. While Rudolph may be a veteran, hardly anyone is betting on him to lead the Steelers to the playoffs.

Also Read: