Head Coaching Spotlight: A Look at Tomlin, Kingsbury

By Jacob Sanders

Last year, I did a fun piece that examined the careers of Gruden, Harbaugh, Payton, and McCarthy. Well this year, I would like to do that again but this time, I’ll be examining two coaches that have set a bar for themselves year in displaying just how great a job they have done, despite not having the results they probably wanted this year. These two coaches this time around, are Mike Tomlin and Kliff Kingsbury. Now, you may be wondering to yourself why I would choose to talk about “great coaching” from two teams that haven’t necessarily performed up to either standard each team wanted this season. And you’d be correct in thinking both the Steelers and Cardinals have underperformed in terms of wins and losses. However, when you examine the stats, situations, and overall eye-test of the teams, you’ll see that both teams are far better off than you think.

So, let’s get into it!

The Mike Tomlin Experience

Let me say something that may sound bias, but I promise it isn’t. The “Mike Tomlin” hate that we hear every year is severely overrated and this year Mike Tomlin has put forth his best coaching effort yet. Yes, this coaching year is better than the year he won a Super Bowl against the Cardinals. Yes, this coaching year is better than the year he went to his second Super Bowl where he eventually lost to the Packers. Yes, sitting at 7-5 right now, Mike Tomlin has performed his best work yet. But before I get to why this year is so brilliant, let’s examine what’s happened to lead to a “disappointing” 7-5 start to this Steelers team. Exactly one year ago, the Lev Bell drama was almost evaporating. And then, Antonio Brown decided to start another circus in Pittsburgh. From here, it very much looked like the Steelers were in chaos. Brown could not be controlled and the Bell situation that happened recently made everything look bad. The Steelers were about to lose the best receiver in the League and the best running back in the League all in the same year. The whispers came about that Mike Tomlin couldn’t control his locker room. Nothing coming out of Pittsburgh was good news. Fast forward to the beginning of end of September, 2019 and the Steelers were 0-3 with everyone in the national media seemingly portraying the Steelers as a team doomed to have a top 10 draft pick next year. The Steelers couldn’t handle the talent drain and were destined to go no where with Ben Roethlisberger sidelined for the season. Mike Tomlin was rumored to be fired or traded to the Washington Redskins. But then, an event happened that created a domino effect for the rest of the season. The Steelers pulled the trigger on a trade that even your friendly writer here thought was dumb just like everyone else did. They traded a 1st round draft pick for Minkah Fitzpatrick. And the Steelers have gone 7-2 since. How incredible is that? That one trade just seemed to push the Steelers defense over the top and suddenly gave the Steelers a defensive identity? This is where Mike Tomlin comes into the picture. Mike Tomlin saw that he couldn’t run his defensive scheme without a No. 1 CB. He knew better than everyone else that if he got a playmaking corner, he could run the defense he wanted to run. Before the trade, the Steelers were 0-3 with the defense allowing 28.3 points per game. Since that trade, the Steelers have gone 7-2 with the defense allowing 15.6 points per game. That’s Mike Tomlin right there. That’s the genius of Mike Tomlin. People often forget that Pittsburgh’s defensive dominance wasn’t just Dick Lebeau. They often forget that Mike Tomlin was the mastermind behind one of the three defenses in NFL history (the 2006 Minnesota Vikings) that have never allowed over 1,000 yards rushing in a 16 game season. Mike Tomlin, is and always has been a good coach. Now, there are some blunders that Mike Tomlin has had. Does his team choke when the game is at its highest pressure point? Sometimes. Look no further than playoff games against the Patriots. Are the Steelers guaranteed to play down to their opponent who is 3-6? Yeah, it happens every year. But that’s part of the Mike Tomlin experience. Mike Tomlin’s squads have been dominating almost this entire decade and have been the 2nd best team in the AFC. Now, nobody remembers 2nd best and the Patriots have had a say in that. But Mike Tomlin has always had a great squad and people can no longer question that Mike Tomlin is part of the reason the Steelers have been so great and this season proves why. No Antonio Brown, No Lev Bell, and no Ben Roethlisberger. Yet Mike Tomlin has instilled such a passion into his players to bury the hatchet of a 1-4 start to a season, to be 7-5 right now and controlling their own destiny to be a wildcard. That, right there, is great coaching. That, my fellow footballs fans, is the Mike Tomlin experience. So relax Pittsburgh fans. Yes, you expect greatness from your organization. I get it. But if what you’re watching unfold this season isn’t “great” in your eyes, then you’re missing out on the reality of the situation. Mike Tomlin is putting forth his best coaching year yet and you should be excited for the future that is to come.

Speaking of being excited for the future, hello(!) Cardinals fans….

Cool Guy Kliff

Sitting at 3-8-1, you’d think that Cardinals fans would be miserable like they were during last year’s 3-13 campaign. But, believe it or not, Cardinals fans have been excited this year and it’s because of two important reasons. The number one reason being that Kyler Murray is looking like a franchise QB in his rookie season. Yes, the kid makes mistakes. He takes sacks that he shouldn’t be taking and often isn’t recognizing situational football when he needs to. However, the kid has had an incredible rookie season and follows up his rookie mistakes with veteran throws and electric playmaking. It’s clear that Kyler Murray has a high ceiling and hasn’t even touched it yet. Enter the reason number two which is responsible for Kyler Murray looking as good as he does: Kliff Kingsbury. Kyler’s Murray fate as the No. 1 pick was absolutely sealed the second Kliff Kingsbury said he would take Kyler Murray with the No. 1 pick. Murray is Kingsbury’s ideal quarterback and it’s been clear since Week 1 that this duo would/should be inseparable. I don’t think anyone watched last year’s Cardinals squad, but even though both squads have the same record, this year’s squad is so much more fun to watch. They are competitive and tough. Their offense is a real thing to be scared of. And it all starts with Kliff Kingsbury. Kingsbury transformed an offense that was ranked dead last in offense last year to currently being ranked 20th. That doesn’t sound great, but you have to remember just how awful that Cardinals offense last year. It was dreadful, unbearable, unwatchable, and pretty much any other negative adjective you can think of. To climb up the offensive ranks by 12 spots with a near identical offensive roster speaks to Kingsbury’s ability to game plan an offense. His willingness to transfer from a 5WR set to putting TEs into his gameplan has shown his maturity as a rookie head coach. His ability to put Kyler Murray into good spots only showcases the strengths that Kliff Kingsbury has a head coach and play caller. Now, it’s not all positive when considering Kliff Kingsbury. For what it’s worth, Kliff Kingsbury has a great offensive mind but has no affinity for the defensive side of the ball. Sure, he had the highest scoring college teams in NCAA history, but he also had the worst defenses in NCAA history. That same thing has carried over to the NFL where Kingsbury has taken a talentless offense and made it look average, but his defense is the worst defense in the NFL ranking 32nd in multiple categories. Kingsbury has also had some games where I genuinely question what in the world he was thinking. A couple 3rd and shorts where he is calling a play for an intermediate throw. Going for it on 4th and intermediate yardage. Failing to run the ball on 10 consecutive plays. Why? Like, why would you do that? Well, chalk it up to rookie mistakes. That’s something you can do in college ball. Not the NFL. As a collective group of football fans, we must remember the Cardinals are being led by a rookie head coach and rookie quarterback. The defensive part of his coaching still concerns me, but as of right now, everyone should be excited about Kliff Kingsbury and the Arizona Cardinals. They have put an offense on the field that nobody else runs and is so fun to watch. If you ask me, people should start paying attention to the Arizona Cardinals. They’re rebuilding right now. And they’re just getting started.