Troy Polamalu not only thinks Mike Tomlin should stay in Pittsburgh; The Hall of Fame safety believes his former team is close to returning to championship form.
The two-time Super Bowl champion dismissed rumors that this could be Tomlin’s final run with the Steelers. Tomlin, who would have can take a break from coaching after that season, faced heavy criticism from Steelers fans before going on a three-game winning streak that ultimately resulted in a playoff berth.
“These are probably the same fans who were saying get rid of Ben too, and me,” Polamalu said with a laugh on “The Jim Rome Show.” “Honestly, I think Coach Tomlin is one of the greatest coaches in NFL history. I think he’s a Hall of Fame coach. Absolutely, I think the talk is crazy for that people consider or think that he wouldn’t be our coach next year. … I think it would be terrible for him not to be.”
Polamalu has first-hand knowledge of Tomlin’s coaching prowess. Under Tomlin, Polamalu was named the 2010 NFL Defensive Player of the Year. He once credited Tomlin’s midweek drive for rallying the defense around James Harrison during Harrison’s famous 100-yard pick-six that helped the Steelers win Super Bowl XLIII.
“First of all, I think he’s able to connect with the young players unlike any coach I’ve seen,” Polamalu said of Tomlin. “He’s an incredible coach from a tactical standpoint. I’ve been in meetings with him and learned so much from him, even though I also had a Hall of Fame coach in Coach LeBeau.”
Tomlin, 51, has never had a losing season in his 17 seasons as Pittsburgh’s coach. But that feat loses some of its luster when you consider that the Steelers haven’t won a playoff game in seven years, an eternity for the NFL’s most successful franchise since the 1970 merger.
Polamalu, however, believes the Steelers are poised to return to the franchise’s glory years of the 1970s and 2000s.
“We have a new general manager in Omar Khan. I think he will make further exciting progress in the future,” Polamalu said. “I think this partnership (between Khan and Tomlin) is starting and will continue to evolve. I think there’s a shake-up in the recruiting department in terms of how we continue to build the culture in Pittsburgh internally, rather than how we “I’ve kind of done it recently with expensive moves and not really maintaining the culture that actually built all these championships that we have.
“To me, with a little more patience, the Steelers will be back on top soon.”
Polamalu may be right. Although there was some turmoil, this Steelers team, in Tomlin’s words, smiled in the face of adversity when they were 7-7 and on the verge of collapse. The Steelers responded with three straight wins and will look to continue their season with a victory at Buffalo in Sunday’s Super Wild Card Weekend showdown.
As for Sunday’s game, Polamalu believes it’s the perfect opportunity to show the outside world that the Steelers culture is alive and well.
“Obviously we don’t have TJ Watt,” Polamalu said. “We’ve had some injury issues. But to me, our program has always been bigger than the names. To be able to go to a place like Buffalo and win would say a lot about how we build our culture internally. “I can’t wait to watch this match. I think we’re going to have a good run and get a big victory. ”
