FanPost

Tomlin

Once again, rumblings have surfaced concerning Tomlin and how he should never have been hired and should be let go.  I am a big fan of his, at least in this early stage of his career.  I believe that he should be allowed a chance to show what he is worth, and so far he has not failed.  I personally am grateful that we cheer for a team that is not fickle in its decisions with the head coaching position.   So I thought I would do a little Cowher/Tomlin/Noll comparison, taking a look at each coach's first season, since that is all we can look at from Tomlin's point of view.

Record:

Cowher(1992): 11-5, losing 2 of the last 3.

Tomlin(2007): 10-6, losing 3 of the last 4.

Noll(1969): 1-13, losing 13 in a row to end the season.

 

Postseason:

Cowher - yes, getting blown out 24-3 by the bills in the divisional round after a bye.

Tomlin - yes, losing 31-29 in a disheartening loss the Jags.

Noll - Um, no.

 

Team Passing:

Cowher - 431 att, 249 comp, 57.8%, 3046 yds, 15 Tds, 14 Ints, 40 sacks allowed, starting qb(odonnell) had an 83.6 rating.

Tomlin - 442 att, 282 comp, 63.8%, 3418 yds, 34 Tds, 14 ints, 47 sacks allowed. starting qb(ben) had a 104.1 rating.

Noll - 391 att, 176 comp, 45%, 2458 yds, 17 Tds, 29 ints, 52 sacks allowed, starting qb(shiner) had a 60.3 rating.

 

Team Rushing:

Cowher - 518 att, 2156 yds, 13 Tds, 4.2 ypc.

Tomlin - 511 att, 2158 yds, 9 Tds, 4.2 ypc.

Noll - 400 att, 1542 yds, 8Tds, 3.9 ypc.

 

Team Defense:

Cowher - 22 ints, 36 sacks, 225 points allowed.

Tomlin - 11 ints, 36 sacks, 266 points allowed.

Noll - 25 ints, 404 points allowed. 

Pretty even, eh?  (putting aside Noll's atrocious first season)

So, I'm curious.  Where in these stats does it warrant a coaching change this year?  Or even a modicum of regret at Tomlin's hiring in the first place?  Where does anyone get the idea that changing coaches frequently is a good idea?  Its not.  Some examples:

Miami - 5 coaches in the last 6 years - 0 playoff appearances.

Oakland - 4 coaches in the last 6 years - 1 playoff app

Granted, these are extreme examples.  But hell, how can anyone seriously gripe about Tomlin in his first year, after the kind of year that he had?  I know that there are(inexplicably) Cowher detractors out there.  But the man provided us with 15 years of winning football, culminating in a Superbowl.   And I know there aren't many out there that are gonna tell me Noll sucked.  But his first year sure did.  He went 1-13!  Are you kidding me?  1- 13?  What if the FO had had that knee-jerk reaction that so many fans get when faced with results lower than their expectations?  How dramatically different would our franchise look today if Noll had been let go?  Obviously, we will never know, but I sure am glad we didn't have to find out.  Tomlin deserves a chance, even without his success last season.

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