CLEVELAND, Ohio — Mike Tomlin snuck his Steelers into the playoffs through a back door with a backup quarterback and, let’s face it, with silent backing from a segment of Browns fans.
I’m not saying the Dawg Pound ever roots for Tomlin, but you must admit that Pittsburgh’s coach appeals to Cleveland’s values. Tomlin preaches discipline, accountability, no excuses. His teams win close (if ugly) games against better teams with situational excellence. For the last two decades, Tomlin has embodied everything that Cleveland wanted in a coach.
After wild card weekend, however, Tomlin is stuck in the same rut as Browns coach Kevin Stefanski. Tomlin’s Steelers lost 31-17 to Buffalo on Monday, two days after Stefanski’s Browns lost 45-14 in Houston. Both teams fell far behind quickly, leaving both coaches to answer tough questions about slow starts. But only one has done this before, and it’s not the coach that Cleveland places on a pedestal.
Browns fans are searching for a place to put their anger this week, and some will inevitably find comfort at Stefanski’s feet. But before they do, I’d urge them to look across state lines again, look past Tomlin’s streak of regular-season competence, and look at the new trend emerging on his coaching record.
The Steelers have won zero playoff games since their 2016 run to the AFC Championship. They’ve lost four straight by 12.25 points per game, on average. And every loss has featured both a 21-point deficit and a scoreless first quarter. In fact, the Steelers have been outscored 66-0 in playoff first quarters since their last playoff win, meaning their postseason hopes last no longer than a bus ride from Cleveland to Pittsburgh.
Amid those ugly postseason failures, Pittsburgh never lost faith in its coach. Tomlin and the Steelers share so many facets of the same identity that it would be heresy to separate them. And when a spoiled Pittsburgh fan suggests otherwise, they are often (correctly) laughed out of the room because, over 17 years, Tomlin has earned the Steelers’ forgiveness.
But after four years of the best football Cleveland has seen in decades, I’d argue Stefanski has earned something similar. The Browns’ coach already ranks fourth in franchise history with three playoff games coached, and he just passed Bill Belichick for fifth on Cleveland’s all-time coaching wins list (37). That doesn’t mean Stefanski will become a coaching legend like Belichick or Tomlin — his place in Cleveland’s record books only emphasizes their thin spine — but one blowout doesn’t define a strong, season-long coaching performance, either.
Browns fans are searching for a place to put their anger this week, and some will inevitably find comfort at Stefanski’s feet. But before they do, I’d urge them to look across state lines again, look past Tomlin’s streak of regular-season competence, and look at the new trend emerging on his coaching record.
The Steelers have won zero playoff games since their 2016 run to the AFC Championship. They’ve lost four straight by 12.25 points per game, on average. And every loss has featured both a 21-point deficit and a scoreless first quarter. In fact, the Steelers have been outscored 66-0 in playoff first quarters since their last playoff win, meaning their postseason hopes last no longer than a bus ride from Cleveland to Pittsburgh.
Amid those ugly postseason failures, Pittsburgh never lost faith in its coach. Tomlin and the Steelers share so many facets of the same identity that it would be heresy to separate them. And when a spoiled Pittsburgh fan suggests otherwise, they are often (correctly) laughed out of the room because, over 17 years, Tomlin has earned the Steelers’ forgiveness.
But after four years of the best football Cleveland has seen in decades, I’d argue Stefanski has earned something similar. The Browns’ coach already ranks fourth in franchise history with three playoff games coached, and he just passed Bill Belichick for fifth on Cleveland’s all-time coaching wins list (37). That doesn’t mean Stefanski will become a coaching legend like Belichick or Tomlin — his place in Cleveland’s record books only emphasizes their thin spine — but one blowout doesn’t define a strong, season-long coaching performance, either.