I know, it’s not happening. I get it. However, it is still a conversation that needs to happen. The Steelers have been consistently hitting a brick wall once the postseason hits, and their inability to get over the hump leads me to believe it is time for drastic change in the Steel City.

Before I get into why the Steelers would be better off by moving on from Tomlin, let me preface by saying that I do not believe Mike Tomlin is a bad coach. I do believe he is a good coach and has multiple desirable qualities. What is getting in the way of success in Pittsburgh is Tomlin’s intellectuality.

Education is a good thing, but more times than not, intellectualism is not. An educated person will make himself aware of what is around him and determine why a certain principle works or not. An intellectual has accumulated such a great amount of knowledge in his head that he cannot be proven wrong. Thus, he is unwilling to change from his philosophies.

The same can be said in the coaching realm. An educated coach will see what others are doing around the league, determining what works and what does not work in the modern NFL. An intellectual coach, on the other hand, has a philosophy that he has studied and developed a wealth of knowledge on, but he can never be proven wrong. He believes his way is the only way, and nobody can prove to him otherwise. This, my friends, is why I believe the tenure of Mike Tomlin in Pittsburgh has become stale. Tomlin understands the game, and he is one of the smartest people in the NFL landscape, but he is such an intellectual in that he is too skeptical of outside-the-box ideas.

The Steelers cannot win Super Bowls without major philosophical changes and a more aggressive approach on both sides of the football, and their continued level of moderate success prevents them from truly rebuilding and reforming the Steelers personnel. While the front office has done an incredible job the past two offseasons as it pertains to finding premier talent in both free agency and the draft, Mike Tomlin’s conservative philosophy gives the team no margin for error against the AFC elites.

This is why moving on from Mike Tomlin makes sense for the Steelers. There is always a risk when it comes to finding a new coach, but the worst place to be in the NFL is right in the middle. You fail to win anything in the postseason, and you are not picking high enough to draft an elite prospect. If the Steelers have to be bad for a year or two in order to win championships in the long run, so be it. The modern NFL is designed in a way which shortens the span of rebuilds if you can find the right quarterback. It is time for outside-the-box ideas and a more creative approach to football in Pittsburgh, and it will require moving on from Mike Tomlin for that to happen.

As it pertains to Mike Tomlin, why would you remain in an AFC with Patrick Mahomes, Josh Allen, Lamar Jackson, and Joe Burrow? The easier road to the Super Bowl in the near future will be through the NFC, and if I am Mike Tomlin, that is where I can go and prove my true value as a coach. He would most likely be inheriting a team that either has a proven quarterback or is in pole position to draft one in the next year or two.

Although I do not believe Mike Tomlin is Andy Reid, I do believe his situation is quite similar to what Reid faced in Philadelphia. Andy Reid was a good coach and fielded winning teams, but he could not get them over the hump. Now, much of his success in Kansas City can be attributed to Patrick Mahomes; but after receiving a fresh start, getting the perfect quarterback for his system, and bringing a new look to a team rich with NFL history, he has been the leader of a dynasty that looks nearly unstoppable.

Philadelphia has not had as much success as Andy Reid has seen since the two parted ways. However, they have won a championship since then, and they are one win away from competing for another one. If the Steelers and Mike Tomlin part ways, there is a strong possibility Tomlin wins more Super Bowls than the Steelers do over the next decade, but if the Steelers win any, that is still better than the status quo.

In a scenario like this, many fans would be discouraged to see Mike Tomlin have more success on a team like the Saints than the Steelers might see in the same amount of time, but if the Steelers see any more success in that scenario than they do currently, it is still the right move to make. Mike Tomlin is a good coach, but the Steelers are an organization that should be focused on postseason success, not just regular season success. Both parties would be better off by parting ways, and even if Mike Tomlin has more success away from the Steelers than he did with the Steelers, I am perfectly fine with it, assuming the same can be said for the Steelers’ success without Tomlin.