"The NFL that Mike Tomlin was watching as he accepted Art Rooney's offer to take over as Steelers head coach on the evening of Jan. 21, 2007, doesn't look all that similar to the league we just saw run through a frantic wild-card weekend, one that ended with the Steelers being blown out 30-6 by a sloppy Texans team. It was the final game of his Pittsburgh tenure, as Tomlin stepped down Tuesday."
"Faced with a disconnect between the Tampa 2 system he had learned under Tony Dungy in Tampa Bay and the zone blitz-heavy 3-4 the Steelers were already running with Dick LeBeau in Pittsburgh, Tomlin deferred to the legendary assistant. The Steelers were second in scoring defense during Tomlin's first season and then led the league the following year, when they won the Super Bowl."
"In other ways, perhaps Tomlin didn't evolve as much as necessary. Tomlin lagged behind the league's trend of going for it on fourth down in favorable situations, although that might have been partially a product of playing with one of the league's worst offenses and one of its best kickers. The Steelers cycled through offensive coordinators after forcing Bruce Arians out, with the veteran assistant finding new levels of success as a head coach elsewhere around the league."
Mike Tomlin led the Pittsburgh Steelers for 19 years, accepting the head-coach job on Jan. 21, 2007. Early in his tenure he deferred to Dick LeBeau's zone-blitz 3-4 over his Tampa 2 background, producing top scoring defenses and a Super Bowl. The Steelers generated turnover-happy, aggressive defenses across a generation of talent. Later in his tenure Tomlin lagged on aggressive fourth-down decisions, a choice influenced by one of the league's weak offenses and a strong kicker. The team cycled offensive coordinators after Bruce Arians' exit, with Arians later achieving head-coaching success elsewhere. Tomlin resigned after a 30-6 wild-card loss to the Texans.
Read at ESPN.com
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