Steelers HC Mike Tomlin has had his back against the wall before, but this time is that wall in his own locker room? Recency bias is real, and we certainly shouldn’t lose sight of that. But the “Fire Tomlin” chants were very real, as is the frustration from all corners about the state of the Steelers.
There was a point at which we annually debated whether Tomlin had lost the Steelers’ locker room. It never went too far before, and it’s likely not going to now. But there has to be a tipping point somewhere along the way, right?
Steelers beat writer Mark Kaboly seems to think it’s just around the corner. Frustrated with his empty rhetoric during his post-game press conference Sunday, he wondered what was behind it.
“How do you expect your team to fight if you aren’t willing to fight yourself, and Tomlin wasted a golden opportunity following the 26-7 loss that was, in reality, not even that close”, Kaboly argued in a post on X. “At this point, Tomlin has to try everything because if he hasn’t lost the locker room yet, he’s damn close to doing that”.
Kaboly: Mike Tomlin came up short of the mark long after getting lambasted by Buffalo
Mark Kaboly / Steelers Correspondent
For The @PatMcAfeeShowPITTSBURGH — The crowd chanted to fire you, and it wasn’t like it was a vocal minority relegated to being lifelong Mike Tomlin… pic.twitter.com/O6ipSJFMu0
— Mark Kaboly (@MarkKaboly) December 1, 2025
That’s always hard to quantify from the outside, but we’ve certainly had our share of “dejected Steelers locker room” stories. Then again, we’ve also had the opposite, though those are the ones coming from the players.
One point to note is that the Steelers’ locker room is more mercenary than ever under Mike Tomlin. How invested are guys like Jalen Ramsey and Aaron Rodgers in his messaging? Sure, they may say they came here because of Tomlin, but that was without firsthand experience.
Kaboly noted the bevy of former players from his own locker room calling him out. While fair, it’s also worth pointing out that everyone has a podcast now, so it’s somewhat inevitable. And while James Harrison said he doesn’t believe Tomlin was ever a great coach…that’s Harrison.
But the Steelers are an organization that prides itself on its living history and its lineage; the locker room is a fraternity that spans generations, and Mike Tomlin has fostered that notion eagerly. As a consequence, you also hear it when your team fails.
And the Steelers are certainly failing this season. For whatever reason, his coaching is not translating to success on the field. Players can only blame themselves for so long, and as you’ve seen, they’ve tried their best. Publicly, they still blame themselves, even Aaron Rodgers.
But not without hints of frustration behind the scenes. Especially on defense, we’ve heard criticism from the Steelers locker room about the schematics, which start with Tomlin. And things have only gotten worse since then.
“This team is on the brink of a collapse like we haven’t seen around these parts in decades, if ever”, Kaboly argued. Certainly, they’re in a bad spot right now. But has Mike Tomlin really lost the Steelers’ locker room? If he hasn’t, is he close to it? Are the players invested not just in his message, but in him? I guess we’ll find out on Sunday.
