Is Terry Bradshaw right about Mike Tomlin not being a great coach?

… he can shut up critics with a Super Bowl win 

Former Steeler great quarterback Terry Bradshaw unleashed a torrent of criticism last week when he said the following to Fox Sports 1 about Coach Mike Tomlin: “I don’t think he’s a great coach at all. He’s a nice coach. To me, and I’ve said this, he’s really a great cheerleader guy. I don’t know what he does. But I don’t think that he’s a great coach at all. His name never even pops in my mind when we think about great coaches in the NFL.”

As a result, Bradshaw has been called a racist who has been constantly critical of black coaches and players. Others have questioned whether or not he belongs in the NFL Hall of Fame. Others have questioned whether or not he has had too many concussions.

Others have agreed with him.

Assessing value of a coach

So, how do you assess the value of a coach? It is always subjective, but it can be based on some objective data. Using this analysis, you can find two Mike Tomlins. The first is the coach who took his teams to two Super Bowls in his first four years, winning the first. For that, he became known as the boy genius.

Then there is the coach who has been mediocre at best over the past six seasons, winning only one playoff game, and that one was handed to him by some crazy Cincinnati Bengals last year. His teams have played poorly against the worst competition. His defenses have been weak. He has experienced significant time-management issues in the past few years. His player personnel decisions have been very problematic over the past six years plus when he has had significant input. Draft picks have been underwhelming and have had problematic character issues. Players have been involved in many character issues such as rape and drugs. His teams have lacked discipline and have suffered for it.

Things were so bad in November that Post-Gazette reporter Paul Zeise was severely critical of Tomlin and GM Kevin Colbert, with a headline reading, "Under Mike Tomlin and Kevin Colbert, the Steelers might be hopeless." This occurred after the Steelers had twice appeared to be winning a big game over Dallas only to allow two touchdowns in the final two minutes, the final one in which no one touched a Cowboy running back who sprinted into the end zone for the winning score.

However, the numbers still show that Tomlin's teams have experienced a significant amount of success. He has won 63 percent of his games, 101-57 in games thus far in his ten years with the team. He has never had a losing season, two 8-8 years being his worst. Two Super Bowl appearances with one win, six playoff appearances in 10 years.

So, is he a great coach? NFL Hall of Fame receiver Cris Carter agreed with Bradshaw -- to a point. “Do I think he’s a great coach? No. But I think he’s a good coach, and I think Pittsburgh, like they have done, is going to be very very patient, because they’re only a player or two from playing in the big game,” Carter said according to the PG.

Bradshaw a racist?

What made some people criticize Bradshaw's comments as racist was that he was so supportive of former Steeler Coach Bill Cowher, who is white. The two coaches have similar stats. Cowher reached two Super Bowls in his 15 years, winning one. He won almost 62 percent of his games with a record of 161–99–1.

However, the rap against Cowher has been his playoff record. He finished with a 12-9 record, but four of those came when he won the Super Bowl in the 2005 season. Up to that point, he was 8-9 in the playoffs, losing four of five AFC Championship games -- all at home -- prior to that season.

Bradshaw argued that Cowher's teams were tougher, and he is probably right about that. Cowher arguably had better personnel than Tomlin has had over the years, though that reflects on the skills of GM Tom Donahoe. Colbert had a good record in the 2000s, but not so much in the 20-teens.

I doubt that his support for Cowher shows that Bradshaw is racist. He just does not like or respect Tomlin as a great coach, believes that he is overrated. Tomlin can shut people up by winning the Super Bowl this year, though that is iffy. His team has one of the weakest schedules in the league, which is why it is still competitive. They also lucked out that Andrew Luck was out of the Thanksgiving game in Indianapolis.

Christmas game

The Steelers have defeated the Ravens just once in the last seven meetings. However, they have played well at Heinz Field this year, so they have a good shot at winning today's game. That will shut up some of Tomlin's critics since they will then pretty much secure the AFC North title. Then he can show that he can coach by leading a talent-deficient team to the big game.

That will then prove Bradshaw wrong.

My opinion

I loved Tomlin until he became too soft on players. When he allowed two players who had just been arrested for smoking pot in a car a few hours before leaving to play Philadelphia in a preseason game to play in that game, he lost me. I still think that he is a good coach, and if he leaves Pittsburgh, he will be quickly gobbled up by another team.

The good thing about the Steelers is their continuity with coaches since Chuck Noll. Therefore, I am not in favor of canning Tomlin. I just do not hold him in the same regard as I did in his first four years. He is good, not great, based on his ten years, but that could change with a Super Bowl win this year. He was a great coach in his first four years.

Tomlin is not in a class with Patriots Coach Bill Bellichick, but Bellichick is really the only elite coach in the league right now [as hard as that is to admit].

And I do not put either Cowher or Tomlin in the same class as Chuck Noll. There was an elite coach.