Packers fans are venting, and it’s easy to understand why. Green Bay has dropped seven of its eight games since Micah Parsons got hurt, and the skid has included a blown double-digit lead in the Wild Card round against the Chicago Bears, a blown lead to the Minnesota Vikings in Week 1, and a blowout loss in the home opener.
The only win in that stretch came in overtime against the ever-struggling New York Jets. Put that together with five straight losses to end last season, and it’s no surprise the fan base is ready to push Matt LaFleur and GM Brian Gutekunst out the door.
But the growing chatter about Mike Tomlin doesn’t hold up. The idea is built more on frustration than reality, and even if it were possible, it wouldn’t fix the Packers’ problems.
Tomlin is under contract to do TV this season, and while there may be a clause that allows him to return to the league, that part is only speculation. The Steelers also didn’t fire him; he stepped away on his own.
That matters, because even if Tomlin wanted back in, Pittsburgh would still control his contract. Green Bay wouldn’t be able to simply hire him as a free agent. A trade would be required, which means giving up assets for a coach who isn’t even available in the usual way.
And from a football standpoint, the fit doesn’t make sense either. LaFleur deserves heat for his big-game failures, his tendency to get too cute, and his rough clock management, especially when his team is ahead. But replacing him with Tomlin would just swap one coach with serious questions for another.
Tomlin’s résumé comes with a Super Bowl ring, but the recent results are hard to ignore. The Steelers spent years living in that middle ground of .500 seasons and first-round playoff exits, and it has been almost a decade since Tomlin’s last playoff win. Even longer than that, Pittsburgh hasn’t looked like a real contender.
Some will point to Tomlin’s reputation as a culture builder and a coach players respect. But that image doesn’t exactly line up with every player who passed through Pittsburgh, including Antonio Brown, Ben Roethlisberger, Chase Claypool, Le’Veon Bell, or James Harrison.
The bigger issue in Green Bay isn’t the defense. It’s an offensive line that has been borderline amateur, a running game that isn’t pulling its weight, and a quarterback who has improved but still leans on his gunslinger instincts and hero-ball tendencies when the pocket and the clock start closing in.
Tomlin is a good coach, but he also got a long leash because of one Super Bowl years ago, much like Mike McCarthy did. Packers fans knew exactly how they felt about McCarthy, and there’s no reason to chase his defensive mirror image now.
Even if the rumors were real - and they aren’t - Tomlin looks like the last coach Green Bay should be eyeing once it eventually moves on from LaFleur. And that move may not even come this season, since the team just gave LaFleur an extension.
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Browns May Soon Face A QB Decision Fans Didn't Expect
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That kind of depth can be useful in October, but it also creates pressure on the front office to make a call before the roster becomes unwieldy. ESPN insider Jeremy Fowler recently pegged Cleveland as one of three teams that could move a backup quarterback for draft capital, and Gabriel looks like the name that fits the conversation best because of the depth chart and the Browns' roster constraints. [Read more 🡒]