Mike Tomlin didn’t reach for the obvious answer when asked about the best Steelers team he ever coached.
In a recent interview with the Today Show, the former Pittsburgh head coach said it wasn’t the 2008-09 squad that won Super Bowl XLIII. His pick was the 2015 team, the one that had plenty of talent but came up short in the playoffs.
”The best team I coached, probably, didn’t win,” Tomlin said. “Probably in the mid-teens, 2015-16. Denver won it that year with Peyton (Manning).”
That Steelers group finished 10-6 and ranked fourth in the league in scoring offense, putting up 26.4 points per game. Pittsburgh wound up second in the AFC North, beat the Cincinnati Bengals in the wild card round and then lost to the eventual Super Bowl champion Broncos in the divisional round.
The playoff loss in Denver came by a 23-16 score, and the Steelers were shorthanded when it mattered most. Wide receiver Antonio Brown, running back Le’Veon Bell, and offensive linemen Kelvin Beachum and Maurkice Pouncey all missed the game because of injury.
”Sometimes, man, things don’t come together for you,” Tomlin said.
The offense was loaded even beyond that. Ben Roethlisberger threw for 3,938 yards with 21 touchdowns and 16 interceptions in 11 starts.
Brown delivered a monster season with 136 catches, 1,834 receiving yards and 10 touchdowns. Markus Wheaton and Martavis Bryant each topped 700 receiving yards, and Heath Miller added another 535.
Pittsburgh also had production on the ground. DeAngelo Williams led the backfield with 907 rushing yards in 10 starts, while Bell added 556 yards in six starts. The starting offensive line featured Beachum, Ramon Foster, Pouncey, David DeCastro and Marcus Gilbert.
And the defense held its own, finishing 11th in the NFL in scoring. That unit was anchored by Cam Heyward, Stephon Tuitt, Lawrence Timmons, James Harrison and Ryan Shazier.
Tomlin said the loss hit him harder than usual.
”That team? That team was as talented as any team I’ve ever been around,” Tomlin told the Today Show.
“We had the goods. But that’s what I love and respect about football, man.
It’s a single elimination tournament. It’s not best out of seven.
We went into that stadium that day without our No. 1 running back and without our No. 1 wideout, and we suffered the consequences of it. That’s life.
”But if you ask me the best team I’ve been around, it would probably be that team.”
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