When it comes to the Pittsburgh Steelers’ lack of playoff success since 2016, the truth hurts.
Well, unless you refuse to hear the truth. And a lot of that has been going on in Pittsburgh since news broke last week about head coach Mike Tomlin’s contract extension through 2027.
The louder people point out the facts about the Steelers’ ongoing playoff-win drought, the deeper Tomlin defenders stick their fingers in their ears and the louder they yell “I can’t hear you!”
Come to think of it, that’s a more compelling argument for extending Tomlin’s contract at a reported $19 million per year than anything else I’ve heard to the contrary.
But despite vocal pushback against local criticism of the deal by the national media, Mark Madden of 105.9 The X and TribLive refuses to change his opinion on the matter.
“He didn’t merit an extension,” Madden said on this week’s “Madden Monday” podcast. “He’s been a crappy coach for 13 years. What don’t people get? You can’t look at his record for the last 13 years and tell me he merits that extension.”
Eleven of those 13 seasons have ended without a playoff win. But to a large segment of Steelers fans and NFL media members, Tomlin’s knack for simply avoiding a losing season trumps that fact.
“Nothing has changed,” Madden said about his stance that the Steelers erred by giving Tomlin an extension. “If anything, having heard the criticism of my criticism, I know even more for certain that I’m right.”
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According to Madden, the pushback against even the slightest criticism of Tomlin’s new deal isn’t restricted to the usual suspect talking-head media types on ESPN and other networks across the country.
He claims to be getting it locally as well.
“I was on ‘The ‘DVE Morning Show,’” Madden said. “They bit my head off when I said he didn’t deserve the extension. Bit my head off. It was like, ‘This guy is great. And if you think otherwise, you’re wrong, no matter what the facts say.’ Here’s what I got told on ‘DVE: ‘He’s never had a losing season. If you want to win, that’s a good place to start.’ OK. But where does it finish?”
Well, for the past seven seasons, in the first round of the playoffs, at best.
“At best,” Madden reiterated.
Also, in this week’s podcast, we discuss the big money paid out to Jacksonville quarterback Trevor Lawrence, more Caitlin Clark drama, the Pirates’ road trip to Colorado, and the Rolling Stones show Mark saw in Cleveland.
Listen: Mark Madden and Tim Benz give their thoughts on Mike Tomlin’s contract extension, Trevor Lawrence’s new deal, the Pirates’ series in Denver, WNBA drama and the Stanley Cup Final.
