Former Steelers Super Bowl champion says it's time for Mike Tomlin to be on the hot seat

Pittsburgh Steelers HC Mike Tomin has coined the phrase 'the standard is the standard."

Speaking to the legacy of a team tied for the most Super Bowls in the history of the league, it's an homage to the success that's expected from the black and gold.

But lately, the Steelers have struggled to live up to that standard, and one of Mike Tomlin's former players has had enough:

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Is Tomlin on the hot seat?

“I love Mike Tomlin, but this is, I have to officially say, he’s on the hot seat," former Steelers offensive lineman and Super Bowl champion Willie Colon said on FS1's The Carton Show . "And when you talk about his overall record, you talk about in 17 seasons, he has an 8-10 playoff record, only four seasons with playoff wins and he’s had some bona fide teams even with Ben Roethlisberger. The issue with Mike Tomlin right now is he wins games he’s supposed to win, but loses games he shouldn’t lose. I’m saying to myself, well, who are the Pittsburgh Steelers? Are they the bullies, or are they the dweebs right now? If you lost to the Patriots and the Cardinals, you look like the dweebs.”

Fundamentally, Colon is right. Pittsburgh routinely punches above their weight, yets plays down to their opponent. The numbers even show it, with Pittsburgh under .500 (86-96-2) as a favorite, yet 57-31-3 when placed as an underdog under Mike Tomlin in the regular season.

Losing in the playoffs as an underdog is an entirely different story, but either failing to make the playoffs or doing so as a low seed for over a half-decade plus is the kind of sub-par standard that Colon is speaking to.

Whether or not Tomlin is actually on the hot seat is a different question. It has been well documented that Steelers president and owner Art Rooney II wants to extend Mike Tomlin's contract, of which he is in the final year.

But there were also rumblings about Coach t stepping away after last season, suggesting maybe he wanted a change of scenery.

And with so many players on one-year deals or at the end of their contracts, it's entirely plausible that if things don't go to plan in 2024, a whole new team is constructed from the top down in 2025.