longtime division rival comes to the defense of Steelers’ Mike Tomlin after his former player bashes him

When former Steelers Super Bowl Champion and offensive lineman Willie Colon went on national TV and declared it was time to place Mike Tomlin on the hot seat , many were taken aback.

Citing that Pittsburgh hasn't lived up to the franchise's lofty expectations over the past half-decade plus, Colon wants to see something different from the Steelers in 2024.

Well, longtime rival and former Bengals WR Chad "Ochocinco" Johnson called out Colon, coming to the defense of Coach T:

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Ocho Comes to Tomlin's defense

“For one, the only Willie Colon I know is the Spanish singer,” Johnson said on the NightCap Show . “Let’s start there, okay, so, I’m trying to understand, Mr. Willie Colon, why his words and how he feels and what he’s saying hold any weight, why it holds any weight. Tell Willie, go sit down somewhere, man. Tell Willie to go sit. I know Willie Parker. I don’t know no Willie Colon. Listen, his name holds no weight, no disrespect. Listen, I’m a Bengal. I’m a Bengal fan at heart taking for the Steelers organization because I don’t know who the hell this Willie Colon is.”

A pointed shot at Colon, it stems off Colon's comments that targeted Coach T's tenure:

"I love Mike Tomlin, but this is, I have to officially say, he’s on the hot seat. And when you talk about his overall record, you talk about in 17 seasons, he has an eight and 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,” Colon said on the Craig Carton Show. “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.”

The noise about Coach Tomlin has been creeping up for a few years now. Ever since the retirement of Ben Roethlisberger, the lack of playoff success has many in the fanbase and even local media questioning the esteemed HC.

But few, if any players have taken such a critical stance on Coach T, and certainly not ones that won a Super Bowl with him as a player (Colon).

We'll see if Colon has a rebuttal to Ocho's comments.

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