Does Tomlin still ride Cowher's coattails?

[*rfaulk34*]

(01-12-2018, 08:58 AM)JS-Steelerfan Wrote: Vick came to the Steelers at the end of his career and his level of play was such that he didn't even get picked up that year until the Steelers had a backup get  injuried in training camp.  He was never signed again after that season.  But sure, let's use him as an example of someone the Steelers should have gotten elite play out of.    

As for Landry, the Big 12 doesn't exactly have a reputation for producing elite quarterbacks.  The styles of play are different enough that success there has not necessarily consistently translated into NFL greatness.  Go ahead and name a current elite NFL QB from the Big 12.  Heck, give me your top five all time.  This site put together such a list and they had Kordell Stewsrt at five.  'Nuff said.  

The point is that expecting a coach to get  either one of those two to produce like Ben is ridiculous.  McCarron has the potential to be better than either of those guys (in Vick's case using his Steeler era as the only point of comparison).

To your main point, Tomlin got Ben in only the fourth year of Ben's career.  In reviewing said career, one could argue that he underwent most of his professional growth under Tomlin's tenure.  Ben was not exactly at his most developed point football-wise In 2007.  Obviously the head coach isn't solely responsible for that, but he is the guy who put together the staff that helped him grow.

Ben had plenty of talent when he was drafted. The key was trusting him and giving him the right system. Even with that, he's best known for extending plays. You can't teach that. 

We can debate for days. I'm just going to wait and see who's next and then we will see how good Tomlin is if he has to work with a less than HOF type QB. 

I'm not putting this on Tomlin for the most part because, as you said, there are others in the mix, but the Pitt D is nothing like it had been for the greater part of 15 years. They had an excellent track record of bringing new guys in to keep the standard up, but over the last few years they've dropped off noticeably. 

The debate really shouldn't be about Tomlin anyway. The real debate is about who is in charge of drafting and FA. That's been the key to Pitt's success for the last 25 years.