4 reasons why Mike Tomlin’s winning-season streak is actually bad for the Steelers
By John Buhler
2. Mike Tomlin's Pittsburgh Steelers will become the NFL's version of Kirk Ferentz's Iowa Hawkeyes
This is 1000 percent what I am afraid of. We don't need the Steelers to become the Imitation Steelers. Yes, I am talking about the Iowa Hawkeyes under Kirk Ferentz's guidance. They rarely schedule anybody worth a damn in the non-conference, outside of CyHawk rival Iowa State, who they are morally obligated to play. Iowa goes something like 10-2 every three or four years to win its division.
What ends up happening is the Hawkeyes have no shot to compete vs. their opponent in the Big Ten Championship Game. Ferentz gets by on past reputation, Phil Parker's defense, LeVar Woods' special teams unit, and absolutely not his son Brian Ferentz's historically bad nepotism offense. By praising Tomlin's winning-season streak, it is enabling him to double or even triple-down, just like Ferentz did.
This sort of combative "I'm right and you're wrong!" nature takes a great football culture and makes a weird mutation of what it once was. Like Tomlin, Ferentz is a hall-of-fame-level head coach, but stubbornness did a number on his reputation in the latter part of his Iowa career. As Tomlin's time in Pittsburgh winds down, you have to wonder if Pittsburgh is closer to Iowa than Iowa is to Pittsburgh...
Living in the past and being decadent is not how you win over new fans who didn't see the glory days.