Stephen Jones: Mike Tomlin Is ‘One Of The Great Defensive Minds’

You’ll get some widely differing answers about how good Pittsburgh Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin is depending on you ask. There is obviously a vocal part of the Steelers fanbase that wants Tomlin gone due to the lack of recent playoff success. And then there are those who view the length of Tomlin’s tenure as head coach and lack of losing seasons as a sign of a great coach.

Stephen Jones, Chief Operating Officer of the Dallas Cowboys, is part of the latter group. Jones joined 105.3 The Fan in Dallas on Friday to talk all things Cowboys, so naturally Tomlin and the Steelers came up. Jones knows just how consistent the Steelers are defensively and overall, and he gives a lot of credit to Tomlin for that.

“Obviously consistency, winning, but they’re running their same defense I think they ran before we got in the league with them,” said Jones. “They tweak it. Don’t get me wrong, Coach Tomlin’s one of the great defensive minds in this game, well aware. He got brought up under Monte Kiffin and Rod Marinelli, and we were obviously very familiar, familiar with that group. But they’re just consistent the way they play defense, the way they’re physical. They just play winning-caliber football and do things on a consistent basis to where they’re able to put a winning product on the field year in and year out. And obviously along the way have gotten their share of Super Bowl championships.”

Tomlin got his coaching start under the legendary Monte Kiffin in Tampa Bay with the Buccaneers. So it should surprise no one that Tomlin would have a pretty darn good understanding of defenses. That’s where Tomlin got to know Marinelli as well. And both Kiffin and Marinelli are well-known to Jones as he said. They served as defensive coordinators for the Cowboys.

Tomlin’s defensive acumen is a big part of why the Steelers are so consistent. If they can maintain a certain level of defensive prowess, that keeps them in most games. But Tomlin’s detractors would gladly point out that it hasn’t served them in the playoffs recently. And they’ll tell you that his defensive focus holds the Steelers back offensively, too. That’s what Ray Fittipaldo of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette believes. He thinks Tomlin is keeping offensive coordinator Arthur Smith from fully opening his playbook.

Maybe that’s true. But when a team sees the Steelers are on the schedule, they know they’re in for a hard-fought game. That’s why the Steelers have been so consistent under Tomlin, and that’s what the Cowboys are expecting Sunday night.