Coming off bye and with losses piling up, Steelers' Mike Tomlin not thinking long term

Not long after the midway point of his weekly news conference Tuesday, Pittsburgh Steelers coach Mike Tomlin was asked if he is talking to his players about his prior experience being in charge of a 2-6 team.

“No,” Tomlin said, before smiling. “I do not.”

Tomlin couldn’t suppress a chuckle.

“I do not.”

The Steelers’ record is no laughing matter. But a day after his locker room gave off a loose vibe following a “bonus” practice that ended the team’s bye weekend, Tomlin expressed indifference about whether he’d rather have an angry/focused or confident/relaxed team in its quest to save the season.

“Emotions can be good, they can be bad,” Tomlin said. “It’s just about whether or not you weaponize them. I’m more concerned about the emotions that we display on Sunday.”

The second half of the Steelers’ season begins at home Sunday against the New Orleans Saints. This is the third time since 2006 the Steelers played their ninth game sitting at 2-6. After each of those first two occasions, they won that ninth game and rallied to finish 8-8.

One of the few common threads between those 2006 and 2013 teams, though, is gone. Ben Roethlisberger retired in January, and the Steelers have a rookie in Kenny Pickett starting at quarterback.

Some suggest the Steelers should completely embrace a lookahead to 2023 and beyond by giving other rookies and younger players more significant roles. Tomlin, though, nixed that, unless the end to that means was in an effort to win.

“That’s our sole agenda, putting together a plan and highlighting the skills of players that produce victory,” Tomlin said. “So, if that’s a component of the equation, then certainly (younger players will play).”

The dire circumstances of the Steelers’ record brought some old clichés into vernacular Tuesday.

Tomlin himself broached that Sunday is a “put up or shut up game” for his team.

“Particularly at this level,” Tomlin said, “we tend to talk less and let our play speak for us.”

Later, though, when asked to expound, Tomlin demurred.

“Every single game that we play is a put-up or shut-up game,” he said. “That’s just the business that we’re in at this level.”

OK, but can the conclusion of a bye week that capped a stretch of six losses in seven outings serve as an opportunity for a fresh start?

“I view every week as a fresh start,” Tomlin said, “because your resume means very little, (and) what you’ve done to this point means very little. The most significant opportunity is the one that awaits us all. Whether you’re 2-6 or 6-2, coming off of a bye week or coming off of a short week, the windshield component is the big picture for us as opposed to the rearview mirror.”

That rearview mirror of piled-up defeats and a league-worst point differential (minus-77) has dropped the Steelers to 1,000-to-1 longshots to win the Super Bowl (per MGM Sportsbook).

Tomlin and the rest of the organizational hierarchy cite that “the standard” always is to win the Super Bowl. With that goal all but lost now, has Tomlin changed his approach or frame of mind for the remainder of the season?

“I don’t know that my mindset regarding any of that has changed as I sit here today,” he said. “It’s a Tuesday. We’re putting together a plan to win this week, and we’re excited about constructing the day tomorrow that’s going to allow the guys to prepare to do so.

“It’s simple for me. It’s a singular professional focus. We can’t worry about the things that are behind us. We’d better get focused on the things that are immediately in front of us.”

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