First Call: Mike Tomlin's spot among coaches in AP poll; Josh Dobbs' chances of starting in Arizona

Tuesday’s “First Call” features Pittsburgh Steelers coach Mike Tomlin and his place among other NFL coaches. We also take a look at Josh Dobbs’ chances of becoming a starter in Arizona. And we have some wild stats about Johan Oviedo’s complete game win for the Pirates in Kansas City on Monday night.

No playoff wins, no problem here

A six-year drought of playoff wins apparently hasn’t dented the opinion of many media members when it comes to Mike Tomlin.

The Steelers coach finished fourth in Associated Press balloting for who should be named the best coach in the NFL. A panel of nine AP pro football writers contributed to the list, ranking the top five head coaches by making their selections based on current status (keep that in mind) entering the 2023 season.

Kansas City head coach Andy Reid got all but one first-place vote. That went to the runner-up, Bill Belichick of the New England Patriots. Tomlin’s opening-week opponent, Kyle Shanahan of the San Francisco 49ers, finished third.

Baltimore Ravens coach John Harbaugh was fifth, one slot behind his longtime AFC North rival.

Here’s why the AP put Tomlin in the top five, “Tomlin has never had a losing season in 16 years with the Steelers. He had Ben Roethlisberger for 15 of those seasons but finished 9-8 with rookie Kenny Pickett taking over at QB in 2022. Tomlin has won a Super Bowl in two appearances.”

Wow! Tomlin has never had a losing season? Did you know that? I wasn’t aware of that. Really?

Were you also aware that 12 of his 16 seasons — 10 of his last 12 — have ended without a playoff victory? Does anyone nationally ever mention that?

First-place votes were worth 10 points. Second- through fifth-place votes were worth 5, 3, 2 and 1 points. Tomlin was named on seven ballots.

Nice try

While Tomlin continues to get respect in many of these coach-ranking polls, the Steelers aren’t getting a lot of respect despite a 3-0 preseason.

Most oddsmakers still have their over-under win total at just 8.5. At BetRivers, they are still at minus-175 to not make the playoffs and +325 to even qualify.

But during a Monday appearance on the “Rich Eisen Show,” Tomlin insisted that he will never play the “disrespect” card as a motivator for his players.

????️ @CoachTomlin

The legendary @steelers head coach told us what it’s like coaching @_TJWatt, the first time he met @JoeyPorterJr and if he plays up a famous coaching cliché:#NFL #HereWeGo pic.twitter.com/eLcDMOruY4

— Rich Eisen Show (@RichEisenShow) August 28, 2023

“They know I don’t care,” Tomlin said of his players. “I can’t play that card. This group knows me. And they know I don’t care what people think. So I’d be less than genuine if I played that card.”

Hey, Hines Ward did it. All the time. Every time. Even when it wasn’t true. Even once or twice, heading into games when they were favored. No one griped. Maybe Tomlin should try it.

At least before their next playoff game, whenever that may be. Or the next time they host Zach Wilson, wherever he is playing by then.

Not just Joshin’ around

It appears that the conversation about the prospect of Josh Dobbs opening the season as the Arizona Cardinals quarterback is legit.

The former Steeler was just recently dealt to the Cards from the Cleveland Browns last week. And now Arizona has dropped the guy expected to be the team’s opening-day starter.

That’s another former Browns signal-caller, Colt McCoy. The Cardinals cut him Monday, paving the way for Dobbs to battle with rookie Clayton Tune for the No. 1 job.

“We look at the full body of work, evaluate our guys — production goes into that — and felt like it was the best decision for the team to move forward with the guys we have in the room to help us win football games,” Gannon said Monday via Arizona Sports.com.

Gannon claims the team won’t be announcing a starting QB before Week 1 against the Washington Commanders.

Usual starter Kyler Murray is beginning the season on the physically unable to perform list. He’ll have to miss at least four games.

More sports

• Even with Kevin Dotson trade, decisions remain on filling spots along Steelers offensive line
• Even if he didn’t gain 1st-team status, 1st-round pick Broderick Jones satisfied with his preseason
• Mark Madden: The hype around Kenny Pickett is loud, some deserved, but Steelers still have question marks

Rare air

How rare was Johan Oviedo’s complete game shutout for the Pirates in Kansas City on Monday night?

Well, consider some of these numbers offered up during the AT&T SportsNet broadcast.

• The last complete-game shutout on the road hurled by a Pirates starter this late in a season was Charlie Morton back on Sept. 30, 2009.

On that day, Morton blanked the Chicago Cubs 4-0 at Wrigley Field in the first game of a doubleheader. Steve Pearce, Jason Jaramillo and Brian Bixler had the RBIs. The Pirates scored four in the first inning; then, it was nothing but zeros.

Morton threw 119 pitches, striking out eight and walking three. His ERA dropped to 4.55, and his record improved to 5-9.

The Pirates won the next game 8-2.

• Also, at 25 years, 179 days old, Oviedo is the youngest Pirate to pitch a shutout on two hits or less since June 1997 vs. the Houston Astros. That was a 6-0 win in Houston. Francisco Cordova racked up five strikeouts, walked two and allowed two hits. Jermaine Allensworth had three RBIs, and Jose Guillen homered.

“On point the entire game,” manager Derek Shelton said of Oviedo’s 5-0 win in Kansas City. “When he got behind, he was able to execute the slider on the plate. The fastball … just an outstanding effort.”

This was just the second complete game of the season for the Pirates and the third in the Shelton era. Mitch Keller tossed one earlier this season. Steven Brault had one in 2020.