Steelers’ Mike Tomlin will use new assistant Teryl Austin to help him with replay challenges
It has been more than two years since Mike Tomlin executed a successful challenge of an official’s call. Going forward, he’s eliciting the help of a new lieutenant.
Tomlin told the Pittsburgh Steelers official website that he “plans to use Teryl Austin in some ways in that capacity (coaches’ challenges) in 2019.” Austin was hired in January as a senior defensive assistant/secondary coach.
A native of Sharon, Pa., and a Pitt alumnus, Austin was a defensive coordinator in the NFL the past five seasons (four with Detroit until 2018 in Cincinnati).
Tomlin has not been good at replay challenges, particularly in recent years. According to Pro-football-reference.com, he is 0-for-9 over the past two seasons and 1-for-11 during the regular season since late 2016.
Tomlin is 32-39 during his career on challenges. Teams lose a timeout on unsuccessful challenges.
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Chris Adamski is a TribLive reporter who has covered primarily the Pittsburgh Steelers since 2014 following two seasons on the Penn State football beat. A Western Pennsylvania native, he joined the Trib in 2012 after spending a decade covering Pittsburgh sports for other outlets. He can be reached at cadamski@triblive.com.
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