Pittsburgh Steelers captain Cam Heyward is not ignoring the noise around head coach Mike Tomlin, but in an exclusive interview with Heavy.com, he made it clear where he believes the real accountability has to start.
Coming off a 26-7 home loss to the Buffalo Bills that dropped Pittsburgh to 6-6 and sparked loud “Fire Tomlin” chants at Acrisure Stadium, Tomlin’s future has become a daily topic on talk shows and in the fan base.
Heyward, who has spent his entire career playing for Tomlin, said he understands the frustration but pushed the focus back inside the locker room.
Cam Heyward: ‘We’re More Critical of Ourselves’ Than Fans
Asked directly about fans criticizing Tomlin, Heyward didn’t take a shot at them — but he also didn’t put the blame solely on the head coach.
“You know, I respect the fans’ criticism,” Heyward told Heavy. “But I like to think we’re more critical of ourselves in this game.”
He said players and coaches know how thin the margins are in the NFL and how quickly things can be taken away.
“We need to play a lot better football,” Heyward continued. “Our coaches are on the field, the players are, and we need to own up to our mistakes and be accountable. The only way we do that is attack the future and attack those games in front of us. Everybody’s entitled to their opinion. You can’t change that. All we can do is go out there and just play good football.”
Tomlin has echoed some of that same sentiment publicly, saying this week that he understands why fans are angry and admitting that “in general, I agree with them” when it comes to being unhappy with the product they saw against Buffalo.
‘We’ve Got to Stop the Run a Whole Lot Better’
Heyward also gave a blunt answer when asked what needs to change for the Steelers defense down the stretch.
“I think one thing we have to do is stop the run a whole lot better,” he said. “You watched our last game and a lot of runs were us not fitting properly or us being too soft at our gaps. When we do that, that makes us more susceptible to bigger runs.”
He said the standard has to be making opponents “work for every blade of grass, every yard,” and that if Pittsburgh cleans up its run fits, success in “a lot of other categories” will follow.
Through 12 games, the Steelers are giving up just under 118 rushing yards per game and 4.3 yards per carry, middle of the pack in the NFL — but a sore spot in weeks when the offense struggles to keep pace.
Heyward’s comments came in the same exclusive conversation where he opened up about playing at a high level while managing asthma and why he is working with AstraZeneca to raise awareness for a simple blood test that can help identify certain severe forms of the disease — a story Heavy.com published earlier this week.
Tomlin’s Future Under Scrutiny as Steelers Sit at 6-6
While Heyward preaches internal accountability, outside pressure around Tomlin has rarely been louder. The longtime coach is in his 19th season, owns a Super Bowl ring and has never had a losing year, but he also has not won a playoff game since after the 2016 season, and the Steelers haven’t taken the AFC North since 2020.
Former franchise quarterback Ben Roethlisberger recently suggested on his podcast that it might be time for Tomlin and the Steelers to consider a “fresh start,” even floating the idea of Tomlin eventually taking over a major college job instead of being fired outright.
NFL insiders, however, have repeatedly reported that a midseason firing is highly unlikely and that Pittsburgh still views Tomlin as its long-term head coach, even amid the current storm.
Heyward isn’t in those meetings, but as the defensive leader, he knows what he can control: performance on the field. From responding to “Fire Tomlin” chants to diagnosing run-defense issues, his message in Heavy’s exclusive was consistent — fans can say what they want, but it’s on the Steelers to give them something different to chant about.
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This article was originally published on Heavy Sports
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