The criticism of Mike Tomlin has gotten so loud in the Pittsburgh Steelers fan base the head coach directly addressed it after the team’s latest loss during Week 13.
In the second half of a 26-7 loss to the Buffalo Bills on Sunday, which dropped the Steelers to 6-6 this season, fans at Acrisure Stadium started a “fire Tomlin” chant. The chant grew so loud that multiple pundits and fans were able to capture the chant on video.
Those videos circulated social media Sunday night.
When asked following the Bills loss about the crowd at Acrisure Stadium, Tomlin tried to take the behavior in stride.
“I know how restless and frustrated I was, so I assume they were in the same state we were in,” said Tomlin.
The Steelers head coach expressed a similar acceptance to the Acrisure crowd when asked specifically about the “fire Tomlin” chants.
“Man, I share their frustration tonight,” Tomlin told reporters. “We didn’t do enough, and that’s just the reality of it.”
In addition to a 19-point defeat, the Bills outgained the Steelers 372-166 on Sunday. Tomlin’s defense gave up 249 rushing yards, which is the most against the Steelers during the regular season since 1975.
Meanwhile, the Pittsburgh offense ran only 43 plays. The Steelers also had just 18 minutes in time of possession.
Tomlin referred to the overall performance as “awful.”
Steelers Crowd Calls for Mike Tomlin Firing During Bills Loss
Frustration in Pittsburgh over the city’s football team has been building for several years. Long before Sunday, Tomlin received criticism about how the Ben Roethlisberger era ended with four consecutive playoff defeats.
Since Roethlisberger’s retirement, the Steelers have managed to avoid losing seasons. However, they have largely been irrelevant in December and January.
December official starts Monday, but the Steelers appear to be heading to another year of no playoff wins. To just avoid Tomlin’s first losing campaign in 19 seasons, the Steelers will have to win three of their final five games.
After Sunday, they have lost five of their last seven.
With all that in mind, it’s understandable the frustration in the Pittsburgh fan base boiled over Sunday in “fire Tomlin” chants. The frustration is especially understandable considering there was a lot of hype locally that 2025 could be the best Steelers season in years due to the arrival of Aaron Rodgers, Jalen Ramsey and other veterans.
Granted, that’s not to say firing Tomlin would be the right choice for the organization. That’s a complicated question that shouldn’t be answered immediately after a difficult loss.
But the team’s performance in Week 13 warranted the loud criticism of the head coach from the home crowd.
Like the professional he is, Tomlin accepted it.
Tomlin on the Hot Seat Entering 2025 Stretch Run?
The Steelers haven’t fired a head coach in more than 50 years. With their previous two head coaches, they only departed because of retirement.
Tomlin is 53 years old. He doesn’t appear ready to retire.
Because of those facts, it’s almost always a moot point to discuss Tomlin’s job security. But the head coach’s stock does appear to be dropping with each passing loss this year.
Maybe Week 13 will be rock bottom, and Tomlin’s group will rebound to play well in December. But at the very least, the “fire Tomlin” chants Sunday should raise eyebrows for even the head coach’s biggest defenders.
Not even the team’s famous fourth-quarter fight song could put Acrisure Stadium in a better mood Sunday.
“Fans booed the beginning of ‘Renegade’ here at Acrisure Stadium as the Steelers trail the Bills, 23-7, with 10:11 left,” The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette’s Brian Batko wrote on X. “That has subsided but no one is cheering and defenders are just standing on the field as Styx blares during the timeout.”
The Steelers have five games left in the 2025 regular season to respond. They remain tied for first place in the AFC North with both games left against the Baltimore Ravens.
But if things don’t improve from Sunday, Tomlin will likely enter the offseason with a murkier future than he’s ever experienced in 19 seasons with Pittsburgh.
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