93.7 The Fan Sports Director Jeff Hathhorn joined the show. Jeff said Mike Tomlin will have input in the Steelers next offensive coordinator, but he hopes the organization goes outside the box. Jeff doesn’t think it is the time for their usual in-house hire. Jeff got into why Kenny Pickett wasn’t in the locker room during cleanout day yesterday. He thinks the organization likely gave Pickett the OK to not be there and said it has happened before when a captain has not talked. Jeff expects the Steelers to draft a QB in the mid-late rounds of the draft. 

The national media is basking in the glory at the return of Mike Tomlin. Poni said he feels even worse now about it than he did yesterday. Tomlin has matched Marvin Lewis when it comes to playoff losing streaks – 5 straight L’s. Why do the national voices think Tomlin will go elsewhere and begin churning out 10+ win seasons and his replacement in Pittsburgh will suck? The guys also brought up what Najee Harris said and questioned if things really are as perfect as the national media thinks. 

The Browns cleaned house on the offensive side of the ball, following a season when they were tied for 10th in PPG, won 11 games and made the playoffs – all without their starting QB and top tier RB. Bizarre move? Why wouldn’t the Steelers follow suit? 

Aditi Kinkhabwala from the NFL on CBS joined the show. Aditi reacted to Mike Tomlin announcing his return next season. Aditi expects the Steelers to go outside the box to find their next offensive coordinator and not to hire from within. Aditi talked about the leaders that used to take care of things in Tomlin’s locker room and things would be handled internally. 

Mike Florio from Pro Football Talk joined the show. Mike reacted to Mike Tomlin saying he will be back next season, but did note that it was bizarre we have heard nothing of an extension right now. Mike said there is a slim chance he coaches elsewhere, but he will definitely coach next season. Mike said there are teams every single year that inquire about Tomlin’s availability. He said you have to be prepared for Tomlin to have success elsewhere. Mike thinks taking Tomlin out of the mix puts a lot of pressure on others in the front office. The guys asked Mike about coaching schedules during the scouting process like the combine and pro days. Mike went back to what his preseason prediction was for the Steelers – he had them losing in the AFC Championship Game to the Chiefs. Mike thinks we have seen enough of Kenny Pickett and the Steelers should have their options open at QB. He said if the Steelers want to make a real move in the future they have to be bold. 

We didn’t hear from Kenny Pickett on locker cleanout day, which is bizarre from a team captain. Is Pickett humiliated by how everything has gone down in the last month? Does it open the door for the Steelers to go in a different direction at QB? The offense noticeably responded more positively when Mason Rudolph was at the helm. That doesn’t say much about the future at the most important position. Does Pickett have a right to be upset with how things went down? If Pickett isn’t the starting QB next season, who should it be? 

Former Penguin Tyler Kennedy joined the show. Tyler reacted to where the Penguins are at the halfway point of the season. Tyler talked about how the Penguins can fix the power play and he brought up the team from around 10 years ago that were big names but just couldn’t fit right together. Besides Sidney Crosby, TK thinks Jake Guentzel is the second most consistent player in the lineup. Tyler said he needs to see more from Erik Karlsson in the second half of the season. Tyler promoted an event he has coming up during the All-Star Break. 

Hour 2 of the PM Team: Mike Mayock has not seen good offensive line play from the Steelers and is a significant reason why the Steelers are struggling. It doesn't bail Pickett out, but also does give a little pass to Matt Canada and Eddie Faulkner. He doesn't want to cast full judgment on Pickett because he hasn't watched every start. The protection is a major issue, but Chris doesn't think it's a good enough reason. The overall level of play from the offensive line is a more significant issue for him. Callers weigh in on the Steelers offensive line struggles. Should the Steelers have drafted offensive lineman years ago earlier in the draft? They neglected the position for a long time and are now paying the price for it. Rich Eisen of NFL Network joined the show. He will call the Steelers-Colts game Saturday. Rich said he should have tempered himself a little more when saying that you'd be out of your frickin' mind if you think the Steelers should fire Mike Tomlin. It looked worse after the New England loss. His phone after that game was UGLY. Rich understands the frustration. Rich saw a team in the preseason that had it all working. Rich on George Pickens: "His route tree is more horizontal than it needs to be." Rich did make the analogy to Tim Tebow how Kenny Pickett flipped the script in the 4th quarter. People Rich talk to don't see much from him and other quarterbacks are talked a lot so much more. "I'm just a huge Tomlin fan." - Rich Eisen. "Big Ben saying the old Steelers are dead, he had a lot to do with that." Rich thinks David Tepper would love Tomlin in Carolina. 

Mike Tomlin announced to the team yesterday that he would be back next season. The guys were stunned by the amount of Tomlin defenders we heard from in the latter stages of yesterday’s show. They think there are two determining factors going forward – finding a quarterback and a capable offensive coordinator. Tomlin has proven so far, he can’t find either. 

Hour 1: The Steelers season is over after the 31-17 loss to the Bills in the Wild Card round. And before we got into the game, the biggest piece of news occurred afterwards – when Mike Tomlin stormed out of his press conference when being asked about his future. Was yesterday the final game Tomlin coached for the Steelers? It certainly fueled the fire of the current rumors. 

Where do fans stand with Mike Tomlin and the Steelers following the Wild Card loss? 

Nick Sirianni answered a question about his future last night – one that was too good for Mike Tomlin to answer. It seemed like yesterday was the first time Tony Romo found out Jaylen Warren was an NFL player. We heard from more fans with takes from the Wild Card loss. How much of a factor did the officiating play in the loss? The guys felt like the Steelers went into the game scared of Josh Allen and by the time they woke up it was too late.