Michael Irvin accuses Ben Roethlisberger of launching a 'personal attack' at HC Mike Tomlin
Former NFL quarterback Ben Roethlisberger is one of the most revered players to ever step on the field for the Pittsburgh Steelers in the franchise's illustrious history. Roethlisberger talked about the team's state after losing its second consecutive game in Week 14. He cited that coaching may be an issue with Pittsburgh and its struggles.
This did not sit well with Hall of Fame wide receiver Michael Irvin, who won three Super Bowls with the Dallas Cowboys. Irvin spoke about the Steelers on Fox's "Undisputed," accusing Ben Roethlisberger of a personal attack on coach Mike Tomlin with his comments.
"It blows my mind. This seems so personal. What are you talking about?" Irvin said. "When you lose football games as a head coach, I'm looking at what you are losing with. Mike, as a defensive head coach, his defense is always up to par. And he keeps going through his side of the football, which is defense.
"I don't know how Ben is attacking him, saying he's not a good coach, that it just sounds so personal that I'm surprised and shocked at Ben for doing this and attaching Mike Tomlin. This has something to do with some issue they had while they were playing, and now Ben is taking a shot, I believe."
The Pittsburgh Steelers (7-6) have fallen to teams with losing records at home in back-to-back weeks. In Week 13, they were defeated by the Arizona Cardinals (3-10) and then the New England Patriots (3-10) the following week.
These losses came as Tomlin relieved Matt Canada as offensive coordinator last month. Despite these bad losses, the Steelers are still in the Wild Card playoff race in the AFC. The team will travel to Lucas Oil Stadium to face the Indianapolis Colts in Week 15.
Roethlisberger spent all 18 seasons of his NFL career with the Steelers. Tomlin coached the legendary quarterback for 15 of those seasons (2007-2021), winning a Super Bowl together in the 2008 season.
What did Ben Roethlisberger say on his podcast about the Steelers
On a recent episode of his podcast titled "Footbahlin," Ben Roethlisberger talked about his former coach and criticized some of his coaching decisions:
"You can't afford in the second half of games to burn silly timeouts and to not have them late in the game. To me, that's bad coaching."
Ben Roethlisberger is not the first person to address concerns with the team. Star running back Najee Harris called out the Steelers' offense last month. Minkah Fitzpatrick reportedly got into a fiery argument with teammate Diontae Johnson after a Week 11 loss to the Cleveland Browns.
Can the Steelers turn it around? Fans will have to wait and see.