Sports journalist Jemele Hill ignited a firestorm following Mike Tomlin’s shocking departure from Pittsburgh, declaring what many are thinking but few are saying out loud: this decision had everything to do with race, and nothing to do with his résumé.
“Let me be clear,” Hill said. “Mike Tomlin is one of the most consistent head coaches in NFL history. Eighteen consecutive non-losing seasons. Never a rebuild. Never a scandal. And suddenly, he’s expendable? The math isn’t mathing.”
The Double Standard Nobody Wants to Admit
Hill didn’t hold back, pointing to the glaring inconsistency in how the NFL treats Black coaches versus their white counterparts. While Tomlin’s playoff struggles have been documented, Hill argued that other coaches—many of them white—have survived far worse stretches without facing the same pressure to “win now or get out.”
“Bill Belichick went 4-13 and got another season. Sean Payton had losing seasons and kept his job. Mike McCarthy has been mediocre for years,” Hill noted. “But Mike Tomlin, who hasn’t had a losing season in nearly two decades, is suddenly not good enough? Please.”
The question Hill is forcing the league to confront: Why are Black coaches held to a perfection standard that white coaches never face?
The Ultimate Test: Who’s Next?
Hill threw down a challenge that has the Steelers organization squirming: if this wasn’t about race, prove it by hiring another Black head coach.
“If the Steelers truly believe this was just about football, then their next hire should reflect that commitment to excellence—not revert to the league’s old patterns,” Hill said. “Because if they replace one of the most successful Black coaches in history with yet another white coordinator, we’ll know exactly what this was really about.”
Why This Matters Beyond Pittsburgh
Hill’s comments have ripped open a wound the NFL has tried to bandage for years. Despite the Rooney Rule and public pledges for diversity, the numbers don’t lie:
- Black players make up 70% of the league
- Black head coaches? Less than 20%
- Black coaches fired are replaced by white coaches at alarming rates
“This league has a pattern,” Hill stated bluntly. “And when one of the most respected Black coaches is suddenly deemed expendable after never having a losing season, people are going to question why. Because they should.”
The Uncomfortable Truth
Mike Tomlin’s firing forces a conversation the NFL desperately wants to avoid: Are Black coaches judged by their championships, while white coaches are judged by their potential?
Tomlin won a Super Bowl at 36—the youngest coach ever to do so. He maintained organizational stability through quarterback transitions, ownership changes, and roster overhauls that would’ve sunk lesser coaches. His consistency was legendary.
Yet somehow, consistency wasn’t enough.
“If 18 straight winning seasons doesn’t buy you grace in this league, what does?” Hill asked. “Or is grace only extended to coaches who look a certain way?”
The Question Pittsburgh Must Answer
The Steelers now face a defining moment. Their next hire will either validate Hill’s concerns or prove them wrong. There’s no middle ground.
Hire another coach of color, and show that Tomlin’s departure was truly about a fresh direction—not a convenient excuse to move on from a Black coach who “couldn’t win the big one.”
Or hire yet another white coordinator with zero head coaching experience, and confirm what Hill—and a growing number of observers—already believe: the NFL still has a race problem it refuses to fix.
The clock is ticking. The world is watching.
And Jemele Hill just made sure nobody can look away.
