PITTSBURGH — The Steelers were once in full control of the AFC North and the toast of the NFL, and by extension, that meant the Mike Tomlin adoration society was out in full force. But three ugly losses in 11 days have Tomlin's critics getting louder and the Mike Tomlin adoration society already looking for someone to blame if — maybe when — the Steelers flame out in the playoffs yet again.

That's because the Mike Tomlin adoration society would have us all believe that everything right and good about the Steelers is a product of Mike Tomlin's brilliance as a coach and he is merely a victim of everything wrong or bad that happens to them. But even they, deep down, know you can't have it both ways and the Teflon Tomlin routine can only last so long.

The Steelers win a Super Bowl and get to another in a four-year span? Tomlin is a genius. They post an awful playoff loss in Denver that provided Tim Tebow with just about his only NFL highlight? That's because Ryan Mundy and Ike Taylor screwed up.

The Steelers post nonlosing seasons? It's because Tomlin is a genius who built a culture and his teams refuse to lose.

The Steelers lose to Baltimore in a home playoff game and look horrible doing it? That's because of injuries. The next year, they lose to a weak-armed and finished Peyton Manning? It's because a back-up running back fumbled.

Tomlin's genius was on full display again when they advanced to the AFC title game in 2016-17, but when they lost it, it was because Le'Veon Bell injured his groin, and Ben Roethlisberger threw an interception, and the Patriots deflated footballs and ...

Then he was the defensive guru who wills his way to wins but watched his defenses get lit up like Christmas trees by noted all-timers Blake Bortles and Baker Mayfield in back-to-back playoff games. The former was due to Tomlin's genius; the latter, you see, was due to Roethlisberger's turnovers and Maurkice Pouncey's bad snap.

Everything good is on Tomlin. Everything bad is on players not making plays, injuries, Todd Haley, Randy Fichtner, Matt Canada, Keith Butler, Kevin Colbert, Patriots cheating, Kenny Pickett, Omar Khan, Teryl Austin, etc., etc.

I will preface this by saying I am a Tomlin fan and think he has earned a lot of the benefit of the doubt, but at some point, the buck stops with him. At some point, all of the excuses that all of his defenders want to give you become silly. At some point, all of the other people that his defenders want to blame for the Steelers' failures become irrelevant.

This is Tomlin's team. He is the face of this franchise, the brains of this operation and the person most responsible for the Steelers' fate. There isn't a player on this roster who wasn't at least signed off on by Tomlin, and most were hand-picked by him.

If there are personnel shortcomings, it is on Tomlin as much as anyone else in the organization. The bad coaching hires and decisions? Yep, that's on Tomlin, too. Injuries aren't always ideal and can sink a season here and there even for the best of them, but at some point, the best coaches and teams figure out how to overcome them and win playoff games. (If you are confused, look up Nick Foles, Super Bowl champ.)

At some point, the Steelers' problems are Tomlin's problems and a direct reflection of Tomlin's decisions. And at some point — after the Steelers have changed general managers, changed personnel multiple times, changed both coordinators multiple times, changed quarterbacks multiple times — it is time to look at the one constant voice that has dominated the organization for almost two decades.

Tomlin isn't on a hot seat because that's not how the Steelers operate, but he should be. The Steelers are never going to part ways with him, but the fact that they won't even consider it makes it clear that the new standard is not the same as the standard the organization was built on.

There is still time to fix things this season. I don't think it is time to panic yet because even though the Steelers have almost assuredly lost the AFC North division and will have to go on the road for the playoffs, they can still get a playoff win. As it stands now, their likely opponent will be the Houston Texans, who will win their division because the other three teams in it stink. The Steelers should be able to beat them.

But the doomsday scenario looks like one of two things:

1) The Steelers somehow lose to the Bengals next week and fall behind either the Chargers or Broncos — or both — and that means their first-round game will be in either Baltimore or Buffalo. Their chances of winning in either place are somewhere between slim and none. Or ...

2) They play the Texans and have yet another playoff meltdown of epic proportions and lose.

I am not sure what would be worse, but either fate should be enough for the Steelers brass to take a long, hard look at why Tomlin's teams can't win in the playoffs anymore. And listening to the players point fingers and talk about confusion after Wednesday's blowout loss at the hands of the Chiefs, the Steelers sound like a team on the verge of a self-inflicted implosion.

The Steelers were once the team "nobody wanted to play" and they were once the team "everyone circles on the schedule." Now they just brag about that. They talk about that, but nobody in the NFL fears them anymore. They are no longer the team that nobody wants to see in the playoffs and haven't been in a long, long time.

The Steelers used to be the biggest game on every team's schedule, but now they are just a brand that gets on national TV a lot but rarely wins when it matters most. Tomlin's formula of regular-season success is impressive. His streak of nonlosing seasons is nothing to dismiss because it is impressive.

But the once mighty Steelers, the organization with the highest standards in the NFL, is now just a team propped up by a bunch of national and local analysts who act as if they are still in the midst of the glory years.

In case you are confused, Tomlin won a Super Bowl in the 2008-09 season, which is 16 seasons ago. Let's even go with 2010-11, when they made the Super Bowl but lost — it was Roethlisberger's fault for throwing an interception and Rashard Mendenhall's fault for fumbling! — because that is still 14 seasons ago.

Six coaches who have won championships more recently than Tomlin has been to a Super Bowl have been fired. And that's because all — including Bill Belichick — had reached their shelf life and it was time for a new voice and direction.

I'm not saying Tomlin is there yet, but it sure feels like that time is coming — much sooner than later. He absolutely should be coaching for his job next week and into the playoffs because it sure feels like his message and the organization have grown stale.

His defenders will tell you the Steelers have actually overachieved this year, that Tomlin's brilliance is why we should be extremely proud of the 10 wins the Steelers have and no other coach in the NFL could have pulled off what he did. Of course, those same defenders three weeks ago were proclaiming the Steelers the best team in the AFC and the most dangerous team in the playoff field.

So which is it?

Regardless, this is Tomlin's mess, and Tomlin needs to clean it up. If he doesn't, it is he and he alone who should have to answer for it. Tomlin is fundamentally a really good football coach, but the NFL is about results and teams move on from good coaches who seemingly have lost their fastball all the time.

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