Steelers Will Have Replay Assistant to Help Mike Tomlin With Challenges

Pittsburgh Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin does not have a great track record when it comes to challenges. In his 12 years at the helm of the Steelers, Tomlin has gone 32-39 when he decides to throw the red flag, which isn’t awful, but certainly not ideal. Somehow, though, Tomlin has not won a single challenge over the last two years. It seems almost impossible to reach that mark, but you read that correctly: Tomlin has managed to go two full NFL seasons without winning a challenge. Truly remarkable.

Fortunately for the Steelers, Tomlin is quite aware of his deficiency in that department. The coach told Steelers beat writer Bob Labriola on Monday that he plans on using Teryl Austin as a replay coach in some capacity. Austin was hired in January as a senior defensive assistant/secondary coach after the Steelers missed the playoffs for the first time since 2014.

It will obviously not take much for Tomlin to improve upon his last several years of challenges, and Austin will be looking to help Tomlin win at least one challenge while helping out on the defensive side of the ball. Challenges can be crucial, and they may become more important than ever as the Competition Committee will discuss expanding the definition of what can be challenged after the egregious missed PI call in New Orleans at the end of the NFC Championship game.

If the limitations on what coaches can challenge are loosened, using those red flags correctly will play a big part in the success of all teams. A replay assistant like Austin might become more commonplace throughout the league as the head coaches have more to consider when it comes to replay review. The Steelers, for one, clearly need that kind of help desperately. Austin may be able to prevent Tomlin from going 48 NFL games without successfully challenging a play.