Even though Pittsburgh Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin was very critical of the officiating in the team’s Week 11 game against the Cleveland Browns, reports now indicate that he wasn’t fined for his comments. According to Jeremy Fowler of ESPN.com, Tomlin was not fined for his several comments.
“I thought the officiating was questionable at times,” Tomlin said after the game against the Browns.
When pressed for more reaction little later during that same press conference, Tomlin didn’t hold back.
“I just thought it was questionable,” Tomlin said. “I thought there were some bad calls, or no calls.”
Tomlin also later indicated that he thought Steelers linebacker Lawrence Timmons “missed” Browns quarterback Cody Kessler on a play in the third quarter that ultimately resulted in a 15-yard personal foul being assessed. Being as Timmons reportedly wasn’t fined for that hit, it appears Tomlin was right.
Another play that in that game that you know Tomlin took issue with included Browns cornerback Joe Haden not being flagged for holding Steelers wide receiver Antonio Brown on a deep 3rd down and 5 pass with 4:07 left in the fourth quarter.
Tomlin very rarely criticizes officiating and usually never partakes in such actions following losses. The fact that he did just that following the team’s win over the Browns shows how irritated he really was. Personally, I’m somewhat surprised the league didn’t fine Tomlin, but ultimately glad that they didn’t.
Tomlin indicated last week that he thinks officials should ultimately be full-time employees of the league.
