Steelers coach Mike Tomlin called the officiating in Sunday’s win over the Browns “questionable” after the game was over and he didn’t back off that feeling during his Monday press conference.
Tomlin took particular issue with a penalty on linebacker Lawrence Timmons for hitting Browns quarterback Cody Kessler in the head on Kessler’s final play before leaving the game with a concussion. He said Monday that Timmons “missed” Kessler and noted it as a call he disagreed with in the 24-9 win.
“You know, I was just kind of disturbed by some of it,” Tomlin said, via the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. “It’s a natural human response. I know those guys got a tough job; I respect the job that they have to do. But we got tough jobs as well. ... I’m not trying to turn this into a global officiating discussion. I said what I said yesterday and I meant it and I’m moving on.”
Tomlin joined several others by making his suggestion that the tough job the officials have should be a full-time one.
“I believe that’s a discussion that needs to be had,” Tomlin said. “But more than the discussions, I think that it needs to move in that direction and move relatively quickly. But there are politics and so forth involved in that, labor and so forth involved in that. I get it, but it’d be nice if that process gets going.”
As a member of the NFL’s competition committee, Tomlin certainly has the ear of people in the league office to further share his thoughts on the state of officiating in the league. His choice to share negative views from the podium on Sunday will likely catch the attention of some of those people and perhaps lead to a response that makes clear their displeasure with Tomlin’s choice of venue.