First off, it was never Cowher’s talent. It’s Colbert’s talent.
Tomlin completely changed the program. In 2008 they didn’t have a 1000 yard rusher. They began to transition to a passing team. No fullback.
Tomlin was smart to keep Lebeau and let him do his thing, even though Tomlin prefers a 4-3. How many coaches are smart enough to check their ego like that?
There is clearly something terribly wrong this year and Tomlin deserves a large chunk of the blame. Arians will take the fall. The Rooney’s will not fire a coach for one (or more) bad seasons. Go look at Cowher from 98-00, and again in 2003.