Steelers Mike Tomlin looks to maximize his running back’s effective years

The number one job of any head coach is to do what’s best for his team. This coach, in particular, happens to be Pittsburgh Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin, and what may be best for his team could very well come via the ground game.

The Steelers drafted Najee Harris in the first round of the 2021 NFL draft to revive a last-ranked run game. Now entering his 18th season, quarterback Ben Roethlisberger is in the twilight of his career and needs a run game to be successful season-long.

Tomlin, who signed a three-year contract extension in April, is signed through the 2024 season. There’s a chance Tomlin’s contract expires after Harris reaches his pinnacle of NFL production.

Tomlin ran Le’Veon Bell until his wheels fell off. Bell hasn’t been productive since he left Pittsburgh in a tizzy. Willie Parker had a largely successful career in Pittsburgh, and might have won the NFL rushing title in 2007 if he hadn’t torn his ACL — an injury he sustained on his 712th touch in the team’s previous 31 games. Rashard Mendenhall had 860 touches in 47 consecutive games for the Steelers from 2009-11 before tearing his ACL in the final week of 2011. He would only amass 295 more touches in two seasons before retiring.

If history repeats itself with Tomlin and his star running back, Najee Harris will get the ball early and often. And it won’t be long until we’re saying Harris isn’t the same back he was early in his career.

And that career — especially for NFL running backs — isn’t long. According to Statista, the life of a running back is 2.57 years. For example, Bell had three seasons over 1,000 yards in the five years with the Pittsburgh Steelers.

Mike Tomlin will want to squeeze as much juice out of the Najee Harris lemon that he can. And when Tomlin retires, Harris will seemingly be a shadow of what he once was.