I don't know how much of a role Tomlin has in Steelers player personnel decisions.
They had a system in place well before Tomlin got there. Now maybe over the years he has a bigger say but my sense is that it's not like Shanahan, who was given the keys to the store pretty much.
Yes Shanahan turned it around last season, because of the emergency of Purdy, whom practically no scout expected to play as well as he has, and the CMC trade, which consisted of CMC for:
- 2023 second-round pick, No. 61 overall (TE Brenton Strange)
- 2023 third-round pick, No. 93 overall (TE Darnell Washington)
- 2023 fourth-round pick, No. 132 overall (EDGE Nick Herbig)
- 2024 fifth-round pick
https://www.profootballnetwork.com/christian-mccaffrey-trade-details-nfl/Huge success for the 49ers so far. But while they shored up the weapons on offense, they have huge holes in the OL and at CB.
Ultimately the 49ers may fall short in the next 2-3 seasons because of these holes. The Trey Lance and CMC trades may be significant factors in the team being unable to fill those holes, preventing them from the title(s) they aspire to.
I guess to non-fans of the team, Shanahan's tenure has already been a success with multiple playoffs appearances, multiple NFC championship appearances and one SB appearance.
But 49ers fans, as well as the organization and the owners have higher goals than appearances in the NFC Championship Game or even the SB.
So I ask again, are 49ers fans going to be satisfied if the team doesn't win at least another title in the next 2-3 seasons? Is it enough that he's led the team into the SB at least once?
Because by the end of his contract, 49ers may be looking at a rebuild or dismantling the roster.
For instance, I don't know if they will be able to extend Aiyuk, if he repeats the season he had last season, which was over 1000 yards receiving and 8 TDs. He could be in double-figures in TDs this year unless Kittle and Samuel regain the production of previous seasons.