Mark Madden: Mike Tomlin would be exposed in New York City

Perhaps the weakest argument against Mike Tomlin’s removal as Pittsburgh Steelers coach is the often preached, “He’d have another job within five minutes!” This is best said at a frenetic pace and via rapidly rising octaves. The squeakier, the better.

It’s probably true. So what?

Tomlin’s employability beyond Pittsburgh doesn’t mean he hasn’t hit his sell-by date with the Steelers. In fact, ample evidence is pointing to that.

The Steelers need a switch, and Tomlin might benefit in a new job if his autonomy was lessened and he was required to hire a staff of better caliber.

Tomlin’s vaunted 16-year streak of no losing seasons doesn’t just belong to him.

The Steelers never went sub-.500 with Ben Roethlisberger at quarterback. The start of Roethlisberger’s streak pre-dates Tomlin and overlaps all but last season of the coach’s run. Top-notch coordinators like Bruce Arians and Dick LeBeau also get some ownership of Tomlin’s streak. That’s before Tomlin hired low-budget jabronis as assistants.

I have the perfect response for those who bleat that Tomlin could get a new job immediately upon leaving the Steelers: let him.

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My hope would be that Tomlin gets hired by the New York Jets, who might be willing to move on from Robert Saleh by way of employing a sure-thing Hall-of-Famer.

Tomlin should go to New York City next season and coach his buddy Aaron Rodgers. Imagine Rodgers’ reaction when he figures out that Tomlin is all hat and no cattle.

Let Tomlin interact with the merciless New York media. They would absorb all that empty word-drool from Tomlin’s news briefings, then cut him in half on a regular basis.

Let Tomlin deal with an organization that prioritizes results over loyalty but has no clue how to get results.

Let Tomlin start fresh with a team where he won’t inherit the great roster and even better leaders he did from Bill Cowher. With a franchise that hasn’t won since before the U.S. got out of Vietnam.

Let Tomlin leave Pittsburgh, where no hot seat exists, and sit his backside down on the biggest burning cushion there is: the burning sports cauldron that is New York City.

Tomlin would have a great defense with the Jets. That would allow him to keep believing he can win with dominance on that side of the ball. Which you can’t, and the Jets aren’t. Tomlin’s outdated philosophy would be a perfect fit. But wouldn’t win.

Tomlin would wilt like a weakling. He wouldn’t know what to do. (He doesn’t know what to do now.) Tomlin would explode like a pinata inside of a couple months.

The Steelers have supportive and loyal ownership. (Too loyal.) A cult-like fan base that inexplicably has lowered its expectations to fit Tomlin’s meager level of achievement over the prior 12 years. A football media staffed mostly by obsequious lapdogs.

The Steelers are the perfect team to coach. The Jets aren’t.

Go ahead. Bite the Big Apple. Let Tomlin go coach the Jets. See how he does. See how long he lasts. See how much he erodes his Hall of Fame credentials.

Or Tomlin could go to Chicago. Try to straighten out Justin Fields and Chase Claypool. The Bears’ problems are many, and they are great.

The key, as we know, is to practice in pads more.