Mark Madden: The Mike Tomlin error is in full swing, but who will recognize it?

The Mike Tomlin era is long since over. We’re in the middle of the Mike Tomlin error.

Tomlin’s reputation is propped up by his overrated streak of no losing seasons. Friendly media, mostly national, use that to obscure Tomlin having no playoff wins in six years and just three in 12.

Teflon — I mean Tomlin — is amazing in that regard. The NFL is a results-based business, but his bad results are ignored. Tomlin’s numbers are permitted to lie. People say he’s a great coach, and it’s accepted.

Ex-Steeler Ryan Clark, now of ESPN, typified the blind praise for Tomlin when he called Tomlin “the gold standard” of coaching. No wonder the economy stinks.

There is no evidence that points to Tomlin being the “gold standard.” That’s hardly defined by merely finishing .500 or better. They don’t house rolls of quarters at Fort Knox.

Opinions may become more pragmatic in the wake of recent events.

The Steelers’ loss at Houston this past Sunday was one of Tomlin’s worst. The subpar Texans were home underdogs. But they absolutely lambasted the Steelers, humiliating them 30-6. The Steelers were badly outplayed and even more badly outcoached. Houston tactically erasing the Steelers’ vaunted pass rush was an example of the latter. (The Texans had just one starter available on the offensive line.)

Tomlin followed that up with a Tuesday press briefing that beggared belief.

Tomlin, as usual, served up mindless word-drool by way of obfuscating reality.

But Tomlin sounded like an idiot when he talked about the Steelers’ lack of physicality and the need to practice in pads. The underlying message: “It’s a man’s game, we need to be tougher, let’s get out there and hit, that’s Steeler football, rah-rah.”

That’s just crazy talk, has extremely little to do with the Steelers’ real problems and reveals the main problem of the Tomlin error.

Tomlin and the Steelers see the NFL as a contest of wills that can be won by subjugating the other team physically and mentally. That might have been true when Chuck Noll was coaching. But this isn’t then, and Tomlin isn’t Noll.

Tomlin wants to be That ’70s Coach. He should hire Red Forman as offensive coordinator. He couldn’t be worse than Matt Canada.

Today’s NFL is about speed, daring and the ability to execute the latter. It’s about scoring more and faster.

Tomlin and the Steelers still think you can win via defense and long drives. Tomlin still thinks you can win 17-16. He absolutely will not change his beliefs. Even if Tomlin did, he doesn’t have the coaching acumen to pull it off, nor the quality staff to facilitate. (Nor the personnel. “The Khan artist” doesn’t seem like such a genius right now, does he?)

The real poison of this situation is that Tomlin’s outdated philosophy beats just enough rotten teams to keep the hook baited. Hence, no losing seasons. (I used to think such a meager level of achievement wasn’t important to Tomlin. Lately, I’m not so sure.)

Owner Art Rooney II is 100% on board with Tomlin’s outdated approach. He’s also 100% committed to never firing a coach. Tomlin is in zero danger. This screed isn’t a call for his dismissal because that just isn’t going to happen.

The Steelers could easily rally to finish, say, 9-8 and keep Tomlin’s piddling streak alive. His praises will be sung: “A Tomlin team never quits!”

I’ll be in the bathroom vomiting.

It’s a unique situation: A coach who definitely should be on the hot seat isn’t, and never will be, through a combination of tradition, displaced blame and willful ignorance. Few will call out Tomlin on a long string of failure, instead citing minuscule achievement and/or ancient history. He’s talking about pad level when the plane has crashed into the mountain. He’s coaching and sounding like a fool.

Tomlin is a fraud.

The Mike Tomlin error is in full swing. It figures to be a long, rough ride.