Steelers' former Super Bowl champion thinks it's time for Mike Tomlin to put up or shut up

Despite boasting a resume that has never seen a sub .500 record in the NFL, Pittsburgh Steelers HC Mike Tomlin has started to feel some heat from the Pittsburgh faithful.

The organization is still all in on Tomlin, evidenced by their decision to extend him as he heads into the final year of his previous deal.

But for many who bleed black and gold, they know that wins and playoff success need to come, with one of Tomlin's favorite players, Ryan Clark admitting as much.

Clark puts the pressure on Tomlin

“I don’t think this is the year his streak ends, but I do think this is the year he [Mike Tomlin] has to prove to the entire world that he is the Hall of Fame coach I believe him to be,” Clark said on ESPN’s First Take . “This team has meandered around the 9-8 level where they can either just leak into the playoffs or find a way to get a spot in the Wild Card, but he has to show that, whether it’s Russell Wilson or it’s Justin Fields [at starting quarterback], that this team can actually be a competitor.”

No one knows the team has to get back to their winning ways more than Mike Tomlin. He addressed the elephant in the room in the announcement of his extension earlier this summer, noting that the standard he implemented is championships, not hovering above .500

"I am appreciative for this contract extension and thankful for Art Rooney II for his support during my first 17 years in Pittsburgh," Tomlin told Teresa Varley of Steelers.Com "We are continuing to work diligently to get back to where we belong – sustained playoff success with the ultimate goal of winning the franchise's seventh Lombardi Trophy."

Now, some of the brightest minds in league history still believe that Coach T is at the top of his game, even going as far as to say that Tomlin's recent coaching jobs are some of his best ever .

"I think some of his [Mike Tomlin's] nine-win teams are some of his best coaching jobs" Super Bowl-winning executive Michael Lombardi said on a recent episode of The Lombardi Line . "They've not experienced what a lot of teams have, which is that lull. They're going through it after Ben Roethlisberger, but they still find ways to win nine and 10 games. I know Steelers fans want more playoff wins, they want more Super Bowls, Mike's only delivered one, but I think Mike's at the top of his game in terms of being able to keep the team as competitive as they can, in spite of the inability to find that quarterback."

So two things can be true. Mike Tomlin is one of the most respected HCs in the business, and would be coveted like no other should he hit the open market. It also has to be noted that the standards employed by Coach T haven't been met in a while, and the team needs to get back to that if he's going to stick around in Pittsburgh.

We'll see which scenario happens first.

Related: Steelers' former WR is seemingly still salty about how things ended after aggressive take on Pittsburgh's QBs