PITTSBURGH — Ben Roethlisberger, among the greatest Steelers of all time, has officially registered his opinion on Mike Tomlin's future.

"Maybe it is 'clean-house' time. Maybe it is time," Roethlisberger said on his "Footbahlin'" podcast. "I like coach Tomlin. I have a lot of respect for coach Tomlin. But maybe it's best for him, too. Maybe a fresh start for him is what's best."

That just makes sense, assuming the season heads where each of the past eight have gone, which is nowhere. The Steelers move on. Tomlin gets a fresh start elsewhere.

Many of us were saying as much after last season's humiliating playoff defeat in Baltimore. It sure seemed like rock bottom, giving up 299 yards rushing and having television analyst Kirk Herbstreit wonder if the team was quitting against its archrival.

But the Steelers have somehow sunk lower, as they head to Baltimore for what feels like one of the seismic games of Tomlin's 19-year tenure.

Roethlisberger's old offensive coordinator, Bruce Arians, sounded a similar tone on "The Pat McAfee Show." He spoke of all the coordinator switches that haven't worked here but likely would happen again because he "doubts very seriously" that team president Art Rooney II would move on from Tomlin.

"If I were Mike, I'd want to get out and go somewhere new — start over," Arians said. "It's easier giving that message [as a newer coach], you know? Some players get tired of the message and you have to keep it fresh. Mike's done a great job of keeping it for years, [but] I'm shocked watching their defense play. I'm totally shocked."

Meanwhile, the scene here is becoming ugly, which is what happens when situations fester and leaders do not take decisive and appropriate action.

I truly hope the "Fire Tomlin" chants don't multiply. I hope they don't make their way to hockey games and other venues, the way the "Fire Canada" movement grew, when it was clearly past time to move on from offensive coordinator Matt Canada.

Tomlin has done too much for this town and is too good a representative of it for that to happen. It'd be a tough look for the city.

And yet, it's understandable if fans are beyond frustrated with the Steelers' repeated failures — they haven't come close to winning a playoff game in nearly a decade — and feel like there is no other avenue by which to express that frustration.

In a related matter, I wonder if Rooney ever thinks ahead to a potential nightmare scenario. Which would be half a million people at the NFL draft in April — the biggest event Pittsburgh has ever hosted — turning the affair into an embarrassing "Fire Tomlin" and "Sell the Team" festival.

Can you imagine?

Rooney would have only himself to blame.

Maybe Tomlin and his team spring an upset in Baltimore and finish strong. Have you seen the Ravens play lately? But that doesn't seem like the smartest bet, and anything short of a playoff win is sure to keep the frustration flowing.

Even many national media types, mostly Tomlin backers, have begun to see the truth. Maybe some consider that the bottom six teams in the NFL — the Giants, Raiders, Browns, Titans, Commanders and Saints — are on a combined 30-game losing streak, then consider that all of those franchises save the Raiders have won a playoff game more recently than the Steelers.

Listen, when Ian Rapoport and Rex Ryan are among the last people defending your case, your case probably isn't good. Both use the tired line that Tomlin would be "snatched up in literally no time," as Rapoport put it, if he were to become a free agent.

Is that proof that he's still the best fit here? And wouldn't at least 10 other coaches be snatched up that fast, too, and likely ahead of Tomlin? You could start with Sean McVay, Ben Johnson, Kyle Shanahan, Matt LaFleur, Mike Vrabel and Andy Reid and go from there.

As Roethlisberger said, maybe it's just time.

Or, more accurately, past time.

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