Kovacevic: If you don't like the coach ...

Brief and to the Point ...

• Here's the part I don't understand about the Penguins' seriously psycho 17-game start: If they don't want Mike Johnston to be head coach, why is he still head coach?

Oh, I'm not talking about the players. Let's be clear on that. They don't exactly bend over backward with praise for the guy, but neither do they blast him.

I am talking about pretty much everyone else inside the organization. I'm talking above him, under him, immediately around him, you name it. And my experience in this regard has been no different than that of our beat writer, Josh Yohe. We're not going to quote off-the-record conversations, obviously, or even paraphrase them. Truth is, we haven't reported this in any form for weeks now. But man alive, when it's this prevalent, this unanimous, we feel plenty comfortable in at least sharing this much with you.

Heck, you can't get Jim Rutherford to say something good about Johnston on the record.



Speaking only for myself, I've never seen anything like it.

I covered Kevin Constantine, who was not at at all popular with his players and at least some in his front office. But he had some admirers, some believers. And when he eventually got fired, delighted as the players were, there were more than a few who were genuinely upset about it. If that happens to Johnston, one gets the sense there will be a stampede to show him the door.

So I'll ask again: Why is he still head coach?

I have no answer, other than to say this has been the most confounding start to any Penguins season I can recall.

• We've taken some heat from readers, Josh and me, on this topic, but now, given the team's poor play not being supported by otherworldly goaltending, maybe it's starting to make sense. We're hearing this stuff about Johnston day in and day out, and we're hearing it without having to ask a single question. And the craziest part is, we heard it even when they were doing nothing but winning.

It's not personal, either, as it relates to Johnston and those criticizing him, at least not on the surface. It's all about player usage, strategy, actual coaching substance.

It's certainly not personal on our end, either. The next experience I have with Johnston that's anything less than immaculately professional will be the first. Again, it's all about coaching.

• In the interest of fullest context, a lot of these same people are almost as upset -- if not nearly as disillusioned -- with the offensive outputs of Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin. No one wants any excuses being made for those two. They just want to see those two start producing at the expected level.

They have every right to feel that way, too.

Of all the scoring drought figures one can cite through these 17 games, nothing tops Crosby still being without an even-strength goal. That's on nobody but him.

• Please tell me how, knowing all of the above and having watched this team flounder offensively for the equivalent of a full 82-game season, Johnston survives this week if there's even one more showing like the one Saturday in Newark?

• I have zero sense for any potential replacement for Johnston, but I can state unequivocally that Mike Sullivan, the coach at Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, won a ton of praise from people in management even before the AHL Penguins ran their ongoing winning streak up to 11 with this stirring display Sunday night in Hartford:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=60voUmB4cuo

This is what Sullivan told reporters after that five-goal comeback: “That's a character win for our team, and it's a testament to the character and leadership in our room. Obviously, we didn't get the start we wanted, but we responded the right way. I've had a ton of respect for our team all year, how we keep that laser focus no matter what. A win like this, it creates a belief in a group that you're never out of it no matter the circumstances."

Words seldom spoken in this corner of the commonwealth.

• Most exciting player in the NHL right now?

That's not an easy question anymore, but I've loved what I've seen of the Stars' young John Klingberg, the defenseman who ranks sixth in overall scoring. As was witnessed up close in Dallas' two victories over the Penguins this season, his skating might be as elegant and effortless as that of anyone in the game. And I'm not talking about speed. I'm talking about lateral movement.

• The Steelers' bye week might afford a little too much time to fret over their next game being in Seattle, and that's unfortunate because it won't be founded at all. These aren't the same Seahawks. They just allowed the Cardinals to put up 39 points and 393 yards from Carson Palmer at CenturyLink Field, Russell Wilson completed only 14 of 32 passes against a blah Arizona defense, and Marshawn Lynch, apparently hellbent on making Pete Carroll's Super Bowl playcalling look masterful, had eight rushes for 42 yards.

Seattle's four wins have come over the Bears, Lions, 49ers and the post-Tony Romo Cowboys, mostly by squeakers.

The Steelers, especially with the week to mend, really ought to win this one.

• Never underestimate that latter element. Just because an NFL player doesn't have his name followed by parentheses doesn't mean he's 100 percent. Or even close. As Cam Heyward conceded after Sunday's win, "Man, I could really use this week. Not going to lie."

Imagine how his opponents feel.

• It's uncool to give Mike Tomlin credit for anything anymore, but the Browns put up 372 yards passing Sunday while producing only nine points, and several of the Steelers' defenders credited Tomlin and the coaching staff for playing heavy emphasis on goal-line work going all the way back to OTAs.

"I can't say enough for how well prepared we are for those situations," Arthur Moats was telling me. "I take my hat off to the coaches. That's on them."

Tomlin has his shortcomings, his stubborn side. He's anything but a bad coach.

And no, I'm not basing that on one game against Cleveland. I'm basing that on a whole lot of wins over a whole lot of years, not all of which can attributed to 'Bill Cowher's players.

• All concerned attempted to downplay Anthony Chickillo getting 25 snaps Sunday, all at right outside linebacker, but it shouldn't be downplayed in the slightest. Tomlin and Keith Butler need more than they've gotten from Jarvis Jones, who has 22 tackles, 11 solos and two sacks. Most of the focus will be on the sacks, as is fair with an edge rusher, but those 11 solos ... man, that's 14th on the defense as a whole.

Now, Chickillo might go right back to the sideline in Seattle, assuming James Harrison's knee heals and he can resume his share of snaps on the right side. But if the coaches couldn't trust Jones to pick up even a little extra work this past Sunday and instead split his time with a rookie sixth-rounder, that's not very 'special.'