The Pittsburgh Steelers' defense has crumbled over the past couple of weeks, allowing 40-plus points in back-to-back losses. The Steelers' struggles, while partly due to injuries, have caused the Pittsburgh coaching staff to come under fire. The ire of the media and fans has been focused on Steelers defensive coordinator Keith Butler and head coach Mike Tomlin. NFL reporter Aditi Kinkhabwala spilled a secret that could give some insight into who is actually running the Steelers' defense.

It sure seems like Kinkhabwala told on Pittsburgh defensive coordinator Keith Butler here. Of course, it isn't an official report by Kinkhabwala, but there's no real motive for her to lie, as Steelers Wire points out.

So, if Kinkhabwala is right, and it's truly Mike Tomlin running the Steelers defense, it begs the question. Was it always Tomlin in charge of the Pittsburgh defense, or is that a recent development?

Tomlin seemingly criticized Butler for not making adjustments during the Steelers' loss to the Los Angeles Chargers, so maybe Butler's poor gameplan forced Tomlin's hand.

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Pittsburgh Steelers general manager Omar Khan next to Pittsburgh Steelers edge defender Alex Highsmith. Khan has a speech bubble that says “Thank you, Alex.”

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Courtland Sutton wearing a Steelers jersey next to a Steelers logo

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Justin Fields in a Pittsburgh Steelers uniform on one side, Mike Tomlin on the other side, a bunch of the big eyes emojis in the background

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Of course, every head coach is going to oversee his coordinator's gameplans. However, it would be pretty telling if Tomlin was running this Pittsburgh defense the whole time, or if he stepped in on behalf of Butler because he felt he had to.

Whoever is running the Steelers' defense, Tomlin or Butler, will have to be on top of their game this Sunday in a pivotal game against the first-place Baltimore Ravens.