The Steelers are one of the best run franchises in the NFL.
But when Pittsburgh went all-in on an inexperienced defensive coordinator in 2007, few expected the 34-year-old to last on the sideline.
Mike Tomlin was overlooked by a hometown paper when he first got the big job[/caption]
Mike Tomlin took over from Bill Cowher a year after the Steelers won the Super Bowl.
The former Minnesota Vikings DC, who earned a sociology degree in college and didn’t play in the NFL, is 9-3 this year and has already guaranteed an 18th consecutive season without a losing record.
The 52-year-old Tomlin has evolved past Ben Roethlisberger, Antonio Brown and Cowher’s long shadow.
After becoming the first Black head coach in Steelers history — then becoming the youngest HC to win a Super Bowl in 2008 — Tomlin has spent the 2024 campaign engineering one of his greatest coaching seasons in a career that is directly pointed at the Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton, Ohio.
While many Pittsburgh fans wanted Tomlin to stick with Justin Fields as the Steelers’ starting quarterback, the proud and passionate coach chose veteran Russell Wilson as a midseason starter, despite Wilson sliding with Seattle and crashing in Denver.
On Sunday, Wilson cooked once again, turning Tomlin’s personal faith into 414 passing yards, three touchdowns and a 126.4 rating during a tough 44-38 road victory over the division rival Cincinnati Bengals.
“It’s the first time for him going through AFC North football, and I thought he acclimated himself to it well,” Tomlin said.
“He put himself squarely in the history of this series with that performance today.”
Only Detroit’s Dan Campbell tops Tomlin in NFL Coach of the Year odds.
Only Tomlin is getting the best out of a 36-year-old Wilson while also challenging George Pickens, a talented but unpredictable 23-year-old wide receiver, to “grow up.”
Tomlin hasn’t had a losing season in 18 years[/caption]
Bill Cowher, center, left a large shadow hovering over Pittsburgh[/caption]
Chuck Noll defined greatness for the Steelers[/caption]
“The standard is the standard,” Tomlin previously said. “We’re going to do things the Steeler Way.”
The Steeler Way has become the Tomlin Way in 2024.
“I spoke to Mike Tomlin about it (benching Fields) … and he said, ‘Look, I went lone ranger on it,’ ” FOX’s Jay Glazer said.
“(Terry Bradshaw), you’re not the only one against this. There were a lot of people inside that organization who were as well.”
Only Kansas City’s Andy Reid tops Tomlin in active coaching wins.
The Virginia native is 182-103 all-time, and should soon pass Chuck Knox for No. 11 on the NFL’s all-time victories list.
Back-to-back tough wins against Washington and Baltimore reminded NFL fans of Tomlin’s sideline expertise.
Yet in 2007, a front-page headline in a local paper stated that Russ Grimm would receive the big job.
“Steelers pick Grimm, source says,” the paper read.
Russell Wilson has become one of the NFL’s hottest QBs again[/caption]
Pittsburgh got it right, giving a position previously only held by Chuck Noll (193 coaching wins) and Cowher (149) to Tomlin.
“I’m still coming to grips with what that means,” Tomlin said.
“But I am what I am as coach — I don’t call myself a 34-year-old coach or an experienced coach, I’m a football coach.”
“He wants to play the kind of football the Pittsburgh Steelers
want to play,” Art Rooney II said after the stunning hire.
It’s easy to be a genius on social media.
For years, frustrated fans have called on the Steelers to sack Tomlin.
“It’s time to make it clear for the Steelers front office: WE THE FANS WILL NO LONGER TOLERATE THIS ABYSMAL COACHING,” reads an internet petition from 2018.
Six years later, the man who was chosen to follow Noll and Cowher by one of the most dependable organizations in the NFL has become synonymous with the Steelers.
“Justin Fields is clearly playing well enough — we are a playoff team with Justin Fields,” said talkSPORT NFL Run Down host Will Gavin, in praising Tomlin as a top Coach of the Year candidate.
“Maybe if I can just get a little bit of Seattle Russell Wilson out of him, maybe we can be a Super Bowl team.”
In 2024, the Tomlin Way is now the Steelers’ Way.
As Pittsburgh moves toward the playoffs and becomes a serious contender, Tomlin keeps building his path to the Hall of Fame.
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