Mike Tomlin has never had a losing season during his 16-year career as a head coach with the Pittsburgh Steelers. Nevertheless, it’s also true that Tomlin has only won 3 of his last 11 playoff games and has a losing total record of 8-9 in the postseason. In the most worrisome stat for the Steel Nation, the team hasn’t won a playoff game since 2016.
When Mike Tomlin was hired in 2007 by the Steelers, the impact was immediate. Pittsburgh won Super Bowl XLIII by beating the Arizona Cardinals in the 2008 NFL season and, only two years later, the team was really close to another championship after losing Super Bowl XLV against the Green Bay Packers in Arlington.
Nevertheless, many experts have said that Tomlin inherited a team already built by Bill Cowher with a franchise quarterback such as Ben Roethlisberger. Now, with Big Ben retired, the excuses are starting to run out. Considering this scenario, Mike Tomlin might be on the hot seat.
Can Mike Tomlin be fired after the 2022 NFL season by the Pittsburgh Steelers?
At 36 years old, Mike Tomlin was the youngest head coach ever to win a Super Bowl. Though that record was later broken by Sean McVay, it was a remarkable achievement. He’s won seven division titles (AFC North), two AFC Championship Games and has two Super Bowl appearances (1-1 record). When everyone speaks of Tomlin, the most impressive stat is the fact that he’s never had a losing season.
Now, in his 16th year as a coach, turmoil has emerged. The Steelers don’t have an apparent successor for Ben Roethlisberger, the defense is the most expensive in the NFL but doesn’t perform and the special teams have been a disaster. With a 2-6 record, and considering their strength of schedule, Mike Tomlin is on pace to have his first under .500 season.
The problem for Mike Tomlin among the fans and some experts is the lack of victories in the playoffs during the last decade. However, on April 2021, the Steelers signed the head coach to a three-year contract extension. Furthermore, the Rooney family are owners who don’t tend to make changes abruptly. Since 1969, there’s been only three head coaches in Steelers’ history: Chuck Noll, Bill Cowher and Mike Tomlin.