Since becoming the head coach of the Pittsburgh Steelers in 2007, Mike Tomlin has established himself as one of the best coaches in the NFL, consistently winning and keeping the Steelers in contention.
According to general manager Omar Khan, one of the strengths that has made Tomlin such a great coach is his process. That’s a process that Khan said Tomlin loves during an appearance on the Pat McAfee Show.
“He loves the process, too,” Khan said. “Like, he’s just a real guy. Like, he just loves it. I mean, he’s genuine.”
Pat McAfee joked that he’s heard that Mike Tomlin goes into a film cave and comes out of it with new metaphors, shoes, and ideas. McAfee jokingly pretended to give a Tomlin phrase, saying, “Let’s do the routine things routinely,” and drawing a laugh from Khan.
On top of that, McAfee added that he thinks that Tomlin is on the precipice of being on the Mount Rushmore of coaches. Add one more Super Bowl to his legacy and there’s a chance that he becomes one of the all-time great head coaches for McAfee.
Prior to joining the Steelers, Tomlin was a defensive coordinator for the Minnesota Vikings. He had been a defensive backs coach at both the college and NFL level before that after playing wide receiver at William & Mary.
As a head coach, Mike Tomlin has found tons of success. He has a career 163-93-2 record as the Steelers head coach. In just his second season, Tomlin won a Super Bowl before losing in another Super Bowl appearance a couple of seasons later. Over the course of his 16 previous seasons in Pittsburgh, he’s won the AFC North seven times and been to the playoffs 10 times.
Winning the loaded AFC North over teams like the Cincinnati Bengals and Baltimore Ravens is going to be difficult to do. However, there are few coaches more capable of overcoming those teams than Mike Tomlin.
Mike Tomlin on his future
Earlier this summer, Mike Tomlin addressed his future and even the possibility of retirement.
“I probably have seen more days than I’m gonna see,” Mike Tomlin said. “I’m just trying to be realistic.”
That prompted a clarifying question about whether Tomlin was going to be announcing his retirement soon. He didn’t give an exact age but did make it clear he doesn’t plan on coaching forever.
“I’m probably not going to do 34,” Tomlin said, implying he won’t coach past social security retirement age.
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