With several NFL coaches falling victim to Black Monday — the first day after the end of the season when teams fire their head coaches — it’s even more impressive to look at NFL coaches who have been at the helm of their respective teams for years, sometimes even decades.
If there was a Mt. Rushmore of longest-tenured coaches, Mike Tomlin of the Pittsburgh Steelers would be one of the first guys up there. How long has Tomlin been a head coach?
Mike Tomlin’s Long Career With Pittsburgh
If you are a young football fan, it’s hard to remember a time when Tomlin was not the Steelers’ coach. He was hired at the young age of 34 on January 22, 2007. He was the 16th head coach of the storied organization and only the third head coach hired by the Steelers since 1969.
Tomlin spent the 2006 season as the defensive coordinator for the Minnesota Vikings and was subsequently selected to interview for the vacant head coaching position in Pittsburgh. Bill Cowher had just retired after 15 years with the team and a 2005 Super Bowl win.
Tomlin is one of the most respected coaches — not just in the NFL but in all of professional sports. Show his picture to even a casual football fan, and they will know who he is. Despite having some tough seasons, the Steelers have never had a losing record with Tomlin at the helm. There is something about the man that just seems to get it done.
When discussing his ability to win, Tomlin said, “It’s not hunger that drives me; it’s not hunger that needs to drive our football team. Hunger and thirst are things that can be quenched. We have to be a driven group; we have to seek greatness.”
Has Mike Tomlin Won a Super Bowl With the Steelers?
That ability to seek greatness has led to success for Tomlin and the Steelers. During his almost two decades in the Steel City, Tomlin led the Steelers to seven AFC North titles, the most recent in 2020. He has coached the team into the playoffs ten times and has taken them to the Super Bowl twice.
His first trip to the Super Bowl was in 2009 against the Arizona Cardinals. Pittsburgh managed to pull out the win after Santonio Holmes caught a game-winning TD on the final drive. That matchup was John Madden’s final game in the broadcast booth.
Two years later, Pittsburgh returned to the big game to play the Green Bay Packers. They did not manage to win that season, losing to QB Aaron Rodgers and head coach Mike McCarthy.
Is Tomlin the Longest-Tenured Head Coach in the NFL?
With the departure of Bill Belichick from New England, Tomlin is now the current longest-tenured active head coach in the NFL. Belichick left the Patriots after coaching them for 24 seasons, and Tomlin has been with the Steelers for 17.
John Harbaugh is next in Baltimore with 16 years as the head coach, followed by Andy Reid’s 11 seasons with the Kansas City Chiefs.
Who Was the Head Coach of the Steelers Before Tomlin?
The man who set Tomlin up for greatness in Pittsburgh was Bill Cowher, who was the team’s second head coach since the NFL merger in 1970. Cowher was in Pittsburgh from 1992 until 2006, and in that time led the team to a multitude of successes.
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In the 15 seasons under Cowher’s leadership, the Steelers won eight division titles, went to the playoffs ten times, played in six AFC Championship games, and played in two Super Bowls.
After winning his first Super Bowl ring in 2006 by defeating the Seattle Seahawks, Cowher stepped away, leading us to the beginning of the landscape that Mike Tomlin has so skillfully tilled.
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