Despite low expectations and a tough division, the Pittsburgh Steelers and Mike Tomlin still found their way into the playoffs. A late-season push and a little help was all it took for the Steelers to earn the AFC’s final playoff spot.
With the success set in stone, it gives Tomlin another year without a losing record. However, regular-season records don’t matter now. What is his playoff record?
What Is Mike Tomlin’s Playoff Record?
Tomlin was born on March 15, 1972, in Hampton, Virginia. He grew up playing football, eventually being named a second-team All-Yankee Conference selection in 1992 as a wide receiver.
After his college career ended, his coaching career began. He started as the wide receiver coach for Virginia Military Institute in 1995 before becoming a graduate assistant at Memphis in 1996. The next four seasons would be spent at Arkansas State and Cincinnati, finishing his college coaching career.
His first NFL gig came with the legendary Tampa Bay Buccaneers of the early 2000s. He was the team’s defensive backs coach from 2001-2005 under head coach Tony Dungy and Jon Gruden, where he learned the Tampa 2 defense that is prevalent in his current schemes. During his time there, the Buccaneers won Super Bowl XXXVII.
His success with Tampa Bay earned him his first coordinator job as the DC of the Minnesota Vikings in 2006. Under his watch, the Vikings finished with the NFL’s eight-best overall defense and were the top-ranked run defense.
However, Tomlin only lasted one season as a defensive coordinator. Even though he was younger than two players on the Vikings’ roster and even a previous teammate of one, he was hired for his first and only head coaching job with the Steelers in 2007.
Since then, he has become the longest-tenured currently active head coach in the NFL following the Patriots parting ways with Bill Belichick. He has also set the NFL record for most consecutive non-losing seasons to begin a coaching career.
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His overall coaching record is 181-110-2, but his postseason record is 8-10. He led the Steelers to a Super Bowl victory in just his second season, winning Super Bowl XLIII. However, he has not won another since.
The Steelers fell in the 2023 Wild Card round to the Buffalo Bills. The loss, which came at a score of 31-17, was the 10th postseason loss for the Steelers under Tomlin.
Under Tomlin, the Steelers have made 10 Wild Card Rounds, five Divisional Rounds, three AFC Championship Games, and two Super Bowls. The Steelers made it to Super Bowl XLV, where they fell to the Green Bay Packers 31-25.
Recent years have been a bit different, though. Since 2018, the Steelers have made the playoffs just three times (including 2023) and have yet to advance past the Wild Card round, losing in 2020, 2021 and 2023.
If the Steelers look to change their recent history of playoff struggles, they will have to look towards the 2024 season. The Bills game was initially set to kick off on Saturday but was postponed to Monday due to a severe snowstorm in Western New York.
Want to predict the results of the 2023 NFL postseason with our FREE NFL Playoff Predictor? How about looking into in-depth breakdowns of team depth charts or the NFL playoff schedule? Pro Football Network has you covered with all that and more!
