Bill Cowher has been voted to the 2020 Pro Football Hall of Fame. Will Mike Tomlin join him there someday? At least two former receivers, including an ex-Steeler, believes so.
Two days ago, Torrey Smith took to Twitter to fire off this tweet in support of Tomlin while throwing shade at his detractors.
A little later on, Mike Wallace, drafted by Tomlin in 2009, tweeted back to agree.
For the record, I will say a clip of the Steelers being flagged for having 12 men on the field probably isn’t the best GIF to use in support of a head coach.
While Smith never played for Tomlin, he was part of the Steelers/Ravens rivalry throughout last decade and obviously came to know Tomlin well. Wallace spent four years in the organization, proving to be the best years of his career before bouncing around Miami, Baltimore, Minnesota, and Philadelphia. He was out of the league in 2019. Presumably, his career is over with Smith officially announcing his retirement in September.
As Matthew Marczi asked yesterday, there will be a strong debate over Tomlin’s Hall of Fame resume if he doesn’t win another Super Bowl. If he does, it feels all but certain he’ll be enshrined one day. If he doesn’t, and isn’t even able to make another appearance, he’ll be on the Hall of Fame bubble just as Cowher was. And truthfully, while it was a thrill to see Cowher get the nod, he benefited from this year’s expanded Centennial Class. Tomlin will have no such advantage. That is, unless he’s around to see the 2120 ceremony.
Dave Bryan pointed out last week the similarities that exist between Tomlin and Cowher’s career resumes Tomlin has a slight edge in win percentage, Cowher in division titles and AFC Championships games (though a worse record).
But if Smith and Wallace have a say, they’d clearly vote a resounding “yes.” Should that happen, Pittsburgh will have three consecutive head coaches enshrined into Canton, an NFL first.
