The 2023 season has been a rollercoaster ride for the Pittsburgh Steelers. Some highs after big wins led by a star-studded defense. Some lows after tough losses that saw the Steelers get blown completely off the field.
Yet, somehow the Steelers sit at 4-3 entering a Week Nine Thursday Night Football matchup against the Tennessee Titans at Acrisure Stadium. There’s one constant with the Steelers, too: Mike Tomlin remains one of the best coaches in the NFL, at least according to the Associated Press.
In the latest head coach poll from the AP, Tomlin landed at No. 5 overall, behind the likes of Kansas City’s Andy Reid, San Francisco’s Kyle Shanahan, Philadelphia’s Nick Sirianni and Baltimore’s John Harbaugh. Those four head coaches in front of Tomlin are a combined 24-8 on the season. Pretty good company to be in, despite his team being just 4-3.
That says quite a bit about how the voters for the Associated Press view Tomlin.
“Tomlin’s Steelers are 4-3 with an opportunity to play two more at home after a home loss to the Jaguars. He’s never had a losing season in 16 years in Pittsburgh and it’ll be a challenge to keep that streak going,” the Associated Press writes regarding Tomlin’s ranking. “Tomlin received two second-place votes and was named on five ballots. He has won a Super Bowl in two appearances.”
Though those inside of the fan base and the traditional media market in Pittsburgh are starting to run out of belief in Tomlin and believe the Steelers have gotten stale after 17 years with the same man in charge, it’s quite clear just how the national media and those outside of the fan base view Tomlin.
He’s held in an exceptionally high regard and has done a solid job of guiding the Steelers into a new era in recent seasons, doing so while avoiding the dreaded losing season — something he’s famously (or infamously done, depending on how you view it) never had in his nearly two decades as the head coach of the Black and Gold.
Tomlin holds a .634 winning percentage in 265 career games, going 167-96-2 with the Steelers. That said, he’s just 8-9 in the playoffs in his career, good for just a .471 winning percentage, though he does have a Super Bowl championship on his resume and has appeared in a second Super Bowl.
However, the Steelers have not been to the playoffs since 2021 and went one-and-done then. In fact, the Steelers have just one playoff win since the 2016 season, going 0-3 since beating the Kansas City Chiefs in the divisional round of the 2016 playoffs before losing to the New England Patriots in the AFC Championship Game.
For now, Tomlin remains in the top five, but it’s a long road ahead for the Black and Gold sitting at 4-3 to not only ensure he doesn’t have another losing season, but to also get back into the playoffs under the future Hall of Fame head coach.
