Through all the handwringing, the Pittsburgh Steelers continue to find ways to win, even when they shouldn’t. Despite being outgained every week prior to this most recent contest, for example, they are somehow 7-4 and right in the thick of things, only one game back in the loss column from the best records in the conference.
There’s still a long way to go to determine how well or poorly this season plays out, mind you, but Sunday’s win over the Cincinnati Bengals was nevertheless a significant one. It marked the 170 win in Mike Tomlin’s career as head coach.
In doing so, he became the 16th individual in history to reach that mark in the NFL, and he did it in the fifth-fewest games, recording 170 wins in 269. He currently owns a 170-97-2 mark and a .636 winning percentage, the sixth-highest among all coaches with as many wins.
He is now tied with Mike Shanahan and Tom Coughlin for the 14th-most wins in NFL history, the former having coached 308 games and the latter 320. Next on the list his Bill Parcells, who recorded 172 career victories, along with 130 losses and one tie, in 303 games. He could also surpass Jeff Fisher’s 173 wins for the 12th-most in NFL history before the year is through.
And what after that? At least in theory, Tomlin could exit the 2024 season in the top 10 in all-time wins—tying Chuck Noll’s 193. But it would take a Herculean and deeply unrealistic effort. With six games to go this year and 17 next year, he has 23 more games between now and then. He would have to win all of them to tie Noll’s ninth-most 193 career wins.
More realistic might be Chuck Knox at 11 with 186, which would require 17-6 record in that span to surpass. But that’s only marginally more realistic. We’re more likely looking at 2025 to see Tomlin crack the top 10 in all-time wins, and you have a very long wait before you crack the top five, all of whom have 80 more wins than he currently has. That’s the better part of five seasons.
Of course, we can’t discuss Tomlin’s regular-season record without the inevitable conversation about the postseason. The stark reality is that he is 8-9 in the playoffs, one of only four coaches with as many wins to have a losing record in the postseason. Eleven of them have multiple championships, while four have none, and unsurprisingly, only one of those four has a winning postseason record in Dan Reeves.
Yes, the postseason wins must come, and in the very near future. If there isn’t a clear path to success in that arena by the end of this season, then more significant changes will need to be sought. I’m sure QB Kenny Pickett will get at least one more season in 2024, but if he isn’t looking like a franchise quarterback by then, something will have to give, one way or another.
