In an anonymous player poll conducted by Fox Sports, Pittsburgh Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin finished second in “NFL Coach You’d Most Like To Play For,” losing by one vote to Detroit Lions head coach Dan Campbell.
Campbell got six votes, while Tomlin received five. One important note is that players could not vote for their own head coach, so every player surveyed had to pick a different head coach around the league. This is the second year in a row where Tomlin finished in second, as last season he lost to San Francisco 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan after winning in 2021. Tomlin is regarded around the league as a coach who cares about and takes care of his players, and it’s little surprise that players around the league would like to play for him.
Still, Campbell, a former NFL player himself, might be the ultimate players’ coach, and with Detroit’s success this season, making it to the NFC Championship game before falling short against the San Francisco 49ers, he’s a logical choice for first place on the list. Still, it is telling just how much Tomlin is respected around the league, given that he was able to still get five votes, two more than any other coach who wasn’t Campbell.
Houston’s DeMeco Ryans came in third with three votes after just his first season as a head coach, as he led Houston to an AFC Divisional Round appearance. Other coaches who received more than one vote were Mike McDaniel of the Miami Dolphins, Andy Reid of the Kansas City Chiefs, and Sean McVay of the Los Angeles Rams. All three of them received two votes. After placing first last year, Shanahan received just a single vote this season.
There’s little doubt that Tomlin has a lot of respect from players and his fellow coaches, but the results on the field need to start showing for a Steelers fanbase that’s starting to get restless. Tomlin hasn’t led the Steelers to a playoff win since 2016, and the continual playoff one-and-done appearances are getting old.
This poll, though, is more in the vein of what coaches do the best in relating and connecting to their players, and it is good to see that players around the league feel like Tomlin is a coach they can connect with. That helps when it comes to free agency, as it makes Pittsburgh a more attractive destination, having Tomlin as their head coach.
It’s especially impressive that Tomlin can remain toward the top of the list with the rise of former players and player-oriented coaches like Ryans and Campbell having success, whereas Tomlin’s been in Pittsburgh since 2007. But he still gets respect from players and does a good job commanding the locker room in Pittsburgh. Maybe Tomlin can get back to the top of the list with more on-field success out of the Steelers next season.
