Pittsburgh Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin finished seventh in AP Coach of The Year voting, finishing with one second-place vote and two third-place votes. Josh Dubow of the Associated Press posted the full voting on Twitter. Cleveland Browns head coach Kevin Stefanski won the award in a tiebreaker over Houston Texans head coach DeMeco Ryans, as Stefanski had 22 first-place votes to Ryans’ 20 first-place votes.
Tomlin led the Steelers to a 10-7 season despite an offense that had struggled at the quarterback position all year long. They also suffered key injuries on defense, including to Cameron Heyward and Minkah Fitzpatrick, that sidelined both players for multiple weeks. The Steelers did bow out in the Wild Card Round, but finished the regular season on a three-game winning streak.
Stefanski won the award after leading the Browns to a 10-7 season despite a season-ending injury to QB Deshaun Watson. Cleveland was one of the most banged-up teams in the league this year, but behind QB Joe Flacco, signed prior to Week 12, the Browns were able to make the postseason where they also lost in the Wild Card round to the Houston Texans, led by Ryans.
Tomlin has never won an AP Coach of the Year award, despite never finishing with a losing season. Tomlin was getting some Coach of the Year buzz after Pittsburgh’s success early in the season, particularly after their Week Six win over the Baltimore Ravens, but the team’s three-game losing streak that included losses to the Arizona Cardinals and New England Patriots sapped a lot of his momentum. A seventh-place finish is about what was expected heading into the NFL Honors ceremony, held Thursday Night at the Resorts World Theater in Las Vegas where the honors were held.
Tomlin wasn’t a finalist this year, but he did improve from his tenth-place finish during the 2022 season. He deserved to receive votes, although it was a surprise to see him receive a vote as high as second place. Tomlin will look to win his first career Coach of the Year award in 2024 as he will return to the Steelers as their head coach.
