Pittsburgh Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin hasn’t won a playoff game since the 2016 season, but he’s consistently kept the Steelers competitive. Despite having subpar quarterback play the last few seasons and dealing with turmoil in the locker room, the Steelers have never finished below .500 in Tomlin’s tenure. That’s why Fox Sports analyst Skip Bayless has Tomlin as the best coach in football, as answering a question on The Skip Bayless Show about who the best coach in football is, Bayless answered that it was Tomlin.
“If I could play for any coach, I’d play for Mike Tomlin,” Bayless said. “17 years he’s coached the Steelers, a long time. Never had a losing season in 17, he’s pretty great.”
He said that while Tomlin is at the top of his list right now, he thinks that he has a new challenger in new Los Angeles Chargers head coach Jim Harbaugh.
“As much as I’d put Mike Tomlin at the top of my list right now, the newest threat to Mike T is now coaching in Los Angeles, coaching of all teams the Chargers,” Bayless said. “He’s already proven to me he’s the best coach in all of football, college and pro.”
Harbaugh went to three straight NFC Championship games when he was the head coach of the San Francisco 49ers, and he’s coming off a National Championship as the head coach at the University of Michigan. He returned to the NFL to lead the Chargers and quarterback Justin Herbert, and if he can turn around a Chargers program that’s been the definition of mediocrity over the past few seasons, it’s fair to put him among the best head coaches in football.
It’s not one of those takes that’s too early to anoint Harbaugh, as he’s coached and had success as a coach in the NFL before. While he’s been at Michigan since 2015, Harbaugh knows the NFL and has sent a lot of players to the league over the past number of years. His brother, John, has also been the head coach of the Baltimore Ravens since 2008.
It’s a little bit of a controversial take by Bayless to have Tomlin as his No. 1 coach in football. When you consider that Andy Reid has just won his third Super Bowl as a head coach and Kyle Shanahan has been to three Super Bowls since Tomlin has won a playoff game. But Tomlin is well-regarded around the league and consistently regarded as one of the best coaches, even if it’s not the best, and his odds to win Coach of the Year in 2024 aren’t great. But Bayless thinks that Tomlin is the best, but that take could change if Harbaugh has some success this season.
