There are a lot of reasons to be wary of Mike Tomlin’s 17-consecutive seasons without a losing record, but it is impossible to write it off as completely unimportant. He had the benefit of working with a future Hall of Fame quarterback for most of his tenure in Ben Roethlisberger, but there have still been some seasons where he has truly had to scratch and claw his way to maintain the streak. Think back to the Duck Hodges season while Roethlisberger was injured, or either of the two Kenny Pickett seasons, for example.
Tomlin has consistently kept his teams competitive regardless of circumstance. They fired their offensive coordinator in the middle of last season, dealt with an injury to their starting quarterback and had some of the worst injury luck on defense, but still finished with an impressive 10-7 record and a playoff berth.
With the 2024 schedule not looking so friendly for the Steelers, there are already pundits writing off the team’s chances at making the playoffs, let alone winning a game in the tournament. On the other side of that coin, it would be yet another impressive job by Tomlin to even get his team to the playoffs in the eyes of some.
“Based off of this schedule, if Mike Tomlin finds a way to get this team to the playoffs, all you can do is just tip your hat to him and say this man is a hell of a coach and a Hall of Fame coach,” said former Steelers WR Plaxico Burress via FS1’s The Carton Show on Friday morning.
If Mike Tomlin retired today, would he be in the Hall of Fame? The answer is uncertain, but he would have a good chance. He is currently tied for the 11th-most wins in league history with a record of 173-100-2. Among coaches with over 150 wins, he is in fifth place for win percentage with .633 – only behind Don Shula, George Halas, Bill Belichick and Andy Reid. He is also one of the few to have this much success with just one team.
Tomlin would likely get in eventually if he retired today, but a couple more accolades would ensure an early enshrinement.
The 2024 season is an opportunity to add to his list of achievements. Qualifying for the tournament would be a good start given the difficult schedule, but I am not sure I agree with Burress’ assessment that just making the playoffs would solidify Tomlin as a Hall of Famer. His 17-season streak is well-documented. People already know he can win in the regular season. In 10 years, nobody will remember the time the Steelers overcame a difficult schedule just to qualify for the playoffs. They will need to put together some kind of run in the playoffs for it to be deemed a successful season.
