It has been a banner year for Pittsburgh Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin so far. They have already managed six wins through the first eight games, and his major hire at offensive coordinator and major signings at quarterback have all gone swimmingly.
Many of the midseason award lists have come out over the last week or two, and Tomlin has been mentioned more than once for possibly winning his first Coach of the Year award. Support for Tomlin winning that award continues to rise.
“He is my number one,” said The Athletic’s Dianna Russini of Tomlin via The Jim Rome Show on Friday. “I have him as coach of the year right now just because our expectations for this season. I barely went to training camp this year ’cause I’m like, what are the Steelers gonna be? Who knows what Justin Fields is gonna be? I’m not really sure Russell Wilson’s ever gonna be able to get back to the guy he got…And here we are, Arthur Smith brilliantly figuring out how to make it simple for this offense.”
She also cited Tomlin’s surprising move to go “lone ranger” in giving the QB1 job back to Wilson when the entire football world called for the Steelers to ride with the 4-2 Fields. Tomlin knew there was more meat on the bone, so to speak, for the offense. And he had the courage to make that call against the grain.
Bucky Brooks also put together some midseason awards on NFL.com. While he had Dan Quinn as the winner, he listed Mike Tomlin as the top name to watch.
“Tomlin has figured out how to get this group going amid a quarterback battle between a previously struggling journeyman (Russell Wilson) and an inconsistent but promising young playmaker (Justin Fields),” Brooks wrote. “After initially opting for the youngster, the savvy head coach made a controversial switch to the veteran with Super Bowl experience. Thus far, the results have been superb. The move is one of Tomlin’s many tactical decisions to help his overachieving squad vault to the top of the AFC North.”
It would be Tomlin’s first time winning the award and another feather in his cap. He is going to have steep competition this year. Quinn has the Commanders at 7-2 in his first year as their head coach. Andy Reid has the Chiefs undefeated, though guys don’t often win the award on the teams with already high expectations. Matt LaFleur is a trendy pick with the Packers doing very well while Jordan Love was injured.
The first step is beating Quinn and the Commanders this Sunday and the Baltimore Ravens the next week. Those will be the biggest tests yet.
It probably doesn’t hurt that Tomlin will be on full display on HBO’s Hard Knocks for the final stretch of the season.
