When it comes to playoff records, Mike Tomlin keeps tumbling down the charts. Losing his sixth-straight playoff game Saturday night and without a victory in eight years, Tomlin holds one of the worst marks of someone with his experience. Since being hired in 2007, he’s now 8-11 in the postseason, a .421 winning percentage.
A far cry from how his playoff career started, winning a Super Bowl his second season and going to another in his fourth. Before the team’s skid began, Tomlin was 8-5 in the playoffs. From there, all downhill.
Below is an updated chart showing each coach with at least 15 playoff appearances, 25 in total. They’re listed in order of winning percentage. Chuck Noll is third on the list at 16-8 only trailing Joe Gibbs and the legendary Bill Belichick. Bill Cowher, despite winning only one Super Bowl and having a reputation as a coach who couldn’t get his team over the hump, still manages to sit inside the top 10, ninth overall at 12-9.
For Tomlin, you have to scroll near the bottom. He’s dropped to 23rd of 25 qualifiers now only ahead of Chuck Knox and Marty Schottenheimer. Below is the entire list.
NFL Playoff Coaching Records, History (minimum 15 games)
| Coach | Win-Loss Record | Win Percentage |
|---|---|---|
| Joe Gibbs | 17-7 | .708 |
| Bill Belichick | 31-13 | .705 |
| Chuck Noll | 16-8 | .667 |
| George Seifert | 10-5 | .667 |
| Tom Coughlin | 12-7 | .632 |
| Andy Reid | 26-16 | .619 |
| Bill Parcells | 11-8 | .579 |
| Marv Levy | 11-8 | .579 |
| Bill Cowher | 12-9 | .571 |
| Mike Shanahan | 8-6 | .571 |
| John Harbaugh | 13-10 | .565 |
| John Madden | 9-7 | .563 |
| Tom Landry | 20-16 | .556 |
| Dan Reeves | 11-9 | .550 |
| Mike Holmgren | 13-11 | .542 |
| John Fox | 8-7 | .533 |
| Don Shula | 19-17 | .528 |
| Sean Payton | 9-9 | .500 |
| Mike McCarthy | 11-11 | .500 |
| Pete Carroll | 11-11 | .500 |
| Tony Dungy | 9-10 | .474 |
| Bud Grant | 10-12 | .455 |
| Mike Tomlin | 8-11 | .421 |
| Chuck Knox | 7-11 | .389 |
| Marty Schottenheimer | 5-13 | .278 |
Technically, Saturday’s loss to the Baltimore Ravens didn’t drop Tomlin any rankings on the list, heading into the season behind Bud Grant and remaining there today. A win, however, would’ve bumped him up past Grant for 22nd on the list.
Tomlin is one of just five coaches to have a sub-.500 record with at least 15 playoff appearances. Schottenheimer became known for failing to win big games while Knox is a relatively obscure name compared to the others on this list. Then there’s Dungy, the coach most comparable to Tomlin. Well-respected and well-liked among players, peers, and media types. Defensive-minded like Tomlin, of course, hired by Dungy for his first NFL job. Coaches who won a ring with a Hall of Fame quarterback. But ones who had little success outside of it and underachieved despite quality teams and chances to go on playoff runs.
If Tomlin loses his next two playoff games, he’ll drop below Knox for 24th place. By that point, perhaps the Steelers really would move on to a fresh start. Until then, they’ll continue the model of being a slightly above-average regular-season team making quick playoff exits.
