Consistency has been rewarded with trust and faith for the Steelers' Mike Tomlin!
Recently, on May 2, 2025, the San Antonio Spurs announced the retirement of long-standing coaching legend, Gregg Popovich. The 76-year-old has been facing numerous challenges with regard to his health, such as suffering a stroke in November of last year, as well as fainting at a restaurant on April 15, 2025.
Despite the sad news of Popovich’s retirement as a coach, the Spurs announced that he will take up a new role as the president of basketball operations. And while it will be a sad way for Popovich to leave the court after 29 years of coaching in San Antonio, it now means that Pittsburgh Steelers’ head coach Mike Tomlin becomes the longest tenured head coach in the four major North American sports.
Not only is this feat of being the longest-tenured coach in the four major sporting leagues in North America a remarkable achievement in itself, but when we add to that the fact that Tomlin does not have a single losing season with the Steelers, it makes this record all the more special. It goes to show just how well he has been able to guide his teams consistently while achieving success at the highest level.
Tomlin’s first foray into the coaching world was back in 1995 when he was appointed the wide receivers’ coach for the Virginia Military Institute’s Football team. In 2001, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers gave him his first job in the NFL as the Defensive backs coach, a position he held till 2005. He then became the Defensive coordinator for the Minnesota Vikings in 2006 for just the sole season.
In 2007, Tomlin took over the head coaching duties in Pittsburgh, and since then, he has managed to grind through 19 seasons at .500 or higher. Along the way, the 53-year-old also guided the Steelers to their sixth Lombardi Trophy with a win over the Arizona Cardinals in Super Bowl XLIII.
Read More: NFL Defensive Coordinator Salary – How Much Do Defensive Coordinators Make in the NFL?
Judging by the way Tomlin has been able to maintain his streak of 19 winning seasons, the Virginia native looks set for many more years at the helm of the Steel City team. Having said that, the challenge for Tomlin now remains solving the issue under center.
Having let both Justin Fields and Russell Wilson leave after just one season, the Steelers are still hopeful that former Jets quarterback Aaron Rodgers signs with them. However, if and until that happens, Pittsburgh will head into the upcoming season with either Mason Rudolph, rookie Will Howard, or Skylar Thompson as their starting quarterback.
The Steelers haven’t had a deep playoff run since the 2016 season, when they lost to the New England Patriots in the AFC Championship game. A prominent defense and a strong, defensive-minded coach are already in place, but it is their offense that needs to step up, and it all begins under center.
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