Mike Tomlin tabbed among best NFL head coaches

PITTSBURGH — This article originally appeared on SteelersNOW.com.

Despite not winning a playoff game in eight years, Pittsburgh Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin is still considered among the best head coaches in the NFL. In Pro Football Focus’ annual rankings, Tomlin came in as the fifth-best head coach in the NFL, behind only John Harbaugh, Sean McVay, Sean Payton and Andy Reid.

“Despite recent criticism about a lack of playoff success, Mike Tomlin still finds a way to squeeze every ounce of execution out of his teams. He still has yet to go through a losing campaign across 18 seasons as Pittsburgh’s head coach, though there have certainly been close calls. Making the postseason in 2024 despite a turbulent quarterback situation is an impressive feat,” Dalton Wasserman of PFF wrote.

“The Steelers’ identity, though, is their defense, which played at an elite level once again in 2024. They ranked fourth in PFF defensive grade and first in PFF pass-rush grade, led by future Hall of Famers T.J. Watt and Cameron Heyward. They could use the occasional spurt of offense, though, as they went 8-0 when allowing 18 points or fewer and 2-8 when they allowed 19 or more.”

The Steelers averaged just 18.1 points per game in 2022, 17.9 in 2023, and 21.9 in 2024, ranking 26th, 28th, and 20th. They’ve struggled mightily to find a long-term answer at quarterback following Ben Roethlisberger’s retirement in the 2022 offseason.

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