Steelers stick with Tomlin

Written by:
Payton
Published on:
Jul/28/2015
Steelers stick with Tomlin

The Pittsburgh Steelers have a history of hanging onto their head coaches and that tradition looks set to continue as Mike Tomlin agreed a new two-year contract extension, making him one of the NFL's best paid coaches. On the back of his eighth season as the Steelers head coach, Tomlin will now stay in Pittsburgh until 2018, at the earliest, having agreed an extension to his current deal that will see him earn $7 million a year. In his time with the Steelers, Tomlin has guided the franchise to four AFC North titles, five playoff appearances and one Super Bowl triumph, racking up an 82-46 record - the best any Pittsburgh coach has managed during their first eight years.

Tomlin is currently the sixth-longest serving head coach in the NFL, with only Bill Belichick, Marvin Lewis, Tom Coughlin, Mike McCarthy and Sean Payton having spent longer in their positions. For a franchise that has only had three head coaches since 1969 - with Chuck Noll and Bill Cowher coming before him - Tomlin's remarkable record has allowed Pittsburgh to continue the consistency in leadership that has always been key to their success over the years.

 

 

 

 

After guiding the franchise to the Super Bowl in 2008, Tomlin was named Coach of the Year. While the Steelers haven't managed to repeat that triumph in the six seasons since, Pittsburgh are yet to finish with a losing record under the 43-year-old. With the new season edging closer, Tomlin is preparing for a year in which his team have proven to be very popular with those betting on NFL. Having snapped up Bud Dupree in the first round of the Draft and Sammie Coates in the third, the Steelers will be happy with how the offseason has gone in terms of the Draft and other player recruitment. 

The defeat to bitter rivals Baltimore at the end of last season will have given Tomlin's squad a huge slice of added motivation going into the new campaign. The franchise might not have been the busiest of teams in the NFL this summer, but the business they have done has gone down well. While Jason Worilds, Ike Taylor and Troy Polamalu all retired, wide receiver Lance Moore was given his marching orders following a dismal 2014. In terms of signings, Pittsburgh added receiver Darrius Heyward-Bey, line-backer James Harrison and running back DeAngelo Williams, re-signing Cameron Heyward and quarterback Ben Roethlisberger to new long-term contracts.


While some might feel the Ravens are still the strongest team in the AFC North, there will be plenty of Pittsburgh fans who will be quietly confident that they have a roster capable of gaining revenge for last season's playoff defeat to Baltimore, and with the likes of Antonio Brown on the field, the Steelers know they have the ability to beat any team in the league on their given day. Tomlin will again have his work cut out this year, but the Steelers head coach has shown time and again that he knows how to get the best out of this Pittsburgh team.

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