Editing (section) Mike Tomlin 0 You are not logged in. The rich text editor does not work with JavaScript switched off. Please either enable it in your browser options, or visit your preferences to switch to the old MediaWiki editor <h3>National Football League</h3> <p data-rte-fromparser="true" data-rte-filler="true"></p><h4 data-rte-empty-lines-before="1">Assistant coach</h4> <p data-rte-fromparser="true" data-rte-empty-lines-before="1">Tomlin was hired as the defensive backs coach for the <a data-rte-meta="%7B%22type%22%3A%22internal%22%2C%22text%22%3A%22Tampa%20Bay%20Buccaneers%22%2C%22link%22%3A%22Tampa%20Bay%20Buccaneers%22%2C%22wasblank%22%3Atrue%2C%22noforce%22%3Atrue%2C%22wikitext%22%3A%22%5B%5BTampa%20Bay%20Buccaneers%5D%5D%22%7D" data-rte-instance="24816-8073319985df6c0e66eb64" href="/wiki/Tampa_Bay_Buccaneers" title="Tampa Bay Buccaneers">Tampa Bay Buccaneers</a> in 2001, where he first learned the <a data-rte-meta="%7B%22type%22%3A%22internal%22%2C%22text%22%3A%22Tampa%202%22%2C%22link%22%3A%22Tampa%202%22%2C%22wasblank%22%3Atrue%2C%22noforce%22%3Atrue%2C%22wikitext%22%3A%22%5B%5BTampa%202%5D%5D%22%7D" data-rte-instance="24816-8073319985df6c0e66eb64" href="/wiki/Tampa_2" title="Tampa 2">Tampa 2</a> defense that he would use in later coaching jobs.<span data-rte-instance="24816-8073319985df6c0e66eb64" data-rte-meta="%7B%22type%22%3A%22ext%22%2C%22wikitext%22%3A%22%3Cref%3E%7B%7Bcite%20news%20%7Cfirst%3DMichael%20%7Clast%3DSmith%20%7Cauthorlink%3D%20%7Ccoauthors%3D%20%7Ctitle%3D%27Simple%27%20scheme%20nets%20big%20gains%20for%20trio%20of%20defenses%20%7Curl%3Dhttp%3A%5C%2F%5C%2Fsports.espn.go.com%5C%2Fnfl%5C%2Fnews%5C%2Fstory%3Fid%3D2271514%20%7Cwork%3D%5B%5BESPN.com%5D%5D%20%7Cpublisher%3D%20%7Cdate%3D2005-12-28%20%7Caccessdate%3D%20%7D%7D%3C%5C%2Fref%3E%22%2C%22lineStart%22%3A%22%22%2C%22placeholder%22%3A1%2C%22extName%22%3A%22ref%22%7D" class="placeholder placeholder-ext" contenteditable="false"><sup data-rte-washtml="1" id="cite_ref-0" class="reference" data-rte-attribs=" id=cite_ref-0 class=reference"><a 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data-rte-instance="24816-8073319985df6c0e66eb64" href="#cite_note-0"><span data-rte-instance="24816-8073319985df6c0e66eb64" data-rte-meta="%7B%22type%22%3A%22ext%22%2C%22wikitext%22%3A%22%3Cnowiki%3E%5B%3C%5C%2Fnowiki%3E%22%2C%22lineStart%22%3A%22%22%2C%22placeholder%22%3A1%2C%22extName%22%3A%22nowiki%22%7D" class="placeholder placeholder-ext" contenteditable="false">[​</span>1<span data-rte-instance="24816-8073319985df6c0e66eb64" data-rte-meta="%7B%22type%22%3A%22ext%22%2C%22wikitext%22%3A%22%3Cnowiki%3E%5D%3C%5C%2Fnowiki%3E%22%2C%22lineStart%22%3A%22%22%2C%22placeholder%22%3A1%2C%22extName%22%3A%22nowiki%22%7D" class="placeholder placeholder-ext" contenteditable="false">]​</span></a></sup>​</span> </p><p data-rte-fromparser="true" data-rte-empty-lines-before="1">In <a data-rte-meta="%7B%22type%22%3A%22internal%22%2C%22text%22%3A%222002%22%2C%22link%22%3A%222002%20NFL%20season%22%2C%22wasblank%22%3Afalse%2C%22noforce%22%3Atrue%2C%22wikitext%22%3A%22%5B%5B2002%20NFL%20season%7C2002%5D%5D%22%7D" data-rte-instance="24816-8073319985df6c0e66eb64" href="/wiki/2002_NFL_season" title="2002 NFL season">2002</a> and <a data-rte-meta="%7B%22type%22%3A%22internal%22%2C%22text%22%3A%222005%22%2C%22link%22%3A%222005%20NFL%20season%22%2C%22wasblank%22%3Afalse%2C%22noforce%22%3Atrue%2C%22wikitext%22%3A%22%5B%5B2005%20NFL%20season%7C2005%5D%5D%22%7D" data-rte-instance="24816-8073319985df6c0e66eb64" href="/wiki/2005_NFL_season" title="2005 NFL season">2005</a>, the Buccaneers led the NFL in total defense (fewest yards allowed per game)—during Tomlin's tenure, the defense never ranked worse than sixth overall. When the Buccaneers won <a data-rte-meta="%7B%22type%22%3A%22internal%22%2C%22text%22%3A%22Super%20Bowl%20XXXVII%22%2C%22link%22%3A%22Super%20Bowl%20XXXVII%22%2C%22wasblank%22%3Atrue%2C%22noforce%22%3Atrue%2C%22wikitext%22%3A%22%5B%5BSuper%20Bowl%20XXXVII%5D%5D%22%7D" data-rte-instance="24816-8073319985df6c0e66eb64" href="/wiki/Super_Bowl_XXXVII" title="Super Bowl XXXVII">Super Bowl XXXVII</a> in January 2003, the team recorded five interceptions, three of which were returned for touchdowns. </p><p data-rte-fromparser="true" data-rte-empty-lines-before="1">Tomlin was selected by Vikings' head coach <a data-rte-meta="%7B%22type%22%3A%22internal%22%2C%22text%22%3A%22Brad%20Childress%22%2C%22link%22%3A%22Brad%20Childress%22%2C%22wasblank%22%3Atrue%2C%22noforce%22%3Atrue%2C%22wikitext%22%3A%22%5B%5BBrad%20Childress%5D%5D%22%7D" data-rte-instance="24816-8073319985df6c0e66eb64" href="/wiki/Brad_Childress" title="Brad Childress">Brad Childress</a> to be his defensive coordinator in 2006.<span data-rte-instance="24816-8073319985df6c0e66eb64" data-rte-meta="%7B%22type%22%3A%22ext%22%2C%22wikitext%22%3A%22%3Cref%3E%7B%7Bcite%20news%20%7Cfirst%3D%20Jon%7Clast%3D%20Krawczynski%7Cauthorlink%3D%20Associated%20Press%7Ctitle%3D%20Steelers%20coach%20Tomlin%20made%20strong%20impression%20in%20MN%7Curl%3D%20http%3A%5C%2F%5C%2Fsports.yahoo.com%5C%2Fnfl%5C%2Fnews%3Fslug%3Dap-tomlinsreturn%26prov%3Dap%26type%3Dlgns%7Cpublisher%3D%20%5B%5BYahoo%21%20Sports%5D%5D%7Cdate%3D%202008-08-22%7Caccessdate%3D2008-08-23%7D%7D%3C%5C%2Fref%3E%22%2C%22lineStart%22%3A%22%22%2C%22placeholder%22%3A1%2C%22extName%22%3A%22ref%22%7D" class="placeholder placeholder-ext" contenteditable="false"><sup data-rte-washtml="1" id="cite_ref-1" class="reference" data-rte-attribs=" id=cite_ref-1 class=reference"><a 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data-rte-instance="24816-8073319985df6c0e66eb64" href="#cite_note-1"><span data-rte-instance="24816-8073319985df6c0e66eb64" data-rte-meta="%7B%22type%22%3A%22ext%22%2C%22wikitext%22%3A%22%3Cnowiki%3E%5B%3C%5C%2Fnowiki%3E%22%2C%22lineStart%22%3A%22%22%2C%22placeholder%22%3A1%2C%22extName%22%3A%22nowiki%22%7D" class="placeholder placeholder-ext" contenteditable="false">[​</span>2<span data-rte-instance="24816-8073319985df6c0e66eb64" data-rte-meta="%7B%22type%22%3A%22ext%22%2C%22wikitext%22%3A%22%3Cnowiki%3E%5D%3C%5C%2Fnowiki%3E%22%2C%22lineStart%22%3A%22%22%2C%22placeholder%22%3A1%2C%22extName%22%3A%22nowiki%22%7D" class="placeholder placeholder-ext" contenteditable="false">]​</span></a></sup>​</span><span data-rte-instance="24816-8073319985df6c0e66eb64" data-rte-meta="%7B%22type%22%3A%22ext%22%2C%22wikitext%22%3A%22%3Cref%3E%7B%7Bcite%20news%20%7Cfirst%3D%20John%7Clast%3D%20Harris%7Ctitle%3D%20Steelers%20coach%2C%20Vikings%20safety%20share%20history%7Curl%3D%20http%3A%5C%2F%5C%2Fwww.pittsburghlive.com%5C%2Fx%5C%2Fpittsburghtrib%5C%2Fsports%5C%2Fsteelers%5C%2Fs_584500.html%3Fsource%3Drss%26feed%3D3%7Cpublisher%3D%20%5B%5BPittsburgh%20Post-Gazette%5D%5D%7Cdate%3D%202008-08-23%7Caccessdate%3D2008-08-23%7D%7D%3C%5C%2Fref%3E%22%2C%22lineStart%22%3A%22%22%2C%22placeholder%22%3A1%2C%22extName%22%3A%22ref%22%7D" class="placeholder placeholder-ext" contenteditable="false"><sup data-rte-washtml="1" id="cite_ref-2" class="reference" data-rte-attribs=" id=cite_ref-2 class=reference"><a 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data-rte-instance="24816-8073319985df6c0e66eb64" href="#cite_note-2"><span data-rte-instance="24816-8073319985df6c0e66eb64" data-rte-meta="%7B%22type%22%3A%22ext%22%2C%22wikitext%22%3A%22%3Cnowiki%3E%5B%3C%5C%2Fnowiki%3E%22%2C%22lineStart%22%3A%22%22%2C%22placeholder%22%3A1%2C%22extName%22%3A%22nowiki%22%7D" class="placeholder placeholder-ext" contenteditable="false">[​</span>3<span data-rte-instance="24816-8073319985df6c0e66eb64" data-rte-meta="%7B%22type%22%3A%22ext%22%2C%22wikitext%22%3A%22%3Cnowiki%3E%5D%3C%5C%2Fnowiki%3E%22%2C%22lineStart%22%3A%22%22%2C%22placeholder%22%3A1%2C%22extName%22%3A%22nowiki%22%7D" class="placeholder placeholder-ext" contenteditable="false">]​</span></a></sup>​</span> Two of the players on the Vikings were older than Tomlin, and Tomlin had been a teammate of Vikings' safety <a data-rte-meta="%7B%22type%22%3A%22internal%22%2C%22text%22%3A%22Darren%20Sharper%22%2C%22link%22%3A%22Darren%20Sharper%22%2C%22wasblank%22%3Atrue%2C%22noforce%22%3Atrue%2C%22wikitext%22%3A%22%5B%5BDarren%20Sharper%5D%5D%22%7D" data-rte-instance="24816-8073319985df6c0e66eb64" href="/wiki/Darren_Sharper" title="Darren Sharper">Darren Sharper</a> at William and Mary. The 2006 Vikings finished with the NFL's eighth-best overall defense, but had the unusual distinction of finishing as the top-ranked defense against the run,<span data-rte-instance="24816-8073319985df6c0e66eb64" data-rte-meta="%7B%22type%22%3A%22ext%22%2C%22wikitext%22%3A%22%3Cref%3E%7B%7Bcite%20web%20%7C%20url%3Dhttp%3A%5C%2F%5C%2Fwww.nfl.com%5C%2Fstats%5C%2Fteamsort%5C%2FNFL%5C%2FDEF-RUSHING%5C%2F2006%5C%2Fregular%20%7C%20title%3D2006%20regular%20season%20defensive%20rushing%20stats%20%7C%20work%3DNFL.com%20%7C%20accessdate%3D2007-01-22%20%7Carchiveurl%20%3D%20http%3A%5C%2F%5C%2Fweb.archive.org%5C%2Fweb%5C%2F20070119124756%5C%2Fhttp%3A%5C%2F%5C%2Fwww.nfl.com%5C%2Fstats%5C%2Fteamsort%5C%2FNFL%5C%2FDEF-RUSHING%5C%2F2006%5C%2Fregular%20%3C%21--%20Bot%20retrieved%20archive%20--%3E%20%7Carchivedate%20%3D%202007-01-19%7D%7D%3C%5C%2Fref%3E%22%2C%22lineStart%22%3A%22%22%2C%22placeholder%22%3A1%2C%22extName%22%3A%22ref%22%7D" class="placeholder placeholder-ext" contenteditable="false"><sup 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data-rte-meta="%7B%22type%22%3A%22internal%22%2C%22text%22%3A%22%3Cspan%20data-rte-instance%3D%5C%2224816-8073319985df6c0e66eb64%5C%22%20data-rte-meta%3D%5C%22%257B%2522type%2522%253A%2522ext%2522%252C%2522wikitext%2522%253A%2522%253Cnowiki%253E%255B%253C%255C%252Fnowiki%253E%2522%252C%2522lineStart%2522%253A%2522%2522%252C%2522placeholder%2522%253A1%252C%2522extName%2522%253A%2522nowiki%2522%257D%5C%22%20class%3D%5C%22placeholder%20placeholder-ext%5C%22%20contenteditable%3D%5C%22false%5C%22%3E%7F%27%5C%22%60UNIQ5a2e0cf1918dd23-nowiki-0000000A-QINU%60%5C%22%27%7F%26%23x0200B%3B%3C%5C%2Fspan%3E4%3Cspan%20data-rte-instance%3D%5C%2224816-8073319985df6c0e66eb64%5C%22%20data-rte-meta%3D%5C%22%257B%2522type%2522%253A%2522ext%2522%252C%2522wikitext%2522%253A%2522%253Cnowiki%253E%255D%253C%255C%252Fnowiki%253E%2522%252C%2522lineStart%2522%253A%2522%2522%252C%2522placeholder%2522%253A1%252C%2522extName%2522%253A%2522nowiki%2522%257D%5C%22%20class%3D%5C%22placeholder%20placeholder-ext%5C%22%20contenteditable%3D%5C%22false%5C%22%3E%7F%27%5C%22%60UNIQ5a2e0cf1918dd23-nowiki-0000000B-QINU%60%5C%22%27%7F%26%23x0200B%3B%3C%5C%2Fspan%3E%22%2C%22link%22%3A%22%23cite_note-3%22%2C%22wasblank%22%3Afalse%2C%22noforce%22%3Atrue%2C%22wikitext%22%3A%22%5B%5B%23cite_note-3%7C%3Cext%20_rte_wikitextidx%3D%5C%2273%5C%22%3E%3Cname%3Enowiki%3C%5C%2Fname%3E%3Cattr%3E%3C%5C%2Fattr%3E%3Cinner%3E%5B%3C%5C%2Finner%3E%3Cclose%3E%3C%5C%2Fnowiki%3E%3C%5C%2Fclose%3E%3C%5C%2Fext%3E4%3Cext%20_rte_wikitextidx%3D%5C%2274%5C%22%3E%3Cname%3Enowiki%3C%5C%2Fname%3E%3Cattr%3E%3C%5C%2Fattr%3E%3Cinner%3E%5D%3C%5C%2Finner%3E%3Cclose%3E%3C%5C%2Fnowiki%3E%3C%5C%2Fclose%3E%3C%5C%2Fext%3E%5D%5D%22%7D" data-rte-instance="24816-8073319985df6c0e66eb64" href="#cite_note-3"><span data-rte-instance="24816-8073319985df6c0e66eb64" data-rte-meta="%7B%22type%22%3A%22ext%22%2C%22wikitext%22%3A%22%3Cnowiki%3E%5B%3C%5C%2Fnowiki%3E%22%2C%22lineStart%22%3A%22%22%2C%22placeholder%22%3A1%2C%22extName%22%3A%22nowiki%22%7D" class="placeholder placeholder-ext" contenteditable="false">[​</span>4<span data-rte-instance="24816-8073319985df6c0e66eb64" data-rte-meta="%7B%22type%22%3A%22ext%22%2C%22wikitext%22%3A%22%3Cnowiki%3E%5D%3C%5C%2Fnowiki%3E%22%2C%22lineStart%22%3A%22%22%2C%22placeholder%22%3A1%2C%22extName%22%3A%22nowiki%22%7D" class="placeholder placeholder-ext" contenteditable="false">]​</span></a></sup>​</span> and the worst-ranked defense against the pass.<span data-rte-instance="24816-8073319985df6c0e66eb64" data-rte-meta="%7B%22type%22%3A%22ext%22%2C%22wikitext%22%3A%22%3Cref%3E%7B%7Bcite%20web%20%7C%20url%3Dhttp%3A%5C%2F%5C%2Fwww.nfl.com%5C%2Fstats%5C%2Fteamsort%5C%2FNFL%5C%2FDEF-PASSING%5C%2F2006%5C%2Fregular%20%7C%20title%3D2006%20regular%20season%20defensive%20passing%20stats%20%7C%20work%3DNFL.com%20%7C%20accessdate%3D2007-01-22%20%7Carchiveurl%20%3D%20http%3A%5C%2F%5C%2Fweb.archive.org%5C%2Fweb%5C%2F20070119124732%5C%2Fhttp%3A%5C%2F%5C%2Fwww.nfl.com%5C%2Fstats%5C%2Fteamsort%5C%2FNFL%5C%2FDEF-PASSING%5C%2F2006%5C%2Fregular%20%3C%21--%20Bot%20retrieved%20archive%20--%3E%20%7Carchivedate%20%3D%202007-01-19%7D%7D%3C%5C%2Fref%3E%22%2C%22lineStart%22%3A%22%22%2C%22placeholder%22%3A1%2C%22extName%22%3A%22ref%22%7D" class="placeholder placeholder-ext" contenteditable="false"><sup data-rte-washtml="1" id="cite_ref-4" class="reference" data-rte-attribs=" id=cite_ref-4 class=reference"><a data-rte-meta="%7B%22type%22%3A%22internal%22%2C%22text%22%3A%22%3Cspan%20data-rte-instance%3D%5C%2224816-8073319985df6c0e66eb64%5C%22%20data-rte-meta%3D%5C%22%257B%2522type%2522%253A%2522ext%2522%252C%2522wikitext%2522%253A%2522%253Cnowiki%253E%255B%253C%255C%252Fnowiki%253E%2522%252C%2522lineStart%2522%253A%2522%2522%252C%2522placeholder%2522%253A1%252C%2522extName%2522%253A%2522nowiki%2522%257D%5C%22%20class%3D%5C%22placeholder%20placeholder-ext%5C%22%20contenteditable%3D%5C%22false%5C%22%3E%7F%27%5C%22%60UNIQ5a2e0cf1918dd23-nowiki-0000000D-QINU%60%5C%22%27%7F%26%23x0200B%3B%3C%5C%2Fspan%3E5%3Cspan%20data-rte-instance%3D%5C%2224816-8073319985df6c0e66eb64%5C%22%20data-rte-meta%3D%5C%22%257B%2522type%2522%253A%2522ext%2522%252C%2522wikitext%2522%253A%2522%253Cnowiki%253E%255D%253C%255C%252Fnowiki%253E%2522%252C%2522lineStart%2522%253A%2522%2522%252C%2522placeholder%2522%253A1%252C%2522extName%2522%253A%2522nowiki%2522%257D%5C%22%20class%3D%5C%22placeholder%20placeholder-ext%5C%22%20contenteditable%3D%5C%22false%5C%22%3E%7F%27%5C%22%60UNIQ5a2e0cf1918dd23-nowiki-0000000E-QINU%60%5C%22%27%7F%26%23x0200B%3B%3C%5C%2Fspan%3E%22%2C%22link%22%3A%22%23cite_note-4%22%2C%22wasblank%22%3Afalse%2C%22noforce%22%3Atrue%2C%22wikitext%22%3A%22%5B%5B%23cite_note-4%7C%3Cext%20_rte_wikitextidx%3D%5C%2279%5C%22%3E%3Cname%3Enowiki%3C%5C%2Fname%3E%3Cattr%3E%3C%5C%2Fattr%3E%3Cinner%3E%5B%3C%5C%2Finner%3E%3Cclose%3E%3C%5C%2Fnowiki%3E%3C%5C%2Fclose%3E%3C%5C%2Fext%3E5%3Cext%20_rte_wikitextidx%3D%5C%2280%5C%22%3E%3Cname%3Enowiki%3C%5C%2Fname%3E%3Cattr%3E%3C%5C%2Fattr%3E%3Cinner%3E%5D%3C%5C%2Finner%3E%3Cclose%3E%3C%5C%2Fnowiki%3E%3C%5C%2Fclose%3E%3C%5C%2Fext%3E%5D%5D%22%7D" data-rte-instance="24816-8073319985df6c0e66eb64" href="#cite_note-4"><span data-rte-instance="24816-8073319985df6c0e66eb64" data-rte-meta="%7B%22type%22%3A%22ext%22%2C%22wikitext%22%3A%22%3Cnowiki%3E%5B%3C%5C%2Fnowiki%3E%22%2C%22lineStart%22%3A%22%22%2C%22placeholder%22%3A1%2C%22extName%22%3A%22nowiki%22%7D" class="placeholder placeholder-ext" contenteditable="false">[​</span>5<span data-rte-instance="24816-8073319985df6c0e66eb64" data-rte-meta="%7B%22type%22%3A%22ext%22%2C%22wikitext%22%3A%22%3Cnowiki%3E%5D%3C%5C%2Fnowiki%3E%22%2C%22lineStart%22%3A%22%22%2C%22placeholder%22%3A1%2C%22extName%22%3A%22nowiki%22%7D" class="placeholder placeholder-ext" contenteditable="false">]​</span></a></sup>​</span> </p> <h4 data-rte-empty-lines-before="1">Head coach</h4> <p data-rte-fromparser="true" data-rte-empty-lines-before="1"><img data-rte-meta="%7B%22type%22%3A%22broken-image%22%2C%22title%22%3A%22First_Tomlin_in_Victory_Parade.jpg%22%2C%22placeholder%22%3A1%2C%22wikitext%22%3A%22%5B%5BFile%3AFirst%20Tomlin%20in%20Victory%20Parade.jpg%7Cleft%7C250px%7Cthumb%7CTomlin%20in%20the%20victory%20parade%20after%20winning%20%5B%5BSuper%20Bowl%20XLIII%5D%5D.%5D%5D%22%7D" data-rte-instance="24816-8073319985df6c0e66eb64" class="placeholder placeholder-broken-image" src="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIABAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAEALAAAAAABAAEAQAICTAEAOw%3D%3D" type="broken-image" /> <!-- RTE::{"spaces":0,"type":"LINE_BREAK"} -->Tomlin became the <a data-rte-meta="%7B%22type%22%3A%22internal%22%2C%22text%22%3A%22sixteenth%20Steelers%20head%20coach%22%2C%22link%22%3A%22List%20of%20Pittsburgh%20Steelers%20head%20coaches%22%2C%22wasblank%22%3Afalse%2C%22noforce%22%3Atrue%2C%22wikitext%22%3A%22%5B%5BList%20of%20Pittsburgh%20Steelers%20head%20coaches%7Csixteenth%20Steelers%20head%20coach%5D%5D%22%7D" data-rte-instance="24816-8073319985df6c0e66eb64" href="/wiki/List_of_Pittsburgh_Steelers_head_coaches" title="List of Pittsburgh Steelers head coaches">sixteenth Steelers head coach</a> on January 22, 2007, when he was hired to replace <a data-rte-meta="%7B%22type%22%3A%22internal%22%2C%22text%22%3A%22Bill%20Cowher%22%2C%22link%22%3A%22Bill%20Cowher%22%2C%22wasblank%22%3Atrue%2C%22noforce%22%3Atrue%2C%22wikitext%22%3A%22%5B%5BBill%20Cowher%5D%5D%22%7D" data-rte-instance="24816-8073319985df6c0e66eb64" href="/wiki/Bill_Cowher" title="Bill Cowher">Bill Cowher</a>, who resigned after spending 15 years with the team. Tomlin had also interviewed for the head coaching vacancy with the <a data-rte-meta="%7B%22type%22%3A%22internal%22%2C%22text%22%3A%22Miami%20Dolphins%22%2C%22link%22%3A%22Miami%20Dolphins%22%2C%22wasblank%22%3Atrue%2C%22noforce%22%3Atrue%2C%22wikitext%22%3A%22%5B%5BMiami%20Dolphins%5D%5D%22%7D" data-rte-instance="24816-8073319985df6c0e66eb64" href="/wiki/Miami_Dolphins" title="Miami Dolphins">Miami Dolphins</a>, which eventually was given to <a data-rte-meta="%7B%22type%22%3A%22internal%22%2C%22text%22%3A%22Cam%20Cameron%22%2C%22link%22%3A%22Cam%20Cameron%22%2C%22wasblank%22%3Atrue%2C%22noforce%22%3Atrue%2C%22wikitext%22%3A%22%5B%5BCam%20Cameron%5D%5D%22%7D" data-rte-instance="24816-8073319985df6c0e66eb64" href="/wiki/Cam_Cameron" title="Cam Cameron">Cam Cameron</a>. </p><p data-rte-fromparser="true" data-rte-empty-lines-before="1">With Tomlin, the Steelers continued a trend of hiring head coaches in their 30s. The others were Cowher (age 34 in 1992), <a data-rte-meta="%7B%22type%22%3A%22internal%22%2C%22text%22%3A%22Chuck%20Noll%22%2C%22link%22%3A%22Chuck%20Noll%22%2C%22wasblank%22%3Atrue%2C%22noforce%22%3Atrue%2C%22wikitext%22%3A%22%5B%5BChuck%20Noll%5D%5D%22%7D" data-rte-instance="24816-8073319985df6c0e66eb64" href="/wiki/Chuck_Noll" title="Chuck Noll">Chuck Noll</a> (38 in 1969), <a data-rte-meta="%7B%22type%22%3A%22internal%22%2C%22text%22%3A%22Bill%20Austin%22%2C%22link%22%3A%22Bill%20Austin%22%2C%22wasblank%22%3Atrue%2C%22noforce%22%3Atrue%2C%22wikitext%22%3A%22%5B%5BBill%20Austin%5D%5D%22%7D" data-rte-instance="24816-8073319985df6c0e66eb64" href="/wiki/Bill_Austin" title="Bill Austin">Bill Austin</a> (38 in 1966), <a data-rte-meta="%7B%22type%22%3A%22internal%22%2C%22text%22%3A%22John%20Michelosen%22%2C%22link%22%3A%22John%20Michelosen%22%2C%22wasblank%22%3Atrue%2C%22noforce%22%3Atrue%2C%22wikitext%22%3A%22%5B%5BJohn%20Michelosen%5D%5D%22%7D" data-rte-instance="24816-8073319985df6c0e66eb64" href="/wiki/John_Michelosen" title="John Michelosen">John Michelosen</a> (32 in 1948), <a data-rte-meta="%7B%22type%22%3A%22internal%22%2C%22text%22%3A%22Jim%20Leonard%22%2C%22link%22%3A%22Jim%20Leonard%22%2C%22wasblank%22%3Atrue%2C%22noforce%22%3Atrue%2C%22wikitext%22%3A%22%5B%5BJim%20Leonard%5D%5D%22%7D" data-rte-instance="24816-8073319985df6c0e66eb64" href="/wiki/Jim_Leonard" title="Jim Leonard">Jim Leonard</a> (35 in 1945), <a data-rte-meta="%7B%22type%22%3A%22internal%22%2C%22text%22%3A%22Aldo%20Donelli%22%2C%22link%22%3A%22Aldo%20Donelli%22%2C%22wasblank%22%3Atrue%2C%22noforce%22%3Atrue%2C%22wikitext%22%3A%22%5B%5BAldo%20Donelli%5D%5D%22%7D" data-rte-instance="24816-8073319985df6c0e66eb64" href="/wiki/Aldo_Donelli" title="Aldo Donelli">Aldo Donelli</a> (33 in 1941) <a data-rte-meta="%7B%22type%22%3A%22internal%22%2C%22text%22%3A%22Walt%20Kiesling%22%2C%22link%22%3A%22Walt%20Kiesling%22%2C%22wasblank%22%3Atrue%2C%22noforce%22%3Atrue%2C%22wikitext%22%3A%22%5B%5BWalt%20Kiesling%5D%5D%22%7D" data-rte-instance="24816-8073319985df6c0e66eb64" href="/wiki/Walt_Kiesling" title="Walt Kiesling">Walt Kiesling</a> (35 in 1939), <a data-rte-meta="%7B%22type%22%3A%22internal%22%2C%22text%22%3A%22Johnny%20%5C%22Blood%5C%22%20McNally%22%2C%22link%22%3A%22John%20McNally%22%2C%22wasblank%22%3Afalse%2C%22noforce%22%3Atrue%2C%22wikitext%22%3A%22%5B%5BJohn%20McNally%7CJohnny%20%5C%22Blood%5C%22%20McNally%5D%5D%22%7D" data-rte-instance="24816-8073319985df6c0e66eb64" href="/wiki/John_McNally" title="John McNally">Johnny "Blood" McNally</a> (33 in 1937) and <a data-rte-meta="%7B%22type%22%3A%22internal%22%2C%22text%22%3A%22Joe%20Bach%22%2C%22link%22%3A%22Joe%20Bach%22%2C%22wasblank%22%3Atrue%2C%22noforce%22%3Atrue%2C%22wikitext%22%3A%22%5B%5BJoe%20Bach%5D%5D%22%7D" data-rte-instance="24816-8073319985df6c0e66eb64" href="/wiki/Joe_Bach" title="Joe Bach">Joe Bach</a> (36 in 1935). </p><p data-rte-fromparser="true" data-rte-empty-lines-before="1">Tomlin is the 10th <a data-rte-meta="%7B%22type%22%3A%22internal%22%2C%22text%22%3A%22African-American%22%2C%22link%22%3A%22African-American%22%2C%22wasblank%22%3Atrue%2C%22noforce%22%3Atrue%2C%22wikitext%22%3A%22%5B%5BAfrican-American%5D%5D%22%7D" data-rte-instance="24816-8073319985df6c0e66eb64" href="/wiki/African-American" title="African-American" class="mw-redirect">African-American</a> head coach in NFL history and the first in Steelers franchise history. Steelers owner <a data-rte-meta="%7B%22type%22%3A%22internal%22%2C%22text%22%3A%22Dan%20Rooney%22%2C%22link%22%3A%22Dan%20Rooney%22%2C%22wasblank%22%3Atrue%2C%22noforce%22%3Atrue%2C%22wikitext%22%3A%22%5B%5BDan%20Rooney%5D%5D%22%7D" data-rte-instance="24816-8073319985df6c0e66eb64" href="/wiki/Dan_Rooney" title="Dan Rooney">Dan Rooney</a> has served as the head of the NFL's diversity committee and proposed the <a data-rte-meta="%7B%22type%22%3A%22internal%22%2C%22text%22%3A%22Rooney%20Rule%22%2C%22link%22%3A%22Rooney%20Rule%22%2C%22wasblank%22%3Atrue%2C%22noforce%22%3Atrue%2C%22wikitext%22%3A%22%5B%5BRooney%20Rule%5D%5D%22%7D" data-rte-instance="24816-8073319985df6c0e66eb64" class="new" title="Rooney Rule (page does not exist)" rel="nofollow" data-uncrawlable-url="L3dpa2kvUm9vbmV5X1J1bGU/YWN0aW9uPWVkaXQmcmVkbGluaz0x">Rooney Rule</a>, requiring that teams interview minority candidates when selecting a head coach. Although Tomlin's ascension to an NFL head coaching job has been cited as evidence of the rule working as intended,<span data-rte-instance="24816-8073319985df6c0e66eb64" data-rte-meta="%7B%22type%22%3A%22ext%22%2C%22wikitext%22%3A%22%3Cref%3E%7B%7Bcite%20web%20%7C%20url%3Dhttp%3A%5C%2F%5C%2Fwww.pittsburghlive.com%5C%2Fx%5C%2Fpittsburghtrib%5C%2Fsports%5C%2Fsteelers%5C%2Fs_489701.html%20%7C%20title%3DTomlin%20proof%20NFL%27s%20Rooney%20Rule%20is%20working%20as%20intended%20%7C%20publisher%3D%27%27Pittsburgh%20Tribune-Review%27%27%20%7C%20accessdate%3D2007-09-15%7D%7D%3C%5C%2Fref%3E%22%2C%22lineStart%22%3A%22%22%2C%22placeholder%22%3A1%2C%22extName%22%3A%22ref%22%7D" class="placeholder placeholder-ext" contenteditable="false"><sup data-rte-washtml="1" id="cite_ref-5" class="reference" data-rte-attribs=" id=cite_ref-5 class=reference"><a data-rte-meta="%7B%22type%22%3A%22internal%22%2C%22text%22%3A%22%3Cspan%20data-rte-instance%3D%5C%2224816-8073319985df6c0e66eb64%5C%22%20data-rte-meta%3D%5C%22%257B%2522type%2522%253A%2522ext%2522%252C%2522wikitext%2522%253A%2522%253Cnowiki%253E%255B%253C%255C%252Fnowiki%253E%2522%252C%2522lineStart%2522%253A%2522%2522%252C%2522placeholder%2522%253A1%252C%2522extName%2522%253A%2522nowiki%2522%257D%5C%22%20class%3D%5C%22placeholder%20placeholder-ext%5C%22%20contenteditable%3D%5C%22false%5C%22%3E%7F%27%5C%22%60UNIQ5a2e0cf1918dd23-nowiki-00000010-QINU%60%5C%22%27%7F%26%23x0200B%3B%3C%5C%2Fspan%3E6%3Cspan%20data-rte-instance%3D%5C%2224816-8073319985df6c0e66eb64%5C%22%20data-rte-meta%3D%5C%22%257B%2522type%2522%253A%2522ext%2522%252C%2522wikitext%2522%253A%2522%253Cnowiki%253E%255D%253C%255C%252Fnowiki%253E%2522%252C%2522lineStart%2522%253A%2522%2522%252C%2522placeholder%2522%253A1%252C%2522extName%2522%253A%2522nowiki%2522%257D%5C%22%20class%3D%5C%22placeholder%20placeholder-ext%5C%22%20contenteditable%3D%5C%22false%5C%22%3E%7F%27%5C%22%60UNIQ5a2e0cf1918dd23-nowiki-00000011-QINU%60%5C%22%27%7F%26%23x0200B%3B%3C%5C%2Fspan%3E%22%2C%22link%22%3A%22%23cite_note-5%22%2C%22wasblank%22%3Afalse%2C%22noforce%22%3Atrue%2C%22wikitext%22%3A%22%5B%5B%23cite_note-5%7C%3Cext%20_rte_wikitextidx%3D%5C%2285%5C%22%3E%3Cname%3Enowiki%3C%5C%2Fname%3E%3Cattr%3E%3C%5C%2Fattr%3E%3Cinner%3E%5B%3C%5C%2Finner%3E%3Cclose%3E%3C%5C%2Fnowiki%3E%3C%5C%2Fclose%3E%3C%5C%2Fext%3E6%3Cext%20_rte_wikitextidx%3D%5C%2286%5C%22%3E%3Cname%3Enowiki%3C%5C%2Fname%3E%3Cattr%3E%3C%5C%2Fattr%3E%3Cinner%3E%5D%3C%5C%2Finner%3E%3Cclose%3E%3C%5C%2Fnowiki%3E%3C%5C%2Fclose%3E%3C%5C%2Fext%3E%5D%5D%22%7D" data-rte-instance="24816-8073319985df6c0e66eb64" href="#cite_note-5"><span data-rte-instance="24816-8073319985df6c0e66eb64" data-rte-meta="%7B%22type%22%3A%22ext%22%2C%22wikitext%22%3A%22%3Cnowiki%3E%5B%3C%5C%2Fnowiki%3E%22%2C%22lineStart%22%3A%22%22%2C%22placeholder%22%3A1%2C%22extName%22%3A%22nowiki%22%7D" class="placeholder placeholder-ext" contenteditable="false">[​</span>6<span data-rte-instance="24816-8073319985df6c0e66eb64" data-rte-meta="%7B%22type%22%3A%22ext%22%2C%22wikitext%22%3A%22%3Cnowiki%3E%5D%3C%5C%2Fnowiki%3E%22%2C%22lineStart%22%3A%22%22%2C%22placeholder%22%3A1%2C%22extName%22%3A%22nowiki%22%7D" class="placeholder placeholder-ext" contenteditable="false">]​</span></a></sup>​</span> Rooney himself disputes this, as he had already interviewed a minority candidate prior to interviewing Tomlin.<span data-rte-instance="24816-8073319985df6c0e66eb64" data-rte-meta="%7B%22type%22%3A%22ext%22%2C%22wikitext%22%3A%22%3Cref%3E%7B%7Bcite%20news%7C%20url%3Dhttp%3A%5C%2F%5C%2Fobama.wsj.com%5C%2Fquote%5C%2F00C19ougZs3uV%3Fq%3DMike%2BTomlin%23%20%7C%20work%3DThe%20Wall%20Street%20Journal%7D%7D%3C%5C%2Fref%3E%22%2C%22lineStart%22%3A%22%22%2C%22placeholder%22%3A1%2C%22extName%22%3A%22ref%22%7D" class="placeholder placeholder-ext" contenteditable="false"><sup data-rte-washtml="1" id="cite_ref-6" class="reference" data-rte-attribs=" id=cite_ref-6 class=reference"><a data-rte-meta="%7B%22type%22%3A%22internal%22%2C%22text%22%3A%22%3Cspan%20data-rte-instance%3D%5C%2224816-8073319985df6c0e66eb64%5C%22%20data-rte-meta%3D%5C%22%257B%2522type%2522%253A%2522ext%2522%252C%2522wikitext%2522%253A%2522%253Cnowiki%253E%255B%253C%255C%252Fnowiki%253E%2522%252C%2522lineStart%2522%253A%2522%2522%252C%2522placeholder%2522%253A1%252C%2522extName%2522%253A%2522nowiki%2522%257D%5C%22%20class%3D%5C%22placeholder%20placeholder-ext%5C%22%20contenteditable%3D%5C%22false%5C%22%3E%7F%27%5C%22%60UNIQ5a2e0cf1918dd23-nowiki-00000013-QINU%60%5C%22%27%7F%26%23x0200B%3B%3C%5C%2Fspan%3E7%3Cspan%20data-rte-instance%3D%5C%2224816-8073319985df6c0e66eb64%5C%22%20data-rte-meta%3D%5C%22%257B%2522type%2522%253A%2522ext%2522%252C%2522wikitext%2522%253A%2522%253Cnowiki%253E%255D%253C%255C%252Fnowiki%253E%2522%252C%2522lineStart%2522%253A%2522%2522%252C%2522placeholder%2522%253A1%252C%2522extName%2522%253A%2522nowiki%2522%257D%5C%22%20class%3D%5C%22placeholder%20placeholder-ext%5C%22%20contenteditable%3D%5C%22false%5C%22%3E%7F%27%5C%22%60UNIQ5a2e0cf1918dd23-nowiki-00000014-QINU%60%5C%22%27%7F%26%23x0200B%3B%3C%5C%2Fspan%3E%22%2C%22link%22%3A%22%23cite_note-6%22%2C%22wasblank%22%3Afalse%2C%22noforce%22%3Atrue%2C%22wikitext%22%3A%22%5B%5B%23cite_note-6%7C%3Cext%20_rte_wikitextidx%3D%5C%2291%5C%22%3E%3Cname%3Enowiki%3C%5C%2Fname%3E%3Cattr%3E%3C%5C%2Fattr%3E%3Cinner%3E%5B%3C%5C%2Finner%3E%3Cclose%3E%3C%5C%2Fnowiki%3E%3C%5C%2Fclose%3E%3C%5C%2Fext%3E7%3Cext%20_rte_wikitextidx%3D%5C%2292%5C%22%3E%3Cname%3Enowiki%3C%5C%2Fname%3E%3Cattr%3E%3C%5C%2Fattr%3E%3Cinner%3E%5D%3C%5C%2Finner%3E%3Cclose%3E%3C%5C%2Fnowiki%3E%3C%5C%2Fclose%3E%3C%5C%2Fext%3E%5D%5D%22%7D" data-rte-instance="24816-8073319985df6c0e66eb64" href="#cite_note-6"><span data-rte-instance="24816-8073319985df6c0e66eb64" data-rte-meta="%7B%22type%22%3A%22ext%22%2C%22wikitext%22%3A%22%3Cnowiki%3E%5B%3C%5C%2Fnowiki%3E%22%2C%22lineStart%22%3A%22%22%2C%22placeholder%22%3A1%2C%22extName%22%3A%22nowiki%22%7D" class="placeholder placeholder-ext" contenteditable="false">[​</span>7<span data-rte-instance="24816-8073319985df6c0e66eb64" data-rte-meta="%7B%22type%22%3A%22ext%22%2C%22wikitext%22%3A%22%3Cnowiki%3E%5D%3C%5C%2Fnowiki%3E%22%2C%22lineStart%22%3A%22%22%2C%22placeholder%22%3A1%2C%22extName%22%3A%22nowiki%22%7D" class="placeholder placeholder-ext" contenteditable="false">]​</span></a></sup>​</span><span data-rte-instance="24816-8073319985df6c0e66eb64" data-rte-meta="%7B%22type%22%3A%22ext%22%2C%22wikitext%22%3A%22%3Cref%3ENewsday%2C%20February%201%2C%202009%5Cn%5Bhttp%3A%5C%2F%5C%2Fpqasb.pqarchiver.com%5C%2Fnewsday%5C%2Faccess%5C%2F1636333731.html%3Fdids%3D1636333731%3A1636333731%26FMT%3DABS%26FMTS%3DABS%3AFT%26date%3DFeb%2B1%252C%2B2009%26author%3DERIK%2BBOLAND%26pub%3DNewsday%26edition%3D%26startpage%3DA.84%26desc%3DHe%2527s%2Bearned%2Brespect%2BTomlin%2Badapts%2Bwell%2Bto%2Bplayers%2Bbut%2Bleaves%2Bno%2Bdoubt%2Bwho%2527s%2Bin%2Bcharge%20Tomlin%20adapts%20well%20to%20players%20but%20leaves%20no%20doubt%20who%27s%20in%20charge%5D%5Cn%20%3Cblockquote%3E%5CnThe%20Rooney%20Rule%20dictates%20that%20for%20all%20head-coaching%20openings%2C%20each%20team%20must%20interview%20at%20least%20one%20minority%20candidate.%20But%20here%27s%20what%27s%20interesting%3A%20The%20coach%20who%20might%20be%20the%20Rooney%20Rule%27s%20greatest%20advertisement%20didn%27t%20benefit%20from%20it.%5Cn%5Cn%5C%22Let%20me%20say%20this%3A%20Mike%20Tomlin%20was%20not%20part%20of%20the%20Rooney%20Rule%2C%5C%22%20Rooney%20said.%20%5C%22We%20had%20already%20interviewed%20Ron%20Rivera%20%5Bthen%20the%20Bears%27%20defensive%20coordinator%5D%2C%20and%20so%20that%20fulfilled%20the%20obligation%2C%5C%22%20Rooney%20said.%20%5C%22We%20went%20on%2C%20had%20heard%20about%20Mike%2C%20called%20him%20in%20and%20talked%20to%20him.%20He%20was%20very%20impressive.%5C%22%5Cn%3C%5C%2Fblockquote%3E%3C%5C%2Fref%3E%22%2C%22lineStart%22%3A%22%22%2C%22placeholder%22%3A1%2C%22extName%22%3A%22ref%22%7D" class="placeholder placeholder-ext" contenteditable="false"><sup data-rte-washtml="1" id="cite_ref-7" class="reference" data-rte-attribs=" id=cite_ref-7 class=reference"><a data-rte-meta="%7B%22type%22%3A%22internal%22%2C%22text%22%3A%22%3Cspan%20data-rte-instance%3D%5C%2224816-8073319985df6c0e66eb64%5C%22%20data-rte-meta%3D%5C%22%257B%2522type%2522%253A%2522ext%2522%252C%2522wikitext%2522%253A%2522%253Cnowiki%253E%255B%253C%255C%252Fnowiki%253E%2522%252C%2522lineStart%2522%253A%2522%2522%252C%2522placeholder%2522%253A1%252C%2522extName%2522%253A%2522nowiki%2522%257D%5C%22%20class%3D%5C%22placeholder%20placeholder-ext%5C%22%20contenteditable%3D%5C%22false%5C%22%3E%7F%27%5C%22%60UNIQ5a2e0cf1918dd23-nowiki-00000016-QINU%60%5C%22%27%7F%26%23x0200B%3B%3C%5C%2Fspan%3E8%3Cspan%20data-rte-instance%3D%5C%2224816-8073319985df6c0e66eb64%5C%22%20data-rte-meta%3D%5C%22%257B%2522type%2522%253A%2522ext%2522%252C%2522wikitext%2522%253A%2522%253Cnowiki%253E%255D%253C%255C%252Fnowiki%253E%2522%252C%2522lineStart%2522%253A%2522%2522%252C%2522placeholder%2522%253A1%252C%2522extName%2522%253A%2522nowiki%2522%257D%5C%22%20class%3D%5C%22placeholder%20placeholder-ext%5C%22%20contenteditable%3D%5C%22false%5C%22%3E%7F%27%5C%22%60UNIQ5a2e0cf1918dd23-nowiki-00000017-QINU%60%5C%22%27%7F%26%23x0200B%3B%3C%5C%2Fspan%3E%22%2C%22link%22%3A%22%23cite_note-7%22%2C%22wasblank%22%3Afalse%2C%22noforce%22%3Atrue%2C%22wikitext%22%3A%22%5B%5B%23cite_note-7%7C%3Cext%20_rte_wikitextidx%3D%5C%2297%5C%22%3E%3Cname%3Enowiki%3C%5C%2Fname%3E%3Cattr%3E%3C%5C%2Fattr%3E%3Cinner%3E%5B%3C%5C%2Finner%3E%3Cclose%3E%3C%5C%2Fnowiki%3E%3C%5C%2Fclose%3E%3C%5C%2Fext%3E8%3Cext%20_rte_wikitextidx%3D%5C%2298%5C%22%3E%3Cname%3Enowiki%3C%5C%2Fname%3E%3Cattr%3E%3C%5C%2Fattr%3E%3Cinner%3E%5D%3C%5C%2Finner%3E%3Cclose%3E%3C%5C%2Fnowiki%3E%3C%5C%2Fclose%3E%3C%5C%2Fext%3E%5D%5D%22%7D" data-rte-instance="24816-8073319985df6c0e66eb64" href="#cite_note-7"><span data-rte-instance="24816-8073319985df6c0e66eb64" data-rte-meta="%7B%22type%22%3A%22ext%22%2C%22wikitext%22%3A%22%3Cnowiki%3E%5B%3C%5C%2Fnowiki%3E%22%2C%22lineStart%22%3A%22%22%2C%22placeholder%22%3A1%2C%22extName%22%3A%22nowiki%22%7D" class="placeholder placeholder-ext" contenteditable="false">[​</span>8<span data-rte-instance="24816-8073319985df6c0e66eb64" data-rte-meta="%7B%22type%22%3A%22ext%22%2C%22wikitext%22%3A%22%3Cnowiki%3E%5D%3C%5C%2Fnowiki%3E%22%2C%22lineStart%22%3A%22%22%2C%22placeholder%22%3A1%2C%22extName%22%3A%22nowiki%22%7D" class="placeholder placeholder-ext" contenteditable="false">]​</span></a></sup>​</span> </p><p data-rte-fromparser="true" data-rte-empty-lines-before="1">Terms of Tomlin's contract were not officially released. The <i>Pittsburgh Post-Gazette</i> reported a four-year deal paying $2.5 million per year, with an option for a fifth year. He is the teams's third consecutive head coach to win his first game, and the first in team history to win his first game against the rival <a data-rte-meta="%7B%22type%22%3A%22internal%22%2C%22text%22%3A%22Cleveland%20Browns%22%2C%22link%22%3A%22Cleveland%20Browns%22%2C%22wasblank%22%3Atrue%2C%22noforce%22%3Atrue%2C%22wikitext%22%3A%22%5B%5BCleveland%20Browns%5D%5D%22%7D" data-rte-instance="24816-8073319985df6c0e66eb64" href="/wiki/Cleveland_Browns" title="Cleveland Browns">Cleveland Browns</a>. </p><p data-rte-fromparser="true" data-rte-empty-lines-before="1">In contrast to Bill Cowher, who only retained longtime running backs coach <a data-rte-meta="%7B%22type%22%3A%22internal%22%2C%22text%22%3A%22Dick%20Hoak%22%2C%22link%22%3A%22Dick%20Hoak%22%2C%22wasblank%22%3Atrue%2C%22noforce%22%3Atrue%2C%22wikitext%22%3A%22%5B%5BDick%20Hoak%5D%5D%22%7D" data-rte-instance="24816-8073319985df6c0e66eb64" href="/wiki/Dick_Hoak" title="Dick Hoak">Dick Hoak</a> from Chuck Noll's staff (Hoak himself retired just before Cowher's resignation), Tomlin did retain many of Cowher's assistants, most notably <a data-rte-meta="%7B%22type%22%3A%22internal%22%2C%22text%22%3A%22defensive%20coordinator%22%2C%22link%22%3A%22defensive%20coordinator%22%2C%22wasblank%22%3Atrue%2C%22noforce%22%3Atrue%2C%22wikitext%22%3A%22%5B%5Bdefensive%20coordinator%5D%5D%22%7D" data-rte-instance="24816-8073319985df6c0e66eb64" href="/wiki/Defensive_coordinator" title="Defensive coordinator">defensive coordinator</a> <a data-rte-meta="%7B%22type%22%3A%22internal%22%2C%22text%22%3A%22Dick%20LeBeau%22%2C%22link%22%3A%22Dick%20LeBeau%22%2C%22wasblank%22%3Atrue%2C%22noforce%22%3Atrue%2C%22wikitext%22%3A%22%5B%5BDick%20LeBeau%5D%5D%22%7D" data-rte-instance="24816-8073319985df6c0e66eb64" href="/wiki/Dick_LeBeau" title="Dick LeBeau">Dick LeBeau</a> despite his contrasting defensive philosophy with Tomlin. This was done in order to keep team chemistry with the players, since the team was only one year removed from a <a data-rte-meta="%7B%22type%22%3A%22internal%22%2C%22text%22%3A%22Super%20Bowl%20win%22%2C%22link%22%3A%22Super%20Bowl%20XL%22%2C%22wasblank%22%3Afalse%2C%22noforce%22%3Atrue%2C%22wikitext%22%3A%22%5B%5BSuper%20Bowl%20XL%7CSuper%20Bowl%20win%5D%5D%22%7D" data-rte-instance="24816-8073319985df6c0e66eb64" href="/wiki/Super_Bowl_XL" title="Super Bowl XL">Super Bowl win</a> at the time of Tomlin's hiring. The Steelers finished Tomlin's first season as head coach with the top-ranked defense in the NFL.<span data-rte-instance="24816-8073319985df6c0e66eb64" data-rte-meta="%7B%22type%22%3A%22ext%22%2C%22wikitext%22%3A%22%3Cref%3E%7B%7Bcite%20web%20%7C%20url%3Dhttp%3A%5C%2F%5C%2Fwww.pittsburghpostgazette.com%5C%2Fpg%5C%2F08001%5C%2F845806-66.stm%20%7C%20title%3DSteelers%20finish%20with%20top%20defense%20%7C%20publisher%3D%20%27%27%5B%5BPittsburgh%20Post-Gazette%5D%5D%27%27%20%7C%20accessdate%3D2008-01-01%7D%7D%3C%5C%2Fref%3E%22%2C%22lineStart%22%3A%22%22%2C%22placeholder%22%3A1%2C%22extName%22%3A%22ref%22%7D" class="placeholder placeholder-ext" contenteditable="false"><sup data-rte-washtml="1" id="cite_ref-8" class="reference" data-rte-attribs=" id=cite_ref-8 class=reference"><a data-rte-meta="%7B%22type%22%3A%22internal%22%2C%22text%22%3A%22%3Cspan%20data-rte-instance%3D%5C%2224816-8073319985df6c0e66eb64%5C%22%20data-rte-meta%3D%5C%22%257B%2522type%2522%253A%2522ext%2522%252C%2522wikitext%2522%253A%2522%253Cnowiki%253E%255B%253C%255C%252Fnowiki%253E%2522%252C%2522lineStart%2522%253A%2522%2522%252C%2522placeholder%2522%253A1%252C%2522extName%2522%253A%2522nowiki%2522%257D%5C%22%20class%3D%5C%22placeholder%20placeholder-ext%5C%22%20contenteditable%3D%5C%22false%5C%22%3E%7F%27%5C%22%60UNIQ5a2e0cf1918dd23-nowiki-00000019-QINU%60%5C%22%27%7F%26%23x0200B%3B%3C%5C%2Fspan%3E9%3Cspan%20data-rte-instance%3D%5C%2224816-8073319985df6c0e66eb64%5C%22%20data-rte-meta%3D%5C%22%257B%2522type%2522%253A%2522ext%2522%252C%2522wikitext%2522%253A%2522%253Cnowiki%253E%255D%253C%255C%252Fnowiki%253E%2522%252C%2522lineStart%2522%253A%2522%2522%252C%2522placeholder%2522%253A1%252C%2522extName%2522%253A%2522nowiki%2522%257D%5C%22%20class%3D%5C%22placeholder%20placeholder-ext%5C%22%20contenteditable%3D%5C%22false%5C%22%3E%7F%27%5C%22%60UNIQ5a2e0cf1918dd23-nowiki-0000001A-QINU%60%5C%22%27%7F%26%23x0200B%3B%3C%5C%2Fspan%3E%22%2C%22link%22%3A%22%23cite_note-8%22%2C%22wasblank%22%3Afalse%2C%22noforce%22%3Atrue%2C%22wikitext%22%3A%22%5B%5B%23cite_note-8%7C%3Cext%20_rte_wikitextidx%3D%5C%22103%5C%22%3E%3Cname%3Enowiki%3C%5C%2Fname%3E%3Cattr%3E%3C%5C%2Fattr%3E%3Cinner%3E%5B%3C%5C%2Finner%3E%3Cclose%3E%3C%5C%2Fnowiki%3E%3C%5C%2Fclose%3E%3C%5C%2Fext%3E9%3Cext%20_rte_wikitextidx%3D%5C%22104%5C%22%3E%3Cname%3Enowiki%3C%5C%2Fname%3E%3Cattr%3E%3C%5C%2Fattr%3E%3Cinner%3E%5D%3C%5C%2Finner%3E%3Cclose%3E%3C%5C%2Fnowiki%3E%3C%5C%2Fclose%3E%3C%5C%2Fext%3E%5D%5D%22%7D" data-rte-instance="24816-8073319985df6c0e66eb64" href="#cite_note-8"><span data-rte-instance="24816-8073319985df6c0e66eb64" data-rte-meta="%7B%22type%22%3A%22ext%22%2C%22wikitext%22%3A%22%3Cnowiki%3E%5B%3C%5C%2Fnowiki%3E%22%2C%22lineStart%22%3A%22%22%2C%22placeholder%22%3A1%2C%22extName%22%3A%22nowiki%22%7D" class="placeholder placeholder-ext" contenteditable="false">[​</span>9<span data-rte-instance="24816-8073319985df6c0e66eb64" data-rte-meta="%7B%22type%22%3A%22ext%22%2C%22wikitext%22%3A%22%3Cnowiki%3E%5D%3C%5C%2Fnowiki%3E%22%2C%22lineStart%22%3A%22%22%2C%22placeholder%22%3A1%2C%22extName%22%3A%22nowiki%22%7D" class="placeholder placeholder-ext" contenteditable="false">]​</span></a></sup>​</span> <!-- RTE::{"spaces":0,"type":"LINE_BREAK"} -->Tomlin led the <a data-rte-meta="%7B%22type%22%3A%22internal%22%2C%22text%22%3A%22Steelers%22%2C%22link%22%3A%22Steelers%22%2C%22wasblank%22%3Atrue%2C%22noforce%22%3Atrue%2C%22wikitext%22%3A%22%5B%5BSteelers%5D%5D%22%7D" data-rte-instance="24816-8073319985df6c0e66eb64" class="new" title="Steelers (page does not exist)" rel="nofollow" data-uncrawlable-url="L3dpa2kvU3RlZWxlcnM/YWN0aW9uPWVkaXQmcmVkbGluaz0x">Steelers</a> to the 2007 AFC North Division championship and a 10–6 record in his first year as head coach. The Steelers lost in the first round of the playoffs to the Jacksonville Jaguars, 31–29. Tomlin began his career with a 15–7 record in regular season play—as did his predecessor Cowher and all-time win-leader <a data-rte-meta="%7B%22type%22%3A%22internal%22%2C%22text%22%3A%22Don%20Shula%22%2C%22link%22%3A%22Don%20Shula%22%2C%22wasblank%22%3Atrue%2C%22noforce%22%3Atrue%2C%22wikitext%22%3A%22%5B%5BDon%20Shula%5D%5D%22%7D" data-rte-instance="24816-8073319985df6c0e66eb64" href="/wiki/Don_Shula" title="Don Shula">Don Shula</a>.<span data-rte-instance="24816-8073319985df6c0e66eb64" data-rte-meta="%7B%22type%22%3A%22ext%22%2C%22wikitext%22%3A%22%3Cref%3E%7B%7Bcite%20news%20%7Cfirst%3D%20Gene%7Clast%3D%20Collier%7Ctitle%3D%20Tomlin%27s%20early%20career%20looking%20an%20awful%20lot%20like%20Cowher%27s%7Curl%3D%20http%3A%5C%2F%5C%2Fwww.post-gazette.com%5C%2Fpg%5C%2F08293%5C%2F921086-66.stm%7Cpublisher%3D%20%27%27%5B%5BPittsburgh%20Post-Gazette%5D%5D%27%27%20%7Cdate%3D%202008-10-19%7Caccessdate%3D2008-10-20%7D%7D%3C%5C%2Fref%3E%22%2C%22lineStart%22%3A%22%22%2C%22placeholder%22%3A1%2C%22extName%22%3A%22ref%22%7D" class="placeholder placeholder-ext" contenteditable="false"><sup data-rte-washtml="1" id="cite_ref-9" class="reference" data-rte-attribs=" id=cite_ref-9 class=reference"><a data-rte-meta="%7B%22type%22%3A%22internal%22%2C%22text%22%3A%22%3Cspan%20data-rte-instance%3D%5C%2224816-8073319985df6c0e66eb64%5C%22%20data-rte-meta%3D%5C%22%257B%2522type%2522%253A%2522ext%2522%252C%2522wikitext%2522%253A%2522%253Cnowiki%253E%255B%253C%255C%252Fnowiki%253E%2522%252C%2522lineStart%2522%253A%2522%2522%252C%2522placeholder%2522%253A1%252C%2522extName%2522%253A%2522nowiki%2522%257D%5C%22%20class%3D%5C%22placeholder%20placeholder-ext%5C%22%20contenteditable%3D%5C%22false%5C%22%3E%7F%27%5C%22%60UNIQ5a2e0cf1918dd23-nowiki-0000001C-QINU%60%5C%22%27%7F%26%23x0200B%3B%3C%5C%2Fspan%3E10%3Cspan%20data-rte-instance%3D%5C%2224816-8073319985df6c0e66eb64%5C%22%20data-rte-meta%3D%5C%22%257B%2522type%2522%253A%2522ext%2522%252C%2522wikitext%2522%253A%2522%253Cnowiki%253E%255D%253C%255C%252Fnowiki%253E%2522%252C%2522lineStart%2522%253A%2522%2522%252C%2522placeholder%2522%253A1%252C%2522extName%2522%253A%2522nowiki%2522%257D%5C%22%20class%3D%5C%22placeholder%20placeholder-ext%5C%22%20contenteditable%3D%5C%22false%5C%22%3E%7F%27%5C%22%60UNIQ5a2e0cf1918dd23-nowiki-0000001D-QINU%60%5C%22%27%7F%26%23x0200B%3B%3C%5C%2Fspan%3E%22%2C%22link%22%3A%22%23cite_note-9%22%2C%22wasblank%22%3Afalse%2C%22noforce%22%3Atrue%2C%22wikitext%22%3A%22%5B%5B%23cite_note-9%7C%3Cext%20_rte_wikitextidx%3D%5C%22109%5C%22%3E%3Cname%3Enowiki%3C%5C%2Fname%3E%3Cattr%3E%3C%5C%2Fattr%3E%3Cinner%3E%5B%3C%5C%2Finner%3E%3Cclose%3E%3C%5C%2Fnowiki%3E%3C%5C%2Fclose%3E%3C%5C%2Fext%3E10%3Cext%20_rte_wikitextidx%3D%5C%22110%5C%22%3E%3Cname%3Enowiki%3C%5C%2Fname%3E%3Cattr%3E%3C%5C%2Fattr%3E%3Cinner%3E%5D%3C%5C%2Finner%3E%3Cclose%3E%3C%5C%2Fnowiki%3E%3C%5C%2Fclose%3E%3C%5C%2Fext%3E%5D%5D%22%7D" data-rte-instance="24816-8073319985df6c0e66eb64" href="#cite_note-9"><span data-rte-instance="24816-8073319985df6c0e66eb64" data-rte-meta="%7B%22type%22%3A%22ext%22%2C%22wikitext%22%3A%22%3Cnowiki%3E%5B%3C%5C%2Fnowiki%3E%22%2C%22lineStart%22%3A%22%22%2C%22placeholder%22%3A1%2C%22extName%22%3A%22nowiki%22%7D" class="placeholder placeholder-ext" contenteditable="false">[​</span>10<span data-rte-instance="24816-8073319985df6c0e66eb64" data-rte-meta="%7B%22type%22%3A%22ext%22%2C%22wikitext%22%3A%22%3Cnowiki%3E%5D%3C%5C%2Fnowiki%3E%22%2C%22lineStart%22%3A%22%22%2C%22placeholder%22%3A1%2C%22extName%22%3A%22nowiki%22%7D" class="placeholder placeholder-ext" contenteditable="false">]​</span></a></sup>​</span> Tomlin set a Steelers record for most wins, after winning 22<span data-rte-entity="nbsp"> </span>games in his first two seasons as head coach; in addition he became the first Steelers coach to win division titles in his first two seasons.<span data-rte-instance="24816-8073319985df6c0e66eb64" data-rte-meta="%7B%22type%22%3A%22ext%22%2C%22wikitext%22%3A%22%3Cref%3E%7B%7Bcite%20news%20%7Cfirst%3D%20Ed%7Clast%3D%20Bouchette%7Ctitle%3DSteelers%20Notebook%3A%20Game%20ends%20with%20some%20spit%20and%20a%20shove%7Cwork%3D%20Quick%20hits%7C%20url%3D%20http%3A%5C%2F%5C%2Fwww.post-gazette.com%5C%2Fpg%5C%2F08350%5C%2F935281-66.stm%3Fcmpid%3Dsteelers.xml%7Cpublisher%3D%20%27%27Pittsburgh%20Post-Gazette%27%27%7Cdate%3D%2015%20December%202008%7Caccessdate%3D15%20December%202008%7D%7D%3C%5C%2Fref%3E%22%2C%22lineStart%22%3A%22%22%2C%22placeholder%22%3A1%2C%22extName%22%3A%22ref%22%7D" class="placeholder placeholder-ext" contenteditable="false"><sup data-rte-washtml="1" id="cite_ref-10" class="reference" data-rte-attribs=" id=cite_ref-10 class=reference"><a data-rte-meta="%7B%22type%22%3A%22internal%22%2C%22text%22%3A%22%3Cspan%20data-rte-instance%3D%5C%2224816-8073319985df6c0e66eb64%5C%22%20data-rte-meta%3D%5C%22%257B%2522type%2522%253A%2522ext%2522%252C%2522wikitext%2522%253A%2522%253Cnowiki%253E%255B%253C%255C%252Fnowiki%253E%2522%252C%2522lineStart%2522%253A%2522%2522%252C%2522placeholder%2522%253A1%252C%2522extName%2522%253A%2522nowiki%2522%257D%5C%22%20class%3D%5C%22placeholder%20placeholder-ext%5C%22%20contenteditable%3D%5C%22false%5C%22%3E%7F%27%5C%22%60UNIQ5a2e0cf1918dd23-nowiki-0000001F-QINU%60%5C%22%27%7F%26%23x0200B%3B%3C%5C%2Fspan%3E11%3Cspan%20data-rte-instance%3D%5C%2224816-8073319985df6c0e66eb64%5C%22%20data-rte-meta%3D%5C%22%257B%2522type%2522%253A%2522ext%2522%252C%2522wikitext%2522%253A%2522%253Cnowiki%253E%255D%253C%255C%252Fnowiki%253E%2522%252C%2522lineStart%2522%253A%2522%2522%252C%2522placeholder%2522%253A1%252C%2522extName%2522%253A%2522nowiki%2522%257D%5C%22%20class%3D%5C%22placeholder%20placeholder-ext%5C%22%20contenteditable%3D%5C%22false%5C%22%3E%7F%27%5C%22%60UNIQ5a2e0cf1918dd23-nowiki-00000020-QINU%60%5C%22%27%7F%26%23x0200B%3B%3C%5C%2Fspan%3E%22%2C%22link%22%3A%22%23cite_note-10%22%2C%22wasblank%22%3Afalse%2C%22noforce%22%3Atrue%2C%22wikitext%22%3A%22%5B%5B%23cite_note-10%7C%3Cext%20_rte_wikitextidx%3D%5C%22115%5C%22%3E%3Cname%3Enowiki%3C%5C%2Fname%3E%3Cattr%3E%3C%5C%2Fattr%3E%3Cinner%3E%5B%3C%5C%2Finner%3E%3Cclose%3E%3C%5C%2Fnowiki%3E%3C%5C%2Fclose%3E%3C%5C%2Fext%3E11%3Cext%20_rte_wikitextidx%3D%5C%22116%5C%22%3E%3Cname%3Enowiki%3C%5C%2Fname%3E%3Cattr%3E%3C%5C%2Fattr%3E%3Cinner%3E%5D%3C%5C%2Finner%3E%3Cclose%3E%3C%5C%2Fnowiki%3E%3C%5C%2Fclose%3E%3C%5C%2Fext%3E%5D%5D%22%7D" data-rte-instance="24816-8073319985df6c0e66eb64" href="#cite_note-10"><span data-rte-instance="24816-8073319985df6c0e66eb64" data-rte-meta="%7B%22type%22%3A%22ext%22%2C%22wikitext%22%3A%22%3Cnowiki%3E%5B%3C%5C%2Fnowiki%3E%22%2C%22lineStart%22%3A%22%22%2C%22placeholder%22%3A1%2C%22extName%22%3A%22nowiki%22%7D" class="placeholder placeholder-ext" contenteditable="false">[​</span>11<span data-rte-instance="24816-8073319985df6c0e66eb64" data-rte-meta="%7B%22type%22%3A%22ext%22%2C%22wikitext%22%3A%22%3Cnowiki%3E%5D%3C%5C%2Fnowiki%3E%22%2C%22lineStart%22%3A%22%22%2C%22placeholder%22%3A1%2C%22extName%22%3A%22nowiki%22%7D" class="placeholder placeholder-ext" contenteditable="false">]​</span></a></sup>​</span> </p><p data-rte-fromparser="true" data-rte-empty-lines-before="1">When the Steelers defeated the Baltimore Ravens in the 2008 AFC Championship Game, Mike Tomlin became the youngest NFL head coach to lead his team to a Super Bowl. He also became the third African-American to coach a team to the Super Bowl, following <a data-rte-meta="%7B%22type%22%3A%22internal%22%2C%22text%22%3A%22Chicago%22%2C%22link%22%3A%22Chicago%20Bears%22%2C%22wasblank%22%3Afalse%2C%22noforce%22%3Atrue%2C%22wikitext%22%3A%22%5B%5BChicago%20Bears%7CChicago%5D%5D%22%7D" data-rte-instance="24816-8073319985df6c0e66eb64" href="/wiki/Chicago_Bears" title="Chicago Bears">Chicago</a>'s <a data-rte-meta="%7B%22type%22%3A%22internal%22%2C%22text%22%3A%22Lovie%20Smith%22%2C%22link%22%3A%22Lovie%20Smith%22%2C%22wasblank%22%3Atrue%2C%22noforce%22%3Atrue%2C%22wikitext%22%3A%22%5B%5BLovie%20Smith%5D%5D%22%7D" data-rte-instance="24816-8073319985df6c0e66eb64" href="/wiki/Lovie_Smith" title="Lovie Smith">Lovie Smith</a> and <a data-rte-meta="%7B%22type%22%3A%22internal%22%2C%22text%22%3A%22Indianapolis%22%2C%22link%22%3A%22Indianapolis%20Colts%22%2C%22wasblank%22%3Afalse%2C%22noforce%22%3Atrue%2C%22wikitext%22%3A%22%5B%5BIndianapolis%20Colts%7CIndianapolis%5D%5D%22%7D" data-rte-instance="24816-8073319985df6c0e66eb64" href="/wiki/Indianapolis_Colts" title="Indianapolis Colts">Indianapolis</a>' <a data-rte-meta="%7B%22type%22%3A%22internal%22%2C%22text%22%3A%22Tony%20Dungy%22%2C%22link%22%3A%22Tony%20Dungy%22%2C%22wasblank%22%3Atrue%2C%22noforce%22%3Atrue%2C%22wikitext%22%3A%22%5B%5BTony%20Dungy%5D%5D%22%7D" data-rte-instance="24816-8073319985df6c0e66eb64" href="/wiki/Tony_Dungy" title="Tony Dungy">Tony Dungy</a>, the two opposing coaches in <a data-rte-meta="%7B%22type%22%3A%22internal%22%2C%22text%22%3A%22Super%20Bowl%20XLI%22%2C%22link%22%3A%22Super%20Bowl%20XLI%22%2C%22wasblank%22%3Atrue%2C%22noforce%22%3Atrue%2C%22wikitext%22%3A%22%5B%5BSuper%20Bowl%20XLI%5D%5D%22%7D" data-rte-instance="24816-8073319985df6c0e66eb64" href="/wiki/Super_Bowl_XLI" title="Super Bowl XLI">Super Bowl XLI</a>. After two seasons, with a record of 22-10, he was the winningest head coach in Steelers history based on a win percentage (68.8%). </p><p data-rte-fromparser="true" data-rte-empty-lines-before="1">On January 29, 2009, Mike Tomlin was named the 2008 Motorola NFL Coach of the Year.<span data-rte-instance="24816-8073319985df6c0e66eb64" data-rte-meta="%7B%22type%22%3A%22ext%22%2C%22wikitext%22%3A%22%3Cref%3E%5Bhttp%3A%5C%2F%5C%2Ftsn.ca%5C%2Fnfl%5C%2Fstory%5C%2F%3Fid%3D265041%26lid%3Dsublink011%26lpos%3Dheadlines_main%20Steelers%27%20Tomlin%20named%20NFL%20Coach%20of%20the%20Year%5D%3C%5C%2Fref%3E%22%2C%22lineStart%22%3A%22%22%2C%22placeholder%22%3A1%2C%22extName%22%3A%22ref%22%7D" class="placeholder placeholder-ext" contenteditable="false"><sup data-rte-washtml="1" id="cite_ref-11" class="reference" data-rte-attribs=" id=cite_ref-11 class=reference"><a data-rte-meta="%7B%22type%22%3A%22internal%22%2C%22text%22%3A%22%3Cspan%20data-rte-instance%3D%5C%2224816-8073319985df6c0e66eb64%5C%22%20data-rte-meta%3D%5C%22%257B%2522type%2522%253A%2522ext%2522%252C%2522wikitext%2522%253A%2522%253Cnowiki%253E%255B%253C%255C%252Fnowiki%253E%2522%252C%2522lineStart%2522%253A%2522%2522%252C%2522placeholder%2522%253A1%252C%2522extName%2522%253A%2522nowiki%2522%257D%5C%22%20class%3D%5C%22placeholder%20placeholder-ext%5C%22%20contenteditable%3D%5C%22false%5C%22%3E%7F%27%5C%22%60UNIQ5a2e0cf1918dd23-nowiki-00000022-QINU%60%5C%22%27%7F%26%23x0200B%3B%3C%5C%2Fspan%3E12%3Cspan%20data-rte-instance%3D%5C%2224816-8073319985df6c0e66eb64%5C%22%20data-rte-meta%3D%5C%22%257B%2522type%2522%253A%2522ext%2522%252C%2522wikitext%2522%253A%2522%253Cnowiki%253E%255D%253C%255C%252Fnowiki%253E%2522%252C%2522lineStart%2522%253A%2522%2522%252C%2522placeholder%2522%253A1%252C%2522extName%2522%253A%2522nowiki%2522%257D%5C%22%20class%3D%5C%22placeholder%20placeholder-ext%5C%22%20contenteditable%3D%5C%22false%5C%22%3E%7F%27%5C%22%60UNIQ5a2e0cf1918dd23-nowiki-00000023-QINU%60%5C%22%27%7F%26%23x0200B%3B%3C%5C%2Fspan%3E%22%2C%22link%22%3A%22%23cite_note-11%22%2C%22wasblank%22%3Afalse%2C%22noforce%22%3Atrue%2C%22wikitext%22%3A%22%5B%5B%23cite_note-11%7C%3Cext%20_rte_wikitextidx%3D%5C%22121%5C%22%3E%3Cname%3Enowiki%3C%5C%2Fname%3E%3Cattr%3E%3C%5C%2Fattr%3E%3Cinner%3E%5B%3C%5C%2Finner%3E%3Cclose%3E%3C%5C%2Fnowiki%3E%3C%5C%2Fclose%3E%3C%5C%2Fext%3E12%3Cext%20_rte_wikitextidx%3D%5C%22122%5C%22%3E%3Cname%3Enowiki%3C%5C%2Fname%3E%3Cattr%3E%3C%5C%2Fattr%3E%3Cinner%3E%5D%3C%5C%2Finner%3E%3Cclose%3E%3C%5C%2Fnowiki%3E%3C%5C%2Fclose%3E%3C%5C%2Fext%3E%5D%5D%22%7D" data-rte-instance="24816-8073319985df6c0e66eb64" href="#cite_note-11"><span data-rte-instance="24816-8073319985df6c0e66eb64" data-rte-meta="%7B%22type%22%3A%22ext%22%2C%22wikitext%22%3A%22%3Cnowiki%3E%5B%3C%5C%2Fnowiki%3E%22%2C%22lineStart%22%3A%22%22%2C%22placeholder%22%3A1%2C%22extName%22%3A%22nowiki%22%7D" class="placeholder placeholder-ext" contenteditable="false">[​</span>12<span data-rte-instance="24816-8073319985df6c0e66eb64" data-rte-meta="%7B%22type%22%3A%22ext%22%2C%22wikitext%22%3A%22%3Cnowiki%3E%5D%3C%5C%2Fnowiki%3E%22%2C%22lineStart%22%3A%22%22%2C%22placeholder%22%3A1%2C%22extName%22%3A%22nowiki%22%7D" class="placeholder placeholder-ext" contenteditable="false">]​</span></a></sup>​</span> </p><p data-rte-fromparser="true" data-rte-empty-lines-before="1">On February 1, 2009, at age 36, Tomlin became the youngest head coach to win the Super Bowl when his Steelers defeated the <a data-rte-meta="%7B%22type%22%3A%22internal%22%2C%22text%22%3A%22Arizona%20Cardinals%22%2C%22link%22%3A%22Arizona%20Cardinals%22%2C%22wasblank%22%3Atrue%2C%22noforce%22%3Atrue%2C%22wikitext%22%3A%22%5B%5BArizona%20Cardinals%5D%5D%22%7D" data-rte-instance="24816-8073319985df6c0e66eb64" href="/wiki/Arizona_Cardinals" title="Arizona Cardinals">Arizona Cardinals</a> in <a data-rte-meta="%7B%22type%22%3A%22internal%22%2C%22text%22%3A%22Super%20Bowl%20XLIII%22%2C%22link%22%3A%22Super%20Bowl%20XLIII%22%2C%22wasblank%22%3Atrue%2C%22noforce%22%3Atrue%2C%22wikitext%22%3A%22%5B%5BSuper%20Bowl%20XLIII%5D%5D%22%7D" data-rte-instance="24816-8073319985df6c0e66eb64" href="/wiki/Super_Bowl_XLIII" title="Super Bowl XLIII">Super Bowl XLIII</a>, beating the previous record held by <a data-rte-meta="%7B%22type%22%3A%22internal%22%2C%22text%22%3A%22Jon%20Gruden%22%2C%22link%22%3A%22Jon%20Gruden%22%2C%22wasblank%22%3Atrue%2C%22noforce%22%3Atrue%2C%22wikitext%22%3A%22%5B%5BJon%20Gruden%5D%5D%22%7D" data-rte-instance="24816-8073319985df6c0e66eb64" href="/wiki/Jon_Gruden" title="Jon Gruden">Jon Gruden</a>, who was 39 when he won <a data-rte-meta="%7B%22type%22%3A%22internal%22%2C%22text%22%3A%22Super%20Bowl%20XXXVII%22%2C%22link%22%3A%22Super%20Bowl%20XXXVII%22%2C%22wasblank%22%3Atrue%2C%22noforce%22%3Atrue%2C%22wikitext%22%3A%22%5B%5BSuper%20Bowl%20XXXVII%5D%5D%22%7D" data-rte-instance="24816-8073319985df6c0e66eb64" href="/wiki/Super_Bowl_XXXVII" title="Super Bowl XXXVII">Super Bowl XXXVII</a>.<span data-rte-instance="24816-8073319985df6c0e66eb64" data-rte-meta="%7B%22type%22%3A%22ext%22%2C%22wikitext%22%3A%22%3Cref%3E%7B%7Bcite%20news%7Ctitle%3DSteelers%20win%206th%20Super%20Bowl%20in%20thrilling%20fashion%7Curl%3Dhttp%3A%5C%2F%5C%2Fwww.wndu.com%5C%2Fsports%5C%2Fheadlines%5C%2F38791037.html%7Cnewspaper%3DWNDU.com%7Cdate%3DFebruary%202%2C%202009%7D%7D%3C%5C%2Fref%3E%22%2C%22lineStart%22%3A%22%22%2C%22placeholder%22%3A1%2C%22extName%22%3A%22ref%22%7D" class="placeholder placeholder-ext" contenteditable="false"><sup data-rte-washtml="1" id="cite_ref-12" class="reference" data-rte-attribs=" id=cite_ref-12 class=reference"><a data-rte-meta="%7B%22type%22%3A%22internal%22%2C%22text%22%3A%22%3Cspan%20data-rte-instance%3D%5C%2224816-8073319985df6c0e66eb64%5C%22%20data-rte-meta%3D%5C%22%257B%2522type%2522%253A%2522ext%2522%252C%2522wikitext%2522%253A%2522%253Cnowiki%253E%255B%253C%255C%252Fnowiki%253E%2522%252C%2522lineStart%2522%253A%2522%2522%252C%2522placeholder%2522%253A1%252C%2522extName%2522%253A%2522nowiki%2522%257D%5C%22%20class%3D%5C%22placeholder%20placeholder-ext%5C%22%20contenteditable%3D%5C%22false%5C%22%3E%7F%27%5C%22%60UNIQ5a2e0cf1918dd23-nowiki-00000025-QINU%60%5C%22%27%7F%26%23x0200B%3B%3C%5C%2Fspan%3E13%3Cspan%20data-rte-instance%3D%5C%2224816-8073319985df6c0e66eb64%5C%22%20data-rte-meta%3D%5C%22%257B%2522type%2522%253A%2522ext%2522%252C%2522wikitext%2522%253A%2522%253Cnowiki%253E%255D%253C%255C%252Fnowiki%253E%2522%252C%2522lineStart%2522%253A%2522%2522%252C%2522placeholder%2522%253A1%252C%2522extName%2522%253A%2522nowiki%2522%257D%5C%22%20class%3D%5C%22placeholder%20placeholder-ext%5C%22%20contenteditable%3D%5C%22false%5C%22%3E%7F%27%5C%22%60UNIQ5a2e0cf1918dd23-nowiki-00000026-QINU%60%5C%22%27%7F%26%23x0200B%3B%3C%5C%2Fspan%3E%22%2C%22link%22%3A%22%23cite_note-12%22%2C%22wasblank%22%3Afalse%2C%22noforce%22%3Atrue%2C%22wikitext%22%3A%22%5B%5B%23cite_note-12%7C%3Cext%20_rte_wikitextidx%3D%5C%22127%5C%22%3E%3Cname%3Enowiki%3C%5C%2Fname%3E%3Cattr%3E%3C%5C%2Fattr%3E%3Cinner%3E%5B%3C%5C%2Finner%3E%3Cclose%3E%3C%5C%2Fnowiki%3E%3C%5C%2Fclose%3E%3C%5C%2Fext%3E13%3Cext%20_rte_wikitextidx%3D%5C%22128%5C%22%3E%3Cname%3Enowiki%3C%5C%2Fname%3E%3Cattr%3E%3C%5C%2Fattr%3E%3Cinner%3E%5D%3C%5C%2Finner%3E%3Cclose%3E%3C%5C%2Fnowiki%3E%3C%5C%2Fclose%3E%3C%5C%2Fext%3E%5D%5D%22%7D" data-rte-instance="24816-8073319985df6c0e66eb64" href="#cite_note-12"><span data-rte-instance="24816-8073319985df6c0e66eb64" data-rte-meta="%7B%22type%22%3A%22ext%22%2C%22wikitext%22%3A%22%3Cnowiki%3E%5B%3C%5C%2Fnowiki%3E%22%2C%22lineStart%22%3A%22%22%2C%22placeholder%22%3A1%2C%22extName%22%3A%22nowiki%22%7D" class="placeholder placeholder-ext" contenteditable="false">[​</span>13<span data-rte-instance="24816-8073319985df6c0e66eb64" data-rte-meta="%7B%22type%22%3A%22ext%22%2C%22wikitext%22%3A%22%3Cnowiki%3E%5D%3C%5C%2Fnowiki%3E%22%2C%22lineStart%22%3A%22%22%2C%22placeholder%22%3A1%2C%22extName%22%3A%22nowiki%22%7D" class="placeholder placeholder-ext" contenteditable="false">]​</span></a></sup>​</span> </p><p data-rte-fromparser="true">On July 13, 2010, Tomlin signed a three-year contract extension with the Steelers.<span data-rte-instance="24816-8073319985df6c0e66eb64" data-rte-meta="%7B%22type%22%3A%22ext%22%2C%22wikitext%22%3A%22%3Cref%3E%7B%7Bcite%20news%7Clast%3DBouchette%7Cfirst%3DEd%7Ctitle%3DSteelers%27%20Tomlin%20receives%20contract%20extension%7Curl%3Dhttp%3A%5C%2F%5C%2Fwww.post-gazette.com%5C%2Fstories%5C%2Fsports%5C%2Fsteelers%5C%2Fsteelers-tomlin-receives-contract-extension-255075%5C%2F%7Cnewspaper%3DPittsburgh%20Post-Gazette%7Cdate%3DJuly%2013%2C%202012%7D%7D%3C%5C%2Fref%3E%22%2C%22lineStart%22%3A%22%22%2C%22placeholder%22%3A1%2C%22extName%22%3A%22ref%22%7D" class="placeholder placeholder-ext" contenteditable="false"><sup data-rte-washtml="1" id="cite_ref-13" class="reference" data-rte-attribs=" id=cite_ref-13 class=reference"><a data-rte-meta="%7B%22type%22%3A%22internal%22%2C%22text%22%3A%22%3Cspan%20data-rte-instance%3D%5C%2224816-8073319985df6c0e66eb64%5C%22%20data-rte-meta%3D%5C%22%257B%2522type%2522%253A%2522ext%2522%252C%2522wikitext%2522%253A%2522%253Cnowiki%253E%255B%253C%255C%252Fnowiki%253E%2522%252C%2522lineStart%2522%253A%2522%2522%252C%2522placeholder%2522%253A1%252C%2522extName%2522%253A%2522nowiki%2522%257D%5C%22%20class%3D%5C%22placeholder%20placeholder-ext%5C%22%20contenteditable%3D%5C%22false%5C%22%3E%7F%27%5C%22%60UNIQ5a2e0cf1918dd23-nowiki-00000028-QINU%60%5C%22%27%7F%26%23x0200B%3B%3C%5C%2Fspan%3E14%3Cspan%20data-rte-instance%3D%5C%2224816-8073319985df6c0e66eb64%5C%22%20data-rte-meta%3D%5C%22%257B%2522type%2522%253A%2522ext%2522%252C%2522wikitext%2522%253A%2522%253Cnowiki%253E%255D%253C%255C%252Fnowiki%253E%2522%252C%2522lineStart%2522%253A%2522%2522%252C%2522placeholder%2522%253A1%252C%2522extName%2522%253A%2522nowiki%2522%257D%5C%22%20class%3D%5C%22placeholder%20placeholder-ext%5C%22%20contenteditable%3D%5C%22false%5C%22%3E%7F%27%5C%22%60UNIQ5a2e0cf1918dd23-nowiki-00000029-QINU%60%5C%22%27%7F%26%23x0200B%3B%3C%5C%2Fspan%3E%22%2C%22link%22%3A%22%23cite_note-13%22%2C%22wasblank%22%3Afalse%2C%22noforce%22%3Atrue%2C%22wikitext%22%3A%22%5B%5B%23cite_note-13%7C%3Cext%20_rte_wikitextidx%3D%5C%22133%5C%22%3E%3Cname%3Enowiki%3C%5C%2Fname%3E%3Cattr%3E%3C%5C%2Fattr%3E%3Cinner%3E%5B%3C%5C%2Finner%3E%3Cclose%3E%3C%5C%2Fnowiki%3E%3C%5C%2Fclose%3E%3C%5C%2Fext%3E14%3Cext%20_rte_wikitextidx%3D%5C%22134%5C%22%3E%3Cname%3Enowiki%3C%5C%2Fname%3E%3Cattr%3E%3C%5C%2Fattr%3E%3Cinner%3E%5D%3C%5C%2Finner%3E%3Cclose%3E%3C%5C%2Fnowiki%3E%3C%5C%2Fclose%3E%3C%5C%2Fext%3E%5D%5D%22%7D" data-rte-instance="24816-8073319985df6c0e66eb64" href="#cite_note-13"><span data-rte-instance="24816-8073319985df6c0e66eb64" data-rte-meta="%7B%22type%22%3A%22ext%22%2C%22wikitext%22%3A%22%3Cnowiki%3E%5B%3C%5C%2Fnowiki%3E%22%2C%22lineStart%22%3A%22%22%2C%22placeholder%22%3A1%2C%22extName%22%3A%22nowiki%22%7D" class="placeholder placeholder-ext" contenteditable="false">[​</span>14<span data-rte-instance="24816-8073319985df6c0e66eb64" data-rte-meta="%7B%22type%22%3A%22ext%22%2C%22wikitext%22%3A%22%3Cnowiki%3E%5D%3C%5C%2Fnowiki%3E%22%2C%22lineStart%22%3A%22%22%2C%22placeholder%22%3A1%2C%22extName%22%3A%22nowiki%22%7D" class="placeholder placeholder-ext" contenteditable="false">]​</span></a></sup>​</span> </p><p data-rte-fromparser="true" data-rte-empty-lines-before="1">On November 13, 2011, Tomlin won his 50th game as the Steelers head coach with a 24-17 victory over the Cincinnati Bengals. Of the team's 16 head coaches, Tomlin was the fourth to reach this milestone. </p><p data-rte-fromparser="true" data-rte-empty-lines-before="1">On July 24, 2012, Tomlin received a three-year contract extension through the 2016 season.<span data-rte-instance="24816-8073319985df6c0e66eb64" data-rte-meta="%7B%22type%22%3A%22ext%22%2C%22wikitext%22%3A%22%3Cref%3E%7B%7Bcite%20news%7Clast%3DBouchette%7Cfirst%3DEd%7Ctitle%3DSteelers%20sign%20Tomlin%20to%20three-year%20extension%7Curl%3Dhttp%3A%5C%2F%5C%2Fwww.post-gazette.com%5C%2Fstories%5C%2Fsports%5C%2Fsteelers%5C%2Fsteelers-sign-wallace-to-three-year-extension-646013%5C%2F%7Cnewspaper%3DPittsburgh%20Post-Gazette%7Cdate%3DJuly%2024%2C%202012%7D%7D%3C%5C%2Fref%3E%22%2C%22lineStart%22%3A%22%22%2C%22placeholder%22%3A1%2C%22extName%22%3A%22ref%22%7D" class="placeholder placeholder-ext" contenteditable="false"><sup data-rte-washtml="1" id="cite_ref-14" class="reference" data-rte-attribs=" id=cite_ref-14 class=reference"><a data-rte-meta="%7B%22type%22%3A%22internal%22%2C%22text%22%3A%22%3Cspan%20data-rte-instance%3D%5C%2224816-8073319985df6c0e66eb64%5C%22%20data-rte-meta%3D%5C%22%257B%2522type%2522%253A%2522ext%2522%252C%2522wikitext%2522%253A%2522%253Cnowiki%253E%255B%253C%255C%252Fnowiki%253E%2522%252C%2522lineStart%2522%253A%2522%2522%252C%2522placeholder%2522%253A1%252C%2522extName%2522%253A%2522nowiki%2522%257D%5C%22%20class%3D%5C%22placeholder%20placeholder-ext%5C%22%20contenteditable%3D%5C%22false%5C%22%3E%7F%27%5C%22%60UNIQ5a2e0cf1918dd23-nowiki-0000002B-QINU%60%5C%22%27%7F%26%23x0200B%3B%3C%5C%2Fspan%3E15%3Cspan%20data-rte-instance%3D%5C%2224816-8073319985df6c0e66eb64%5C%22%20data-rte-meta%3D%5C%22%257B%2522type%2522%253A%2522ext%2522%252C%2522wikitext%2522%253A%2522%253Cnowiki%253E%255D%253C%255C%252Fnowiki%253E%2522%252C%2522lineStart%2522%253A%2522%2522%252C%2522placeholder%2522%253A1%252C%2522extName%2522%253A%2522nowiki%2522%257D%5C%22%20class%3D%5C%22placeholder%20placeholder-ext%5C%22%20contenteditable%3D%5C%22false%5C%22%3E%7F%27%5C%22%60UNIQ5a2e0cf1918dd23-nowiki-0000002C-QINU%60%5C%22%27%7F%26%23x0200B%3B%3C%5C%2Fspan%3E%22%2C%22link%22%3A%22%23cite_note-14%22%2C%22wasblank%22%3Afalse%2C%22noforce%22%3Atrue%2C%22wikitext%22%3A%22%5B%5B%23cite_note-14%7C%3Cext%20_rte_wikitextidx%3D%5C%22139%5C%22%3E%3Cname%3Enowiki%3C%5C%2Fname%3E%3Cattr%3E%3C%5C%2Fattr%3E%3Cinner%3E%5B%3C%5C%2Finner%3E%3Cclose%3E%3C%5C%2Fnowiki%3E%3C%5C%2Fclose%3E%3C%5C%2Fext%3E15%3Cext%20_rte_wikitextidx%3D%5C%22140%5C%22%3E%3Cname%3Enowiki%3C%5C%2Fname%3E%3Cattr%3E%3C%5C%2Fattr%3E%3Cinner%3E%5D%3C%5C%2Finner%3E%3Cclose%3E%3C%5C%2Fnowiki%3E%3C%5C%2Fclose%3E%3C%5C%2Fext%3E%5D%5D%22%7D" data-rte-instance="24816-8073319985df6c0e66eb64" href="#cite_note-14"><span data-rte-instance="24816-8073319985df6c0e66eb64" data-rte-meta="%7B%22type%22%3A%22ext%22%2C%22wikitext%22%3A%22%3Cnowiki%3E%5B%3C%5C%2Fnowiki%3E%22%2C%22lineStart%22%3A%22%22%2C%22placeholder%22%3A1%2C%22extName%22%3A%22nowiki%22%7D" class="placeholder placeholder-ext" contenteditable="false">[​</span>15<span data-rte-instance="24816-8073319985df6c0e66eb64" data-rte-meta="%7B%22type%22%3A%22ext%22%2C%22wikitext%22%3A%22%3Cnowiki%3E%5D%3C%5C%2Fnowiki%3E%22%2C%22lineStart%22%3A%22%22%2C%22placeholder%22%3A1%2C%22extName%22%3A%22nowiki%22%7D" class="placeholder placeholder-ext" contenteditable="false">]​</span></a></sup>​</span> The financial terms were not disclosed. </p><p data-rte-fromparser="true" data-rte-empty-lines-before="1">On February 7, 2012, the Steelers hired Todd Haley as their offensive coordinator, causing some controversy between him an QB Ben Roethlisberger; this proved to be a problem all of the 2012 season. They began this season with a loss coming from Peyton Manning and the Broncos. They later bounced back and where sitting with a 6-3 record. However they lost Roethlisberger to a game against the Kansas City Chiefs. The Steelers lost two of their three games without Roethlisberger. When he returned the Steelers lost three games in a row to the Chargers, Cowboys and Bengals finishing the year 8-8. It is the second time that the Steelers have failed to make the playoffs under Mike Tomlin's tenure as head coach. </p> <br /><strong data-rte-washtml="1" class="error" data-rte-attribs=" class=error">Cite error: <code data-rte-washtml="1"><ref></code> tags exist, but no <code data-rte-washtml="1"><references/></code> tag was found</strong><p /> <!-- Saved in parser cache with key footbal:rte-parser-cache:16332 --> Loading editor Below are some commonly used wiki markup codes. Simply click on what you want to use and it will appear in the edit box above. Insert: – — … ° ≈ ≠ ≤ ≥ ± − × ÷ ← → · § Sign your username: ~~~~ Wiki markup: {{}} | [] [[]] [[Category:]] #REDIRECT [[]] <s></s> <sup></sup> <sub></sub> <code></code> <blockquote></blockquote> <ref></ref> {{Reflist}} <references/> <includeonly></includeonly> <noinclude></noinclude> {{DEFAULTSORT:}} <nowiki></nowiki> <!-- --> <span class="plainlinks"></span> Symbols: ~ | ¡ ¿ † ‡ ↔ ↑ ↓ • ¶ # ¹ ² ³ ½ ⅓ ⅔ ¼ ¾ ⅛ ⅜ ⅝ ⅞ ∞ ‘ “ ’ ” «» ¤ ₳ ฿ ₵ ¢ ₡ ₢ $ ₫ ₯ € ₠ ₣ ƒ ₴ ₭ ₤ ℳ ₥ ₦ № ₧ ₰ £ ៛ ₨ ₪ ৳ ₮ ₩ ¥ ♠ ♣ ♥ ♦ View this template This field is a spam trap. DO NOT fill it in! Edit summary Preview Mobile Desktop Show changes
