Pittsburgh Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin will finish the 2023 season with his 17th consecutive winning season.
It’s an incredible accomplishment, but one that doesn’t come without a bit of animosity because of the lack of Super Bowl wins during his tenure despite the amount of wins.
That narrative doesn’t sit well with former NFL wide receiver Larry Fitzgerald, who said this week on SiriusXM NFL Radio that he is bothered by the “slander” against Tomlin from his detractors.
“It really bothers me to hear just the slander of Coach Tomlin and how ungrateful some of these fans and pundits can be,” Fitzgerald said. “When you do something that consistent for that period of time in this league when there’s only three men that’ve ever done this in the 100-plus years of playing this game, you’ve got to tip your hat. It’s so hard to go out there and win.”
After seventeen straight non-losing seasons, is Mike Tomlin somehow STILL underrated? #Steelers@LarryFitzgerald & @JimGrayOfficial break it down on this week’s Let’s Go!
NOW Available on the @SIRIUSXM App:
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— SiriusXM NFL Radio (@SiriusXMNFL) January 6, 2024
The two other coaches who’ve accomplished what Tomlin has are legendary Dallas Cowboys head coach Tom Landry – who had 20 consecutive winning seasons – and New England Patriots head coach Bill Belichick – who had 19 consecutive winning seasons.
But as mentioned previously, Tomlin hasn’t had as much postseason success as Landry or Belichick: Landry made five Super Bowl appearances and won two, while Belichick has nine Super Bowl appearances and six Lombardi Trophies with the Patriots.
Tomlin also has only one season with more than 10 wins since 2018, meaning that he just barely eclipses the .500 winning percentage mark on a yearly level.
Coincidentally, though, the Steelers could finish with at least 10 wins for the first time since 2020 despite the 27th-ranked offense in the NFL if they beat the Baltimore Ravens in Week 18.
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