Mike Tomlin ranked inside the top 10 of NFL head coaches

The Pittsburgh Steelers found a good head coach when they hired Mike Tomlin in 2007. Here’s where he ranks among NFL head coaches.

It’s hard to imagine where the Pittsburgh Steelers would be without the direction of excellent leadership. The Rooney’s were incredibly fortunate to go from one great head coach to another.

At the age of 35, Bill Cowher began his NFL coaching career in Pittsburgh back in 1992. After a dominant 15-year stretch that resulted in a record of 149-90-1 and that included a Super Bowl win, Cowher decided to walk away from the game in 2006.

Steelers fans were clearly nervous at the thought of adding a new head coach, and it would clearly be difficult to get one as good as Bill Cowher. However, just a few seasons into Mike Tomlin’s coaching career, Pittsburgh had their sixth Super Bowl win under their belt.

Now, 14 years since taking over as head coach of the Pittsburgh Steelers, Mike Tomlin is 133-74-1 as a head coach and his 0.64 win percentage is even higher than the great Bill Cowher’s (0.62).

Where does Steelers HC Mike Tomlin rank?

It goes without saying that Tomlin is considered one of the best coaches in the NFL, but where does he rank among the league’s elite decision-makers? Recently, CBS Sports writer Sean Wagner-McGough ranked his top 10 head coaches currently in the NFL. He had Mike Tomlin 7th:

It’s not surprising at all to see Bill Belichick number one on this list, as you could make the case that he is one of the greatest coaches in the history of sports. After him, Andy Reid is widely considered a top-three coach in the NFL while John Harbaugh and Sean Payton have been as good as anybody over the past few years.

Young offensive masterminds Kyle Shanahan and Sean McVay are just ahead of Tomlin on the list at 5th and 6th respectively. Their ability to change the game on the offensive ball has brought them each a Super Bowl appearance over the last two seasons.

Tomlin sits at 7th in the rankings, just above former Super Bowl-winning coaches Pete Carroll and Doug Pederson.

It’s hard to argue with these rankings. While you could make the case for Tomlin being ranked even higher, I think the six coaches ahead of him have all been fantastic over the past few seasons. While Tomlin may not currently be a top-five head coach in the NFL, the Steelers could do far worse. Tomlin has already proved capable of leading his team to a Super Bowl victory.

However, with just three playoff wins over the past 9 seasons, questions are starting to arise and some even wonder if Tomlin should be in the hot seat at this point.

There is no question that Mike Tomlin is an above-average coach in the NFL, and he is still better than most of the options out there. Let’s hope he has what it takes to once again lead the Pittsburgh Steelers to a Super Bowl.