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Perhaps the most notable Tomlinism that has been coined by Pittsburgh Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin is “The standard is the standard.” It has been used frequently over the years by the league's longest-tenured head coach, and it's even engraved on a wall inside of Pittsburgh's locker room. Like many of these Tomlinisms, the lesson is not always clear at first glance, but given how Tomlin's 18 seasons in Pittsburgh have gone, this one is actually pretty straight-forward compared to the rest.
Since Mike Tomlin took over as the head coach in Pittsburgh ahead of the 2007 NFL season, the Steelers have become the standard of consistency in the NFL. Note that I used the word consistency here instead of excellence. There is a difference between the two, and under Tomlin's watch, the Steelers have proven that. And while fans in Pittsburgh would understandably hope to reach that standard of excellence, we can't overlook how hard it is to be as prolifically consistent as Pittsburgh has been.
Anyone who is calling for Mike Tomlin to be fired is guilty of this. They're guilty of thinking that just any coach can facilitate an 18 season stretch in which his team never once ended the year with a losing record. In the 100-plus year history of this league, only Tom Landry (21 seasons) and Bill Belichick (19 seasons) have gone more seasons consecutively without a below .500 record. Not bad, considering Landry and Belichick are the 5th and 3rd-winningest head coaches ever. Tomlin is 11th on that list.
Now to be fair, the Steelers have been one of the most consistent franchises in NFL history, even predating Tomlin's arrival. Since 1969, only three men — Tomlin, Bill Cowher and Chuck Noll — have coached the Steelers. Since 1972, Pittsburgh has made the postseason 33 times, and their longest postseason drought has been just four years. To his credit, Tomlin has never gone more than two seasons in a row without a Playoff appearance.
A couple of other notable Tomlin factoids:
-The New England Patriots (195) and Green Bay Packers (186) are the only two franchises with more regular season wins since 2007 than Pittsburgh (183)
-The Steelers, Ravens, Patriots, Packers and Chiefs are the only teams with at least 12 postseason appearances since 2007. Now skeptics will likely point Tomlin's career 8-10 postseason record. However, it's worth noting that Pittsburgh is one of just seven franchises that have at least eight postseason wins and two Super Bowl appearances since 2007.
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-Sure, Tomlin hasn't coached the Steelers to a Playoff win since January 15th 2017. But since then, only four franchises — Kansas City, Baltimore, Buffalo and Philadelphia — have more regular season wins than Pittsburgh. In that time, the Steelers are 20th in points scored, and 4th in points allowed. Do I need to remind you that before he was the Steelers head coach, Tomlin was a defensive coordinator?
-In six of these eighteen seasons, Pittsburgh has finished in the top five in both points allowed and yards allowed. The Steelers were 66-30 in those six seasons.
-Tomlin's two most skilled offensive weapons — Antonio Brown and Le'Veon Bell — have since proven to be certifiably nuts, and for as prolific and durable as he was, it's not as if Ben Roethlisberger was ever considered one of the top five quarterbacks in the NFL.
-Of the 24 head coaches who have at least 150 regular season wins to their name, only four — Don Shula, George Halas, Bill Belichick, Andy Reid and Curly Lambeau — have a better winning percentage than Tomlin.
-And not that it counts for anything, but no head coach has ever looked as cool on the sideline as Mike Tomlin. That is, unless you want to count Tom Coughlin in the 2008 NFC Championship Game, though he looked frozen, not cool.
So sure, the standard may have been the standard long before Mike Tomlin arrived in Pittsburgh, but at the very least, he's upheld it and coined the phrase for it. For that, the Steelers would be foolish to think about parting ways with him this offseason.
