- Mike Tomlin
-
Mike Tomlin 
Tomlin coaching a regular season Steelers home game in 2007 Date of birth March 15, 1972 Place of birth Newport News, Virginia, U.S. Position(s) Head coach
Defensive backs coachCollege College of William and Mary Awards 2008 Motorola NFL Coach of the Year
Career record 43–21–0 (Regular Season)
5–2 (Postseason)
48–23–0 (Overall)Super Bowl wins Super Bowl XLIII Championships won 2008 AFC Championship
2010 AFC ChampionshipStats Coaching stats Pro Football Reference Team(s) as a coach/administrator 1995
1996
1997
1998
1999–2000
2001–2005
2006
2007–presentVirginia Military Institute Keydets (NCAA) (wide receivers)
Memphis Tigers (NCAA) (graduate assistant)
Arkansas State Red Wolves (NCAA) (wide receivers)
Arkansas State Red Wolves (NCAA) (defensive backs)
Cincinnati Bearcats (NCAA) (defensive backs)
Tampa Bay Buccaneers (defensive backs)
Minnesota Vikings (defensive coordinator)
Pittsburgh Steelers (head coach)Michael Tomlin (born March 15, 1972) is the current head coach for the Pittsburgh Steelers of the National Football League. Tomlin is the third youngest head coach in any of the four major North American professional sports. He is the tenth African-American head coach in NFL history, and first in Steelers history. With the Steelers' victory in Super Bowl XLIII on February 1, 2009, Tomlin became the youngest head coach to lead his team to a Super Bowl victory.
Contents
Biography
Playing career
Tomlin attended Denbigh High School and was a three-year starter as a wide receiver/tight end for the College of William and Mary, where he became a member of Kappa Alpha Psi fraternity. He finished his career with a school-record 20 touchdown catches. He was a second-team All-Yankee Conference selection in 1994. Tomlin never played in the NFL.
Coaching career
College
Tomlin's coaching career began in 1995 as the wide receiver coach at Virginia Military Institute under former West Virginia University head coach Bill Stewart. He spent the 1996 season as a graduate assistant at the University of Memphis, where he worked with the defensive backs and special teams.
Following a brief stint on the University of Tennessee at Martin's coaching staff, Tomlin was hired by Arkansas State University in 1997 to coach its defensive backs. Tomlin stayed there for two seasons, before being hired as defensive backs coach by the University of Cincinnati.[citation needed]
National Football League
Assistant coach
Tomlin was hired as the defensive backs coach for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in 2001, where he first learned the Tampa 2 defense that he would use in later coaching jobs.[1]
In 2002 and 2005, 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 Super Bowl XXXVII in January 2003, the team recorded five interceptions, three of which were returned for touchdowns.
Tomlin was selected by Vikings' head coach Brad Childress to be his defensive coordinator in 2006.[2][3] Two of the players on the Vikings were older than Tomlin, and Tomlin had been a teammate of Vikings' safety Darren Sharper 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,[4] and the worst-ranked defense against the pass.[5]
Head coach
Tomlin became the sixteenth Steelers head coach on January 22, 2007, when he was hired to replace Bill Cowher, who resigned after spending 15 years with the team. Tomlin had also interviewed for the head coaching vacancy with the Miami Dolphins, which eventually was given to Cam Cameron.
Tomlin continues a trend of 30-something Steeler head coaching hires, following Cowher (hired at age 34 in 1992), and Chuck Noll (hired at age 37 in 1969). Other Steelers coaches hired in their thirties include Bill Austin (hired at age 38 in 1966), John Michelosen (hired at age 32 in 1948), Jim Leonard (hired at age 35 in 1945), Walt Kiesling (hired at age 35 in 1939), Aldo Donelli (hired at age 33 in 1941), Johnny "Blood" McNally (hired at age 33 in 1937) and Joe Bach (hired at age 36 in 1935).
Tomlin is the tenth African-American head coach in NFL history and the first in Steelers franchise history. Steelers owner Dan Rooney has served as the head of the NFL's diversity committee and proposed the Rooney Rule, 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,[6] Rooney himself disputes this, as he had already interviewed a minority candidate prior to interviewing Tomlin.[7][8]
Terms of Tomlin's contract have not been released officially. The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports a four-year deal ($2.5M each year) with an option for a fifth year. He is the third consecutive Steeler coach to win his first game, and the first head coach in Steeler history to win his first contest against the rival Cleveland Browns.
In a stark contrast to Bill Cowher, who only retained longtime running backs coach Dick Hoak from Chuck Noll's staff (Hoak himself retired just before Cowher's resignation), Tomlin did retain many of Cowher's assistants, most notably defensive coordinator Dick LeBeau 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 Super Bowl win 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.[9] Tomlin led the Steelers 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 Don Shula.[10] Tomlin set a Steelers record for most wins, after winning 22 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.[11]
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 into the Super Bowl, joining Chicago's Lovie Smith and Indianapolis' Tony Dungy—the two opposing coaches in Super Bowl XLI. (Jim Caldwell, Dungy's replacement, joined them a year after Tomlin by coaching the Colts into Super Bowl XLIV.) He was, after 2 seasons, the winningest head coach in Steelers history, based on win percentage (68.8%) (22–10)
On January 29, 2009, Mike Tomlin was named the 2008 Motorola NFL Coach of the Year.[12]
On February 1, 2009, Tomlin became the youngest head coach to win the Super Bowl when his Steelers defeated the Arizona Cardinals in Super Bowl XLIII, beating the previous record held by Jon Gruden.
On July 13, 2010 Tomlin signed a 3 year contract extension with the Steelers.
On November 13, 2011 Tomlin won his 50th game as a Steelers head coach with a 24-17 victory over the Cincinnati Bengals. He is only the fourth of the 16 Steelers head coaches to do so.
Personal
Tomlin is the younger of two sons; his brother, Eddie, is three and a half years older. Their father, Ed Tomlin, played football at Hampton Institute in the 1960s and was drafted by the Baltimore Colts. He later played for the Montreal Alouettes in the Canadian Football League. Tomlin's mother, Julia, married Leslie Copeland, a supervisor for the U.S. Postal Service, in 1980. Interestingly, Mike Tomlin is the first cousin of famed actor Omar Epps.[citation needed] Epps is famous for his lead role on Fox's hit television series House along with lead roles in prominent features including: Love & Basketball, The Wood, and Scream 2. Their resemblance has been noted by many leading to a public announcement of the familial ties in Spring, 2009.[citation needed]
Tomlin met his wife, Kiya Winston, while they were students at The College of William & Mary, where Tomlin majored in sociology.[13] He graduated in 1995. They have three children: sons Michael Dean, born in 2001, and Mason, born in 2002; and a daughter, Harlyn Quinn, born in 2006.[14][15] Tomlin resides with his family in the Squirrel Hill neighborhood of Pittsburgh and attends the Christian and Missionary Alliance Church.[16][17]
Tomlin is a spring 1991 initiate of the Eta Omega chapter at Old Dominion University and charter member of the Xi Theta Chapter of Kappa Alpha Psi fraternity, The College of William & Mary. Tomlin is popularly known for his uncanny resemblance to actor Omar Epps.[16] His name was referenced on an episode of the TV series House in November 2009 in Episode 8 of Season 6, Ignorance is Bliss, when House mentions feeling like Mike Tomlin because of having his team back, then states probably not as much as Foreman.
Head coaching record
Team Year Regular Season Post Season Won Lost Ties Win % Finish Won Lost Win % Result PIT 2007 10 6 0 .625 1st in AFC North 0 1 .000 Lost to Jacksonville Jaguars in AFC Wild-Card Game PIT 2008 12 4 0 .750 1st in AFC North 3 0 1.000 Super Bowl XLIII Champions PIT 2009 9 7 0 .533 3rd in AFC North – – – – PIT 2010 12 4 0 .750 1st in AFC North 2 1 .667 Lost to Green Bay Packers in Super Bowl XLV PIT 2011 7 3 0 .700 AFC North – – – – Total[18] 50 24 0 .676 5 2 .750 Coaching record vs. other teams (regular season)
How the Steelers fared in games with Tomlin as head coach.
Team Wins Losses Ties 1 Arizona Cardinals 1 1 0 2 Atlanta Falcons 1 0 0 3 Baltimore Ravens 5 3 0 4 Buffalo Bills 2 0 0 5 Carolina Panthers 1 0 0 6 Chicago Bears 0 1 0 7 Cincinnati Bengals 6 2 0 8 Cleveland Browns 7 1 0 9 Dallas Cowboys 1 0 0 10 Denver Broncos 1 1 0 11 Detroit Lions 1 0 0 12 Green Bay Packers 1 0 0 13 Houston Texans 1 1 0 14 Indianapolis Colts 1 1 0 15 Jacksonville Jaguars 1 1 0 16 Kansas City Chiefs 0 1 0 17 Miami Dolphins 3 0 0 18 Minnesota Vikings 1 0 0 19 New England Patriots 2 2 0 20 New Orleans Saints 0 1 0 21 New York Giants 0 1 0 22 New York Jets 0 2 0 23 Oakland Raiders 1 1 0 24 Philadelphia Eagles 0 1 0 25 St. Louis Rams 1 0 0 26 San Diego Chargers 2 0 0 27 San Francisco 49ers 1 0 0 28 Seattle Seahawks 2 0 0 29 Tampa Bay Buccaneers 1 0 0 30 Tennessee Titans 3 1 0 31 Washington Redskins 1 0 0 Totals 43 21 0 Coaching record vs. other teams(playoffs)
How the Steelers fared in playoff games with Tomlin as head coach.
Team Wins Losses 1 Arizona Cardinals 1 0 2 Baltimore Ravens 2 0 3 Jacksonville Jaguars 0 1 4 San Diego Chargers 1 0 5 New York Jets 1 0 5 Green Bay Packers 0 1 Totals 5 2 Coaching tree
NFL head coaches under whom Mike Tomlin has served: Head Coach Team Capacity Year(s) Tony Dungy Tampa Bay Buccaneers defensive backs coach 2001 Jon Gruden Tampa Bay Buccaneers defensive backs coach 2002–2005 Brad Childress Minnesota Vikings defensive coordinator 2006 References and notes
- ^ Smith, Michael (2005-12-28). "'Simple' scheme nets big gains for trio of defenses". ESPN.com. http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/news/story?id=2271514.
- ^ Krawczynski, Jon (2008-08-22). "Steelers coach Tomlin made strong impression in MN". Yahoo! Sports. http://sports.yahoo.com/nfl/news?slug=ap-tomlinsreturn&prov=ap&type=lgns. Retrieved 2008-08-23.
- ^ Harris, John (2008-08-23). "Steelers coach, Vikings safety share history". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/sports/steelers/s_584500.html?source=rss&feed=3. Retrieved 2008-08-23.
- ^ "2006 regular season defensive rushing stats". NFL.com. Archived from the original on 2007-01-19. http://web.archive.org/web/20070119124756/http://www.nfl.com/stats/teamsort/NFL/DEF-RUSHING/2006/regular. Retrieved 2007-01-22.
- ^ "2006 regular season defensive passing stats". NFL.com. Archived from the original on 2007-01-19. http://web.archive.org/web/20070119124732/http://www.nfl.com/stats/teamsort/NFL/DEF-PASSING/2006/regular. Retrieved 2007-01-22.
- ^ "Tomlin proof NFL's Rooney Rule is working as intended". Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/sports/steelers/s_489701.html. Retrieved 2007-09-15.
- ^ The Wall Street Journal. http://obama.wsj.com/quote/00C19ougZs3uV?q=Mike+Tomlin#.
- ^ Newsday, February 1, 2009 Tomlin adapts well to players but leaves no doubt who's in charge
The Rooney Rule dictates that for all head-coaching openings, each team must interview at least one minority candidate. But here's what's interesting: The coach who might be the Rooney Rule's greatest advertisement didn't benefit from it. "Let me say this: Mike Tomlin was not part of the Rooney Rule," Rooney said. "We had already interviewed Ron Rivera [then the Bears' defensive coordinator], and so that fulfilled the obligation," Rooney said. "We went on, had heard about Mike, called him in and talked to him. He was very impressive."
- ^ "Steelers finish with top defense". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. http://www.pittsburghpostgazette.com/pg/08001/845806-66.stm. Retrieved 2008-01-01.
- ^ Collier, Gene (2008-10-19). "Tomlin's early career looking an awful lot like Cowher's". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/08293/921086-66.stm. Retrieved 2008-10-20.
- ^ Bouchette, Ed (15 December 2008). "Steelers Notebook: Game ends with some spit and a shove". Quick hits (Pittsburgh Post-Gazette). http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/08350/935281-66.stm?cmpid=steelers.xml. Retrieved 15 December 2008.
- ^ Steelers' Tomlin named NFL Coach of the Year
- ^ Pesola, Eric W. (2007). "Pittsburgh's New Man of Steel". William and Mary Alumni Association. http://alumni.wm.edu/magazine/spgsum_2007/feature_2.shtml. Retrieved 2009-01-20.
- ^ "Pittsburgh Steelers". Pittsburgh Steelers. 2007. http://news.steelers.com/team/coach/49255/. Retrieved 2009-01-20.
- ^ New Pittsburgh Courier, Feb. 14, 2007
- ^ a b "Steelers' Tomlin earns sexy honor". Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. 2008. http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/sports/steelers/s_550003.html. Retrieved 2011-01-26.
- ^ "Mike Tomlin, Steelers head coach, talks about his faith", http://www.baptistpress.com/BPnews.asp?ID=29752
- ^ Mike Tomlin Record, Statistics, and Category Ranks – Pro-Football-Reference.com
Sources
- Bell, Jarrett (Spring 2009), Super Man (Magazine), 116, Baltimore, Maryland: The Crisis, ISSN 0011-1422
External links
- Biography of Mike Tomlin in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
- Minnesota Vikings Defensive Coordinator page
- Tampa Bay Buccanneers Defensive Backs coach page
- Tomlin Official Steelers Biography
Sporting positions Preceded by
Ted CottrellMinnesota Vikings Defensive Coordinator
2006Succeeded by
Leslie FrazierAwards and achievements Preceded by
Tom CoughlinSuper Bowl Winning Head Coach
Super Bowl XLIII, 2008–09Succeeded by
Sean PaytonPittsburgh Pirates / Steelers head coaches Forrest Douds (1933) • Luby DiMeolo (1934) • Joe Bach (1935–1936) • John McNally (1937–1939) • Walt Kiesling (1939–1940) • Bert Bell (1941) • Aldo Donelli (1941) • Walt Kiesling (1941–1942) • No team (1943–1944) • Jim Leonard (1945) • Jock Sutherland (1946–1947) • John Michelosen (1949–1951) • Joe Bach (1952–1953) • Walt Kiesling (1954–1956) • Buddy Parker (1957–1964) • Mike Nixon (1965) • Bill Austin (1966–1968) • Chuck Noll (1969–1991) • Bill Cowher (1992–2006) • Mike Tomlin (2007– )
Pittsburgh Steelers Super Bowl XLIII Champions 2 Dennis Dixon | 3 Jeff Reed | 4 Byron Leftwich | 7 Ben Roethlisberger | 9 Daniel Sepulveda | 10 Santonio Holmes (MVP) | 13 Marvin Allen | 14 Limas Sweed | 15 Martin Nance | 16 Charlie Batch | 17 Mitch Berger | 20 Bryant McFadden | 21 Mewelde Moore | 22 William Gay | 23 Tyrone Carter | 24 Ike Taylor | 25 Ryan Clark | 26 Deshea Townsend | 27 Anthony Smith | 28 Justin Vincent | 29 Ryan Mundy | 30 Roy Lewis | 31 Fernando Bryant | 33 Gary Russell | 34 Rashard Mendenhall | 37 Anthony Madison | 38 Carey Davis | 39 Willie Parker | 43 Troy Polamalu | 49 Sean McHugh | 50 Larry Foote | 51 James Farrior | 53 Bruce Davis | 54 Andre Frazier | 55 Patrick Bailey | 55 Mike Humpal | 56 LaMarr Woodley | 57 Keyaron Fox | 60 Greg Warren | 61 Jared Retkofsky | 62 Justin Hartwig | 64 Doug Legursky | 65 Jeremy Parquet | 66 Tony Hills | 67 Kyle Clement | 68 Chris Kemoeatu | 69 Jason Capizzi | 71 Scott Paxson | 72 Darnell Stapleton | 73 Kendall Simmons | 74 Willie Colon | 76 Chris Hoke | 77 Marvel Smith | 78 Max Starks | 79 Trai Essex | 81 Dallas Baker | 83 Heath Miller | 84 Dezmond Sherrod | 85 Nate Washington | 86 Hines Ward | 88 Jon Dekker | 89 Matt Spaeth | 90 Travis Kirschke | 91 Aaron Smith | 92 James Harrison | 93 Nick Eason | 94 Lawrence Timmons | 95 Donovan Woods | 96 Orpheus Roye | 97 Arnold Harrison | 98 Casey Hampton | 99 Brett Keisel
Head Coach: Mike Tomlin
Coaches: Ken Anderson | Bruce Arians | Keith Butler | James Daniel | Randy Fichtner | Garrett Giemont | Harold Goodwin | Ray Horton | Amos Jones | Dick LeBeau | Bob Ligashesky | John Mitchell | Lou Spanos | Kirby Wilson | Larry ZierleinCategories:- 1972 births
- Living people
- National Football League head coaches
- National Football League defensive coordinators
- Arkansas State Red Wolves football coaches
- Cincinnati Bearcats football coaches
- Memphis Tigers football coaches
- Minnesota Vikings coaches
- Pittsburgh Steelers head coaches
- Tampa Bay Buccaneers coaches
- VMI Keydets football coaches
- William & Mary Tribe football players
- People from Newport News, Virginia
- African American coaches of American football
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