Mike Tomlin

A coach shapes the structure and outlook of the game. If it were not for Mike Tomlin, Pittsburgh Steelers would not have succeeded like they do today.

Tomlin is the first Pittsburgh Steelers coach who has not lost a single season.

Mike Tomlin, an American football coach, has served as the head coach for  Pittsburgh Steelers of the National Football League (NFL) since 2007.

He is the tenth African-American Coach in NFL history and the first one to have worked with the Steelers.

He worked as a defensive assistant for a few teams before taking the head coach position at Steelers.

Under his leadership, the Steelers have blossomed into one of the strongest NFL teams. Not to mention, the coach assisted the Pittsburgh team to a Super Bowl Championship in 2008. 

The compassion and dedication he shows through his players are remarkable. He is considered one of the greatest leaders and coaches in the Steeler’s franchise.

Today, we will be talking about Mike Tomlin without excluding anything worth mentioning that has ever happened in his personal and professional life. Let’s get started!

Quick Facts 

Full name Michael Pettaway Tomlin
Birthdate March 15, 1972
Birthplace Hampton, Virginia, United States
Religion Not Known
Nationality American
Horoscope Virgo
Father’s name Ed Tomlin
Mother’s name Julia Tomlin
Stepfather Leslie Copeland
Siblings A brother
Education Denbigh High School in Newport News, Virginia

College of William and Mary in Virginia

Brother’s name Eddie Tomlin
Age 50 Years Old
Eye color Dark Brown
Hair color Brown
Marital Status Married
Spouse Kiya Winston
Children Two sons and a daughter
Children’s Name Michael Dean Tomlin

Mason Tomlin

Harlyn Quinn Tomlin

Profession Head Coach for the Pittsburgh Steelers of NFL
Before Head Coach (with NFL) Position Coach for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers of NFL

Defensive Coordinator for the Minnesota Vikings of NFL

Coaching Career Outside NFL Wide receiver coach at Virginia Military Institute

Graduate Assistant at the University of Memphis

Defensive back coach at the University of Tennessee

Defensive back and wide receiver coach at the Arkansas State University

As a Defensive back coach at the University of Cincinnati

Awards and Honors Super Bowl champion (XLIII)

Motorola Coach of the Year in 2008

Dapper Dan Sportsman of the Year in 2008

Youngest head coach to have won the Super Bowl (XLIII)

Super Bowl champion (XXXVII)  – As an assistant coach:

Net worth Around $30 million
Social Media Handles Twitter, Instagram
Merch Autographed Football
Last Update July, 2022

Early Years and Family Life of Mike Tomlin

In Hampton, Virginia, USA, on March 15, 1972, Mike Tomlin was born. Ed and Julia Tomlin gave birth to him. Eddie Tomlin, his older brother, is three and a half years older than Mike.

Mike is not the only member of the family with ties to the game. In the 1960s, Ed Tomlin, his father, played football at Hampton Institute.

Ed was selected by the Baltimore Colts. He was also connected to the Canadian Football League’s Montreal Alouettes (CFL).

But Ed Tomlin passed away in Ocala, Florida, in January 2012 from a heart attack. Ed passed away at the age of 63.

However, Mike scarcely knew his biological father. He was too young when his parents got divorced. Leslie Copeland, his stepfather, and his mother raised him. When Mike was six years old, his mother wed Leslie.

The book Brent Venables – Football, Coaching, Family, & Hardships might be of interest to you.

Education

In 1990, Mike earned his diploma from Newport News, Virginia’s Denbigh High School. He was then granted admission to Virginia’s College of William and Mary. While in college, he was a member of the Kappa Alpha Psi fraternity.

Tomlin was chosen as a wide receiver on the second team of the 1994 Yankee Conference.

Early coaching career of Mike Tomlin, just starting out (With Colleges)

Tomlin had the option of playing football professionally, but he decided against it. He hadn’t played football since his undergraduate days, when he was last spotted.

In 1995, he began working as a coach at the Virginia Military Institute (VMI). At VMI, he worked with head coach Bill Stewart as the wide receivers coach.

The University of Memphis then accepted Mike for the 1996 campaign. He began coordinating special teams and defensive backs with them.

After that, he spent a short time at the University of Tennessee. He was then employed by Arkansas State University. During the 1997 and 1998 seasons, he played defensive back.

He was later employed by the University of Cincinnati to coach the defensive backs.

Positions in the National Football League coach

In 2001, Tomlin was hired by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers to coach the defensive backs. To deploy the Tampa 2 defense in other coaching positions, he first had to study it.

In both the 2002 and 2005 seasons, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers ranked first in the NFL for total defense. While Tomlin was working with them, the defense never fell lower than sixth overall.

Coordinator of the defense

Brad Childress, the head coach of the Vikings, chose Tomlin to serve as his defensive coordinator in 2006.

Two players on the Vikings were older than Tomlin. Additionally, Tomlin played alongside Viking safety Darren Sharper at William & Mary.

The Vikings finished the season with the eighth-best overall defense in the NFL. They did, however, have the peculiar distinction of ending with the lowest pass defense and the best run defense rankings.

Head coach Mike Tomlin’s coaching career

Tomlin was chosen to participate in the interview process for the open post of head coach with the Pittsburgh Steelers.

He had just been a defensive coordinator for a year at that point. On January 27, 2007, the Pittsburgh Steelers hired him. He served as the Steelers’ sixteenth head coach. And He was also their organization’s first African American head coach. He was the sixth American to serve as an NFL head coach.

Prior to Tomlin, Bill Cowher was the Steelers’ head coach. After 15 years of service to the squad, he retired.

There was no disclosure of Mike Tomlin’s contract details. However, it was claimed that a four-year contract worth $2.5 million per year with an additional year’s option had been inked.

More

Tomlin is the third head coach of the Steelers to start the season with a victory. In addition, he is the first head coach in Steelers history to have defeated the Cleveland Browns in his debut.

Many of Tomlin’s predecessor’s assistants left him. Despite adhering to a different defensive philosophy than Tomlin, Dick LeBeau was nevertheless employed as the defensive coordinator.

Tomlin was confident that the change would preserve the players’ camaraderie on the team.

In Tomlin’s first season as head coach, the Steelers had the NFL’s best defense. In his debut season, he guided the group to the 2007 AFC North Division title with a 10-6 record.

Tomlin began his career with a regular-season record of 15-7. After winning 22 games in his first two seasons as head coach, he set the Steelers’ record for most victories.

He also made history by being the first head coach of the Steelers to win a division in each of his first two seasons.

Also Read Nick Young Career

With the Steelers’ victory over the Baltimore Ravens in the 2008 AFC Championship Game, he then made history by being the youngest NFL head coach to have guided his club to a Super Bowl.

He was the third African-American to coach a club to the Super Bowl, in a similar vein. The two opposing coaches in Super Bowl XLI, Coach Lovie Smith of Chicago and Coach Tony Dungy of Indianapolis, were joined by Mike.

After that

After two seasons, Tomlin was the head coach with the highest victory percentage (68.8%) in Steelers history. At the time, the team’s record was 22-10.

On January 29, 2009, Tomlin was named the 2008 Motorola NFL Coach of the Year.

When the Pittsburgh Steelers defeated the Arizona Cardinals in Super Bowl XLIII on February 1, 2009, he went on to become the youngest head coach to have won the game. At the time, Tomlin was 36 years old.

Jon Gruden, who played for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers at the age of 39, previously set the record. Because Tomlin was Gruden’s defensive backs coach at the time of the game, he had connections to the victory.

On July 13, 2010, Tomlin, he then agreed to a three-year contract extension with the Steelers.

Under Tomlin’s guidance, the Steelers finished the 2010 season with a 12-4 record. The squad was guided to the Super Bowl by him for the second time in three years after that.

They were defeated by the Green Bay Packers in the Super Bowl XLV, 31-25, though.

Apart from that

On November 13, 2011, Tomlin achieved his 50th victory while serving as the Steelers’ head coach. The score against the Cincinnati Bengals was 24-17.

Out of sixteen head coaches, Tomlin was the fourth to accomplish this feat.

On July 24, 2012, Tomlin was given a three-year contract extension that will take him through the 2016 campaign. The financial details weren’t made public, though.

The Steelers then had an 8-8 record in 2012–2013. Due of Ben Roethlisberger’s injuries, the team struggled a lot.

Additionally, they had trouble adjusting to Todd Haley’s offensive scheme and the offensive line.

Under Tomlin’s guidance, the Steelers missed the playoffs for the second consecutive season.

Mike Tomlin | Coaching Record And Stats

Year Regular season Postseason
Won Lost Ties Win % Finish Won Lost Win %
Total 145 78 1 .650 8 8 .500

Mike Tomlin | Controversy

The Pittsburgh Steelers faced the Baltimore Ravens on November 28, 2013, in a primetime Thanksgiving Day game with major playoff implications.

Tomlin got into a controversy at that game when a video replay showed him possibly interfering with a kick return.

Steelers had trailed 13–7 in the third quarter, and then Tomlin stood just off the field along the visiting team’s sideline.

Baltimore Raven’s Jacoby Jones then broke free on a kickoff return for a potential game-breaking touchdown. Tomlin’s back approached the play. He appeared to glance over his shoulder and then place his foot briefly onto the field.

He then jumped out of the way, which caused Jones to flip inside, where he was tackled.

Verdict

Many Baltimore Ravens’ players claimed Tomlin had real intentions to interfere with Jones.

If the officials agreed to the point, Ravens would have received a touchdown based on the unfair act.

However, the officials did not call any penalty for interference or standing in the white border area.

The mass had divided thoughts about whether Tomlin did it intentionally or not. Moreover, he was widely criticized in the media.

Tomlin gave statements on his defense, stating he had just wandered too close to the field while he watched the play on the stadium’s Jumbotron.

He called it a mistake that coaches often commit.

The league then announced that it would investigate the issue. A heavy fine and forfeited draft pick might have followed if the charges proved to be true.

Penalty

The NFL then charged Tomlin with a fine of $100,000 on December 4, 2013.

They gave a hint that the Steelers might get stripped of one or more draft picks because his actions interfered with the play on the field.

The fine of $100,000 is the second-highest to have been paid by a coach in NFL history.

Further, it is tied for the highest fine for a coach who does not also hold the general manager’s powers.

Then-Minnesota Vikings head coach Mike Tice was later charged with a $100,000 fine in 2005 for scalping with the Super Bowl tickets.

Also Read Kiya Winston Career

Highlights And Achievements

  • XLIII Super Bowl champion with Pittsburgh Steelers
  • XXXVII Super Bowl champion with Tampa Bay Buccaneers
  • 2008 Motorola Coach of the Year
  • 2008 Dapper Dan Sportsman of the Year
  • Youngest head coach to win the Super Bowl XLIII

Mike Tomlin | Wife and Children

Tomlin is married to Kiya Winston. Kiya is a fashion designer and apparel manufacturer.

The couple has three children together, Michael Dean Tomlin, Mason Tomlin, and Harlyn Quinn Tomlin.

Mike Tomlin | Net Worth and Salary

Tomlin earns good money from his coaching career. He has a very successful career with the Pittsburgh Steelers.

Mike Tomlin’s net worth is estimated to be around $16 million.

He is expected to earn a salary of a whopping $6 million annually. Tomlin lives a decent life with his family. 

On April 20, 2021, the Steelers’ head coach signed a three-year extension contract. Although the contract’s financial details are kept private, we can expect it to be in eight-figures.

Best Quotes By Mike

  • We don’t live in our fears. We live in our hopes.
  • Excuses are tools of the incompetent.
  • Hungry is a word that I’ve been analyzing here of late. It’s not hunger that drives me. It’s not hunger that needs to drive our football team. Hunger and thirst are things that can be quenched. We have to be a driven group, and we have to seek greatness.
  • If our team doesn’t face enough adversity early on in a season, I create it. Nothing builds a team like adversity.
  • I’ll tolerate you until I can replace you.
  • People aren’t very good listeners, by nature. Part of being a good communicator is recognizing and understanding that and trying to make the complex simple. I try to capture a concept, an idea, or a moment in a few words. If they remember it, job done.
  • I tend to attack the challenges that are right in front of me, the ones that I have today.
  • The good teams, the dominant teams, aren’t necessarily dominant in stadiums, but they are dominant largely in moments when they do what’s required to get out of stadiums with victories.

Mike Tomlin | Social Media Presence

You can find Mike Tomlin on the following platforms:

  1. Twitter
  2. Instagram

The Steeler’s coach is mostly active on his Twitter handle rather than his Instagram account. He even has 396.5 thousand followers on Twitter and tweets quite frequently.

Tomlin mostly shares NFL-related news, events, and highlights through his social media platforms.

Mike Tomlin | FAQs

Who is Mike Tomlin’s agent?

The head coach’s agent is Brian Levy, who represents many other NFL players and coaches.

What is Mike Tomlin’s tenure with the Pittsburgh Steelers?

Mike has worked with the Steelers for 13 seasons now. He joined them on January 27, 2007. Recently, the coach signed a contract to remain with the team through 2024.

Why is there a Mike Tomlin obituary?

The obituary does not belong to the NFL coach. The obituary is for Michael Allen Tomlin, who was born in 1948.