PITTSBURGH - On an important night for Ben Roethlisberger, Pittsburgh Steelers coach Mike Tomlin achieved his important milestone.
With Monday night's 26-14 win against the Cleveland Browns in the quarterback's clear home final, the Steelers went 8-7-1 with one game to spare, ensuring Tomlin's 15th consecutive season as head coach. I will survive the losing season. That mark set a league record for starting an NFL career, breaking Marty Schottenheimer's streak from 1984 to 1997 during the tenures of the Browns and the Kansas City Chiefs.
But Tomlin, who is notoriously understated when talking about personal achievements, lowered the benchmark on Tuesday.
"As I sit here today, and I say humbly," Tomlin replied asking whether it was worthwhile to set the mark. "Our agenda, this year, is to get into a single-elimination tournament and then use our skills against others in that single-elimination tournament in an effort to win the world championship. That's our mindset every year.
"And so with that mindset, it's a certain amount of hardware that you expect to have along the way. And if you don't, you'll be seriously disappointed. It's just a hope that we have it here in Pittsburgh." "
Now at age 49, Tomlin set a record for being the youngest head coach to win a Super Bowl more than a decade ago, when he was 36 and played in Super Bowl XLIII against the Arizona Cardinals. Coached the Steelers for the win. He has endeared himself to his team and has established himself as one of the best coaches in the league for his message and the relationship he has with his players.
"He challenges his players," longtime defensive lineman Cameron Hayward said earlier this season. "He expects the best. When he challenges us, it's individually, but it's for a group group. He does it from a place where you know he wants the best for you." And for a coach to do it all at once.—A level even when he's the head coach, is very special."
In his 15 seasons, Tomlin holds a record of 161-93-2, although he is only 8-8 after the season.
"This team is full of tradition and history," Roethlisberger said after Tomlin scored his 150th regular-season win against the Chicago Bears earlier this season. "And so, I'm sure he's proud of it, and he should be. There's a lot of -- I think there aren't a lot of great coaches, but the coaches that have been here are very historic."
This season, Tomlin assisted the ship after the Steelers started 1-3 and went on a three-game winless streak in the middle of the season. Now, with Baltimore with only 18 games left in the week, the Steelers have the worst finish ever, 8-8-1.