Since 1969 the Steelers have had only three head coaches, and thanks to the incredible coaching of those men the Steelers made history today.
With the victory over the Bengals, Coach Mike Tomlin now has 90 career wins. He joins Hall of Fame Coach Chuck Noll and Bill Cowher as the third coach in Steelers history to reach 90 regular season wins, and the Steelers are the first franchise in NFL history to have three different head coaches reach that 90 win milestone.
Chuck Noll, Bill Cowher and Mike Tomlin combined for an NFL milestone, the first team to have 3 coaches with 90 or more career wins.
"We certainly have been fortunate to have three men like Chuck Noll, Bill Cowher and Mike Tomlin," said Steelers President Art Rooney II. "The fact that each of them had that kind of success is great to see, it's something we strive for. Stability is something that provides a foundation for everything you do.
"I think our whole organization is geared to support the coach, support the football operation in a way that allows it to be successful."
Noll, who coached from 1969-1991, tallied 193 career regular season wins, while Cowher had 149 wins, coaching from 1992-2006. Tomlin, who took over in 2007, has kept the winning tradition alive.
All three coaches also led their teams to Super Bowl victories – Noll (Super Bowl IX, X, XIII, XIV), Cowher (Super Bowl XL), and Tomlin (Super Bowl XLIII).
"We have been fortunate to have three great men like that leading the team," said Rooney. "That is where it starts. It's a tribute not just to them, but I am sure they would also point to the fact that they had a lot of great people around them to help achieve that success."Additional Note: Mike Tomlin became the first head coach in Steelers history to win 90 games in his first nine years. Tomlin also is the ninth head coach in NFL history to win 90 games in his first nine years as head coach, joining Mike Ditka, Joe Gibbs, Dennis Green, Mike Holmgren, John Madden, Mike McCarthy, George Seifert and Don Shula. Tomlin is also the third head coach in NFL history to win eight games in each of his first nine years with the same team (Green with Minnesota and Madden with Oakland).
