Mike Tomlin Ties Bill Cowher for Second-Most Coaching Wins in Steelers History

Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin tied his predecessor in coaching wins with the team’s victory over the Cleveland Browns on Sunday.

Tomlin moved into a tie in second place in franchise history with Bill Cowher with 149 wins. Tomlin has a better overall record, going 149-81-1 in his 13-plus seasons. Cowher finished his Steelers tenure with a 149-90-1 record.

Cowher coached from 1992-2006, and Tomlin replaced him upon his retirement for the 2007 season. Each coach won one Super Bowl, but Cowher owns a superior postseason record at 12-9, compared to Tomlin’s 8-8.

Tomlin has a long way to go to reach the top of the Steelers’ all-time wins list. Chuck Noll forged a 193-148-1 record from 1969-91. At his pace of 11.2 wins per season entering 2021, it would take him until sometime in the 2025 season to catch Noll.

But at just 49 years of age, Tomlin could still have a solid decade of coaching ahead of him. Noll was 60 when he retired in 1992. Cowher, though, was just 49 when he hung up his whistle in 2007.

Among active coaches, Tomlin’s 149 wins are third, behind only Bill Belichick (284) and Andy Reid (224), and one ahead of Sean Payton and Pete Carroll (148). Tomlin and Cowher are tied for 20th in NFL history for most coaching wins.

Of those 20 coaches, only George Halas (.682), Don Shula (.677) and Belichick (.670) have a better winning percentage than Tomlin’s .647.