Lets take the time out to wish Pittsburgh Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin a happy birthday today! Michael Pettaway Tomlin (born 03/15/1972) was born in Hampton, Virginia. He 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. However, Tomlin hardly knew his birth father and was raised by his mother and stepfather. Tomlin attended Denbigh High School in Newport News, Virginia 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. Tomlins 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 Martins 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. All of Tomlins coaching jobs at the college level were for NCAA Division I teams. 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. In 2002 and 2005, the Buccaneers led the NFL in total defense (fewest yards allowed per game)—during Tomlins 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. 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 NFLs eighth-best overall defense, but had the unusual distinction of finishing as the top-ranked defense against the run, and the worst-ranked defense against the pass. Tomlin became the 16th 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. With Tomlin, the Steelers continued a trend of hiring head coaches in their 30s. The others were Cowher (age 34 in 1992), Chuck Noll (38 in 1969), Bill Austin (38 in 1966), John Michelosen (32 in 1948), Jim Leonard (35 in 1945), Aldo Donelli (33 in 1941) Walt Kiesling (35 in 1939), Johnny Blood McNally (33 in 1937) and Joe Bach (36 in 1935). Tomlin is the 10th 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 NFLs diversity committee and proposed the Rooney Rule, requiring that teams interview minority candidates when selecting a head coach. Although Tomlins ascension to an NFL head coaching job has been cited as evidence of the rule working as intended, Rooney himself disputes this, as he had already interviewed a minority candidate prior to interviewing Tomlin. Terms of Tomlins contract were not officially released. The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reported a four-year deal paying $2.5 million per year, with an option for a fifth year. He is the teams third consecutive head coach to win his first game, and the first in team history to win his first game against the rival Cleveland Browns. In contrast to Bill Cowher, who only retained longtime running backs coach Dick Hoak from Chuck Nolls staff (Hoak himself retired just before Cowhers resignation), Tomlin did retain many of Cowhers 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 Tomlins hiring. The Steelers finished Tomlins first season as head coach with the top-ranked defense in the NFL. 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. 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. 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 to the Super Bowl, following Chicagos Lovie Smith and Indianapolis Tony Dungy, the two opposing coaches in Super Bowl XLI. After two seasons, with a record of 22-10, he was the winningest head coach in Steelers history based on a win percentage (68.8%). On January 29, 2009, Mike Tomlin was named the 2008 Motorola NFL Coach of the Year. On February 1, 2009, at age 36, 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, who was 39 when he won Super Bowl XXXVII. He was also the second African American head coach to accomplish such a feat. In the 2009 season, the Steelers finished the season with a 12-4 record. When they defeated the On July 13, 2010, Tomlin signed a three-year contract extension with the Steelers. He made the most of that on January 23, 2011, when he coached the Pittsburgh Steelers to a 24-19 win against the New York Jets in the AFC championship. That win made Mike Tomlin the first African American head coach to make two Super Bowl appearances. Unfortunately on February 5, 2011, they fell short against the Green Bay Packers 31-26 in Super Bowl XLV. Despite the loss, he remains the only African American head coach to lead his team to two Super Bowls. On November 13, 2011, Tomlin won his 50th game as the Steelers head coach with a 24-17 victory over the Cincinnati Bengals. Of the teams 16 head coaches, Tomlin was the fourth to reach this milestone. On July 24, 2012, Tomlin received a three-year contract extension through the 2016 season. The financial terms were not disclosed. On February 7, 2012, the Steelers hired Todd Haley as their offensive coordinator, causing some controversy between him an QB Ben Roethlisberger; this proved to be a problem all of the 2012 season. They began this season with a loss coming from Peyton Manning and the Broncos. They later bounced back and where sitting with a 6-3 record. However they lost Roethlisberger to a game against the Kansas City Chiefs. The Steelers lost two of their three games without Roethlisberger. When he returned the Steelers lost three games in a row to the Chargers, Cowboys and Bengals finishing the year 8-8. It is the second time that the Steelers have failed to make the playoffs under Mike Tomlins tenure as head coach. But at the same time, key players missed a number of games due to injury. Facing the Baltimore Ravens on November 28, 2013 in a primetime Thanksgiving Day game with major playoff implications, Tomlin became the subject of controversy when video replay showed him possibly interfering with a play. With his team trailing, 13–7, in the third quarter, Tomlin stood just off the field along the visiting teams sideline as Baltimores Jacoby Jones broke free on a kickoff return for a potential game breaking touchdown.[17] Tomlin, with his back to the approaching play, appeared to glance over his shoulder then place his foot briefly onto the field as he jumped out of the way, causing Jones to veer inside where he was tackled. Several Ravens players claimed that Tomlin intentionally interfered with Jones; if officials had agreed, a touchdown could have been awarded to the Ravens. However, no penalty was called for interference or for Tomlin standing in the white border area reserved for the officiating crew. Tomlins action, whether it was deemed intentional or not, was widely criticized in the media. Following the game, Tomlin defended himself, stating he had simply wandered too close to the field while watching the play on a Jumbotron, a mistake he said coaches often make.[18] The league subsequently announced it was investigating the matter, with the potential of a heavy fine and forfeited draft pick.[17] On December 4, 2013 the NFL announced that they had fined Tomlin $100,000, and hinted it is considering stripping the Steelers of one or more draft picks because his actions affected the play on the field.[19] The $100,000 fine is tied for the second-highest for a coach in NFL history, and is also tied for the highest for a coach who does not also have the powers of general manager. Then-Minnesota Vikings head coach Mike Tice was fined $100,000 in 2005 for scalping Super Bowl tickets. In 2013, the Pittsburgh Steelers lost key players to free agency. Injuries to key players added fuel to the fire as they started the first half of the season at 2-6. However, they were able to pick it up in the second half. Facing the Baltimore Ravens on November 28, 2013 in a primetime Thanksgiving Day game with major playoff implications, Tomlin became the subject of controversy when video replay showed him possibly interfering with a play. With his team trailing, 13–7, in the third quarter, Tomlin stood just off the field along the visiting teams sideline as Baltimores Jacoby Jones broke free on a kickoff return for a potential game breaking touchdown.[17] Tomlin, with his back to the approaching play, appeared to glance over his shoulder then place his foot briefly onto the field as he jumped out of the way, causing Jones to veer inside where he was tackled. Several Ravens players claimed that Tomlin intentionally interfered with Jones; if officials had agreed, a touchdown could have been awarded to the Ravens. However, no penalty was called for interference or for Tomlin standing in the white border area reserved for the officiating crew. Tomlins action, whether it was deemed intentional or not, was widely criticized in the media. Following the game, Tomlin defended himself, stating he had simply wandered too close to the field while watching the play on a Jumbotron, a mistake he said coaches often make.[18] The league subsequently announced it was investigating the matter, with the potential of a heavy fine and forfeited draft pick. Pittsburgh eventually lost the game 22-20. On December 4, 2013 the NFL announced that they had fined Tomlin $100,000, and hinted it is considering stripping the Steelers of one or more draft picks because his actions affected the play on the field. The $100,000 fine is tied for the second-highest for a coach in NFL history, and is also tied for the highest for a coach who does not also have the powers of general manager. Then-Minnesota Vikings head coach Mike Tice was fined $100,000 in 2005 for scalping Super Bowl tickets. Pittsburgh finished the second half of the season at 6-2. Unfortunately, they missed the playoffs for a second consecutive season. Tomlin met his wife, Kiya Winston, while they were students at The College of William & Mary, where Tomlin majored in biology. He graduated in 1995. They have three children: sons Michael Dean, born in 2000, and Mason, born in 2002; and a daughter, Harlyn Quinn, born in 2006. Tomlin resides with his family in the Squirrel Hill neighborhood of Pittsburgh and attends the Christian and Missionary Alliance Church. 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 a resemblance to actor Omar Epps. This resemblance 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, but probably not as much as Foreman (Epps character). Despite never playing in the NFL, hes making the most of it as a head coach. Hopefully, the Pittsburgh Steelers will turn it around this season. Happy birthday once again, Mike Tomlin! Today is his 42nd birthday!
Posted on: Sat, 15 Mar 2014 18:40:33 +0000
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