PITTSBURGH (93.7 The Fan) – Covering the NFL for three decades, one of the longest tenured national experts, Pro Football Talk’s Mike Florio with high praise for Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin days before the start of Training camp.
Florio joined the PM Team for his weekly segment on Wednesday and asked by 93.7 The Fan’s Chris Mueller about his Top 10 NFL head coaching list. He had revealed 10 through three, with three being Bill Belichick, and Tomlin had not been named. With the assumption that Kansas City’s Andy Reid is number one, is Tomlin number two or number 11?
A no doubt to Florio that Mike Tomlin is the second-best head coach in the National Football League.
“There are some Patriots fans that are upset with me for putting Belichick at three, there may be more Steelers fans upset with me at putting Tomlin at two,” Florio said on 93.7 The Fan. “They lose two games in a row and they want to fire him.”
They’ve done that a few times over the last few seasons. While not having a losing season, something Florio pointed out as a big positive, Tomlin’s teams have only one season of double-digit wins in the last five years. Duck Hodges started games in one of those seasons, another he had a rookie quarterback. Overall, Florio says Tomlin gives you a chance to win every year no matter the cards he’s dealt.
“What he’s accomplished over the years and how he can take a team and consistently makes the whole greater than the sum of the parts, year-in and year-out,” Florio said on 93.7 The Fan. “He thrives in adversity. He speaks to each individual player in a way that gets the absolute most out of them That’s what you are looking for in a coach.”
Florio sets as an example how Tomlin was able to get 11,207 yards and 74 touchdowns out of Antonio Brown when some of the game’s great coaches couldn’t make it work with AB. After Tomlin and Belichick the list from four to ten-John Harbaugh, Pete Carroll, Sean Payton, Sean McVay, Kyle Shanahan, Mike Vrabel and Doug Pederson.
“He’s not appreciated nearly enough as he should be,” Florio said on 93.7 The Fan. “Anytime they want to fire him, as soon as he’s out the door there are going to be one of those owners sitting there, ready to whisk him away and hire him on another team.”