Steelers win over Seahawks extends Mike Tomlin's streak to 17-straight non-losing seasons

Pittsburgh’s Mike Tomlin has been one of the most successful coaches in NFL history during his time there. There’s a reason he’s continued to stick around in the Steel City–the man has delivered consistent success over the years. On Sunday, the Steelers won against the Seahawks, extending Tomlin’s streak of non-losing seasons to 17.

Mike Tomlin and the Steelers keep the streak alive 🔥 pic.twitter.com/wOnctXMyh3

— ESPN (@espn) January 1, 2024

That’s one of the more impressive stats you’ll find on any coach’s resume in the National Football League. He’ll likely end up in the Hall of Fame once it’s time to hang up his whistle. Simply surviving as a head coach for 17 years in the NFL is impressive, let alone not having a losing record in any of those.

That’s a credit to Tomlin and the incredible job he’s done with the Steelers franchise over the years. It’s also a testament to the ownership (the Rooneys). They’ve understood that consistency with the coaching staff is critical for a successful franchise.

The Steelers recently improved to 9-7 overall with their win over the Seattle Seahawks. In recent weeks, there have been a number of growing voices calling for a parting of ways between Tomlin and the Steelers organization.

Ryan Clark calling for parting of ways of Tomlin and Steelers

Turmoil for the Pittsburgh Steelers amid a three-game losing streak had former star Ryan Clark calling for a potential split between the franchise a long-time head coach Mike Tomlin. On ESPN’s Get Up on Friday, Clark discussed why, despite Tomlin’s long streak of winning seasons, it may be time for the coach to leave the team he’s led for 17 seasons.

“I’m going to say this for the first time, Coach Tomlin needs to be in a new place,” Clark said. “Coach Tomlin doesn’t need to retire because he’s one of the greatest coaches in the game today. But he doesn’t need to be there anymore.

“The same way that Andy Reid needed to move on from Philadelphia… Coach Tomlin should now move on from Pittsburgh and everybody should line up to hire him. The man knows how to do it but he shouldn’t do it there anymore.”

Lack of effort apparent in Pittsburgh

Former Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger sounded the alarm recently about the erosion of the “tradition” in Pittsburgh. Wide receiver George Pickens‘ latest display of less-than-stellar effort in the loss to the Colts seemed to confirm just that.

“The standard of excellence that Coach Tomlin talks about no longer exists, at least in that room,” Clark said of the wide receivers. “And when it doesn’t exist in that room, and you don’t have the players that can play you out of it, that’s when you lose football games.

“And so many people in Pittsburgh have been waiting on this moment so they can at least say that, ‘Well now he doesn’t have all winning seasons either, so let’s talk about what’s happened in the playoffs.’ So now I think it’s time for him to move on, and everybody in Pittsburgh will learn very soon that you should’ve cherished this man, you should’ve respected this man, because it ain’t going to get better.”

Clark: Steelers must consider future without Tomlin

Tomlin has amassed a record of 171 wins, 100 losses and two ties throughout his tenure with the Steelers. His 8-9 playoff record includes a Super Bowl victory. However, for fans, it’s more about what the head coach has done for them lately.

The former Steelers defender backtracked amid his rant, saying that the Rooney family should at least have “a conversation” with Tomlin about whether or not another season will make a difference in Pittsburgh.

On3’s Nikki Chavanelle also contributed to this article.