Steelers players take pride in defending Mike Tomlin's non-losing season streak

It was 102 years ago when coach Knute Rockne told his Notre Dame players to “Win one for the Gipper.”

Can the Pittsburgh Steelers win … four … for Mike T?

“If we can’t come together for each other,” defensive lineman Montravius Adams said, “at least we can do it for him.”

What the players can do for Tomlin is help him continue a much talked-about streak.

At 5-8, the Steelers’ prospects for the postseason effectively have ended. But a four-game winning streak to close out the season would leave them at 9-8. That might or might not get them into the playoffs — but at very least, that would extend the Steelers’ string of non-losing seasons to 19.

Tomlin has been the coach for the past 15 years of the streak that currently sits at 18 seasons. The only coach in NFL history who has a longer run is Bill Belichick, who guided the New England Patriots to winning records 19 straight years from 2001-19.

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“I take a lot of pride selfishly in trying to make sure Mike Tomlin never has a losing season,” tight end Zach Gentry said. “I think that’s something that kind of gets a little selfishly important to me that we continue to keep that streak alive for him and for this organization.”

The Steelers’ 18-year streak began in 2004 under Bill Cowher, whose Steelers went 15-1 that season, 11-5 in 2005 and 8-8 the following year before he stepped down.

The non-losing season streak matches the career of recently retired quarterback Ben Roethlisberger, who was a rookie when it started and retired before the season it (presumably) ended.

But the streak is typically more associated with Tomlin. And judging by the comments from multiple Steelers, that’s certainly true within their locker room.

“And at the end of the day something that means a lot to me is ‘Coach T’ not having a losing season,” Adams said. “And I just don’t want that to be under my watch.”

Three times under Tomlin, the Steelers eked out a non-losing season by finishing 8-8. They missed the playoffs five times over his first 15 seasons. In 2022, starts of 2-6 and 3-7 might be too much to overcome to achieve either. The 17-game season doesn’t help, as — barring a tie — a .500 season is no longer possible.

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No players remain from the start of Tomlin’s tenure; Cameron Heyward (12 seasons) is the longest-tenured Steelers player.

“He hasn’t had (a losing record) in 15 years, I have been here (12½ months),” Adams said. “But just for the time that I have, man, the coaching staff and him have been great. When people say about (Tomlin) being a players’ coach, that is all the way true.”

Critics point out the Steelers haven’t won a playoff game since 2016, haven’t been to the Super Bowl in 12 seasons or won one in 14 years and that Tomlin has been the coach for just three playoff wins since the 2010 AFC championship.

But with a victory at the Carolina Panthers on Sunday, Tomlin would reach 160 career victories in 254 games coached, tying Bill Belichick for fourth-fastest in NFL history. Only 16 coaches have more wins overall than Tomlin, who has the 13th-best winning percentage as a coach in league history.

Still, to the average fan in Pittsburgh, it seems as if the non-losing seasons streak is the Tomlin superlative most widely known. The players, it seems, are committed to doing everything they can to preserve it.

“No matter what, we want W’s,” Gentry said, “but definitely want to continue that streak.

“We all just have a certain level of respect for Coach Tomlin. I think it’s a pretty neat run that’s going on, so you don’t want to be the group that ends it for him.”

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