PITTSBURGH
— The Steelers announced today the
hiring of Mike Tomlin as the
16th head coach in team history.
Tomlin, 34, was the Minnesota Vikings' defensive
coordinator in 2006 after spending the previous five seasons (2001-05) as
defensive backs coach for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. He replaces Bill Cowher, who
resigned Jan. 5 after 15 seasons as the Steelers' head
coach.
"We are very excited to announce that Mike Tomlin has
accepted the position of head coach of the Pittsburgh Steelers," said Steelers
President Art Rooney II. "Mike
emerged as our top choice from a pool of several very qualified candidates that
we interviewed. I think Mike's core beliefs are a good match for our
organization and the way we want to approach the game of
football."
Prior to joining TampaBay, Tomlin spent two seasons as defensive backs coach at
the University of Cincinnati (1999-00). Tomlin began his coaching career in 1995 as
wide receivers coach at Virginia Military Institute. He coached defensive backs
and special teams at Memphis in 1996, before moving on to
ArkansasState, where he coached wide receivers in 1997 and defensive
backs in 1998.
"We feel Mike Tomlin is the ideal person to uphold the
strong history and tradition of Steelers football," said Steelers Chairman Dan Rooney. "Mike possesses the
qualities we were looking for as the leader of our team, and we look forward
to working with him for many years to come."
Under Tomlin's guidance,
Minnesota led the NFL in stopping the run and ranked eighth in
the league in total defense. At TampaBay, he helped the Buccaneers lead the NFL in pass defense
in 2004 and rank third in 2003.
In 2002, Tomlin guided
TampaBay's defensive backfield that led the NFL in pass defense
and interceptions (31), while limiting opposing passers to a 48.4 rating and
just 10 touchdowns en route to winning Super Bowl XXXVII. The Buccaneers ranked
fifth in the NFL in pass defense and second in interceptions (28) in 2001,
Tomlin's first season in TampaBay.
Born in Hampton,
Va., Tomlin was a three-year starter at wide receiver for
William & Mary and finished his playing career with 101 receptions for
2,053 yards and 20 touchdowns. He was a second-team All-Yankee Conference
selection in 1994.
Tomlin's first season as Steelers head coach will take
place during the team's 75th Anniversary season. He is only the third
person to hold the position of head coach for the team dating back to 1969 when
the team hired then 36-year-old Chuck Noll.
Following is a list of the Steelers' head coaches during
the team's first 74 seasons:
