Steelers' Mike Tomlin's "Special Sauce" Is The Key To His Ridiculous Non-Losing Streak

The Pittsburgh Steelers do things differently than other teams in the league, and so far, it has paid off with six Lombardi Trophies. They have only had three head coaches in 55 years since they hired Chuck Noll in 1969. Noll got the Steelers off to an incredible start, winning four Super Bowls before turning the reins over to Bill Cowher in 1992. Cowher remained at the helm until Mike Tomlin was hired in 2007. They both took the Steelers to two more Super Bowl appearances, winning one each.

Recently, future Hall of Fame quarterback Aaron Rodgers was on The Pat McAfee Show and was asked by his former teammate, linebacker AJ Hawk from the Green Bay Packers, why it is so hard to find an excellent head coach in today's NFL. He cited how the Steelers find outstanding "foundational" coaches and hold on to them like they have with Tomlin. 

"There's only one Mike Tomlin, I would say that first and foremost," said Rodgers. "You got to give Mike credit. He's got a special sauce, I think, in the way that he coaches. I'm just saying this from afar. I haven't been around him, but I talked to a lot of guys that played for him, and he seems to understand how to motivate his guys the best every single year."

Tomlin has a special coaching style that has made him a standout leader in the league and one of the coaches players most often want to play for. The topic of being able to play for Tomlin comes up quite often. It isn't uncommon to hear that he was part of the determining factor when a player decides to come to Pittsburgh. 

It seems logical that the rest of the league would try to emulate the Steelers' formula. However, instead of seeing teams build lasting relationships with excellent coaches, teams seem to turn them over at the first sign of failure. 

"For him to not have a losing season is absolutely ridiculous," added Rodgers. "Now, obviously, they've had good players, you know, they've had Hall of Fame players on both sides of the ball, but the coach has to set the framework for the culture in the locker room and then allow his players to do that. I think there's a lot to that, having the boundaries and the rules in place, but then allowing the players to police themselves, I think, is really, really important. I've always respected Mike from afar and think he's done a h**l of a job in his career."

Tomlin is currently in his 18th straight non-losing season, and the 10-4 Steelers clinched a playoff berth, despite losing to the Philadelphia Eagles in Week 15. The Steelers will be looking to win their first playoff game since the 2016 season. 

However, Tomlin has come under criticism for some of his in-game decisions, particularly related to time management. While current and former players continue to defend their coach with extreme prejudice, many fans believe it is time to move on. 

Steelers Need To Learn From Their Mistakes

Tomlin has a way of doing things. His teams tend to be defense-forward and run-heavy. Many fans don't believe his methods align with how things are currently done in the league and want the Steelers to have a more advanced passing game. However, they continue to find ways to win the majority of their games.  

The loss to the Eagles was a sloppy affair, with mistakes in nearly every facet of the game. However, another future Hall of Fame quarterback, Tom Brady, said that he believes the Steelers will learn from the errors they made and improve.  

Are you surprised by Rodgers' unsolicited praise of Tomlin? Click to comment below. 

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