Pittsburgh Steelers introduce Mike Tomlin as head coach in 2007: From the archives
Mike Tomlin is first and foremost *** good person, and that is the first test that that you have to pass, and Mike certainly passed that test with flying colors. I think in addition to that, uh, Mike’s core values are *** good match for our organization. Mike wants to play the kind of football that that has been the kind of football that the Pittsburgh Steelers have played. Uh, and he will bring that approach, I think, to our team. Uh, and I think, uh, he’ll play the kind of football that Steeler fans have come to appreciate through the years. So, uh, without further ado, I’m, I’m very pleased to introduce, uh, the next coach of the Pittsburgh Steelers, Mike Tomlin. Uh, good afternoon. Um, I think first and foremost, uh, my wife and I would like to give honor and thanks to God for, uh, opening this door for our family and, uh, bringing us to this great city of Pittsburgh. Um, without *** doubt, we’d like to thank the Rooney family, uh, for, uh, for having interest in us and allowing me to take participate take part in this process and naming me head coach and, uh, It’s *** great honor to be *** part of, uh, one of the most storied franchises in all of professional sports. Um, we’re coming to grips with what that means, uh, but, uh, we’re having fun. Uh, we intend to make no bold predictions about what we’re gonna do, what. We are gonna do is, uh, promise to have *** first class blue collar work ethic and how we approach our business. Um, I’ll address any questions that you might have at this time. Mike, did anything surprise you about the process, uh, the interview process from start to finish, and are you, uh, would you have been surprised at the beginning of the process and what happens, what is happening right now? Um, nothing, nothing really surprised, surprised me about the process. I think just because I was personally prepared for anything. Um, it, it was parts unknown if you will. So, uh, that’s the way I approached it and, uh, really I wasn’t, wasn’t too much surprised by anything. Mike, uh, your two predecessors both came in following bad downtimes for the franchise. Your situation is *** little bit different because it’s only 2 years removed from the Super Bowl. Do you feel any extra pressure because *** lot of times when *** coach comes in they, they’re getting *** little bit of slack and *** little bit of leeway because they’re rebuilding, but you’re not really going to have that luxury. Yeah, you know, it’s pressure. We all feel *** little pressure in this business, but, uh, you know, it’s part of the reason why we do what we do. Um, we embrace that. I embrace that and uh look forward to meeting those challenges. Mike Tony spoke very highly of you and when you came in as, uh, when you were being interviewed as head coach, what are your thoughts on Tony Duncan? Have you spoken with him over the past weekend or prior to being named as coach? Um, shoot. We don’t have enough time for me to talk about how I feel about Coach Dungy, but, uh, very happy for him and and Lovevie Smith with what with what transpired yesterday. Uh, two deserving men. Um, my relationship and respect and admiration for Coach Dungy goes beyond football. Uh, he’s *** life mentor for me, and, uh, I think I’ll just leave it at that. Mike, there’s already been *** report that you’re going to retain Dick Lee. Can you confirm that and can you talk about any assistant coaches you may keep here or what? Uh, I will, I will confirm that, um, but in terms of talking about other assistance, I don’t wanna, um, get too far down the line in terms of discussing that. I think it’s gonna take some discussion and planning from *** lot of people, um, but yes, um, anybody in this business, uh, knows and has *** great deal of respect for Coach Labow, and I look forward to having the opportunity to work with him. Mike, having said that, Mike, he runs the zone blitz and you run the 43. How does that work? How do you plan on making that work this year? I think part of good coaching is doing what your guys do and what they do well. Um, we’ll, we’ll, we’ll, we’ll maximize what they’re capable of doing. And, uh, if that means, uh, setting some personal preferences and beliefs schematically aside, um. I’m willing to do that. Uh, X’s and O’s can be overrated at times. Uh, you’ll find that we’ll be fundamentalists in our approach, and we’ll put guys in position to execute and execute at *** high level. So what they’re capable of doing, that’s what we’ll do. I’m sorry, are you less likely to make those changes because you’re not in *** rebuilding mode and you’ve got *** team, uh, 3 AFC championship game appearances in the last 6 years? I really think you just look at your personnel and, and, and what they do well and what puts them in position to win and uh obviously uh retaining Coach Coach Labeau is *** big part of that. Mike, this organization, uh, what kind of offense would you like to see. Um, you know, *** fundamentalist football team that wins by attrition, uh, that’s mentally and physically tough, uh, and, you know, of course there’s no secret in the National Football League in order to win, you got to stop the run, you got to run the ball effectively. I think, uh, to be general, uh, that, that’s what our football team will be about. This organization has had *** History of being patient with coaches, you know, they stay here for *** while. Was that part of the intrigue of maybe coming here for you? I’m not *** very patient person. I don’t, I don’t know anybody that’s uh successful in this business from *** coaching standpoint that’s very patient. Uh, I’m working on it, uh, but, uh, that’s exciting, having an opportunity, um. You know, to, to have *** place where your kids can grow up and call home and particularly *** place like Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania is awesome. Are you as calm inside as you appear to be outside and is this situation at all overwhelming for you, Mike? Uh, you know, I, I, I always, I always slow it down because I don’t want to miss something. I like to take, take moments like these in. Um, I’m truly blessed to be here. I know this is not my plan, this is God’s plan, so I find comfort in that. Mike, what do you like most about this team that you’re inheriting right now? That they are, um, are physically and mentally tough. They have *** reputation for being that, um, got some quality players. The resume speaks for themselves, and uh I’m sure that uh the recent Super Bowl success and failure that followed, uh, will make them *** hungry group of men. There are quite *** few guys on this team who are not that much younger than you are. I’ve looked at *** list. There’s about 10 or 11 guys who are between 30 and 32 years old. How, what have you thought about how you’re going to deal with guys who and and getting their respect and, and how you would have reacted as *** player to coaches who was almost the same age as you were? I, I, I don’t think it’ll take them long to realize that, uh, you know, my goals as *** coach are no different than any other coach they’ve ever had. Um, I think mutual respect is, is required. Um, I’ve got *** job to do from *** coaching standpoint, they’ve got *** job to do, uh, from *** play standpoint. Uh, my age is my age. I’ve never I had *** problem with men. Uh, when I broke into the league, I coached John Lynch. John is older than me. So, uh, you know, it’s, uh, I don’t anticipate it being *** problem, uh, and, and really more than anything, I just look forward to getting to know the men and moving forward. Michael, you talked about the significance of the last 24 hours where there’s two African American coaches in the Super Bowl and now an African American coach becomes the coach of one of the most storied franchises in sports. You know, I acknowledge that it is significant. Uh, I’m just happy for those men because I know them personally. Uh, they’ve been uh very supportive and active in my development as *** coach and as *** man. Uh, I’m happy for them, uh, because I know them. You know, I guess we’ll, we’ll make true, true advances in this process when it’s no longer an issue, and I know that Coach Dungy has said that on, on several occasions, but I, I think on *** personal level I’m just happy for those men because I know what kind of men they are. I know what kind of coaches they are. I know how, how they approach their jobs, and they deserve, they deserve what they’re getting at this point. We understand your, your brother’s watching the press conference on the web. What type of impact has he had and, and your family? your immediate family and your brothers had on you as you go into this new role. Well, you know, my, my brother is my big brother and, uh, everyone that has one, they understand what that’s about. Uh, he was *** measuring stick for everything that I did athletically. Uh, he drove me in just about every way. Um, and uh we’ve always had that relationship and um I’m, I’m happy that uh he can feel *** part of that, he should feel *** part of that. Um, you know, some of my toughest battles. In my backyard and uh that’s the way it should be. How was your, how was your immediate family, your children and your wife? How, how were they involved in this process and how excited are they about this opportunity for their dad? Uh, that’s, that’s how we make decisions. We make decisions as ***, as *** family. Our children are, are probably too young right now to, you know, to be actively involved in some of those things, but my wife and I, um, you know, we, we talk quite *** bit and we talk about not only what’s, what’s Good for us, uh, what’s good for me, uh, professionally, but what’s good for our children. I think that’s the number one job that we have here, and, uh, we know what, uh, living in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania is about for *** family. Another question about the interview process, please, uh, specifically the last few days, uh, was it ever as confusing for you as it might have been for people out there with *** lot of twists and turns, and did you ever get the feeling that there were ups and downs on your end? Um, not, not confusing for me, um, you know, uh, the rumors were very, uh, upfront about the process and, and where it was going and how it was going. Uh, you know, at times I thought some of the reports or false reports were, were comical, you know, it wasn’t necessarily funny when it, uh, when they weren’t going in my favor, but, uh, you know, it’s part of the process. I, I, I understand that, and, uh, you know, really, um. The two men competing yesterday and, and, and what happened in the NFL this weekend was *** nice diversion for us. We, uh, we sat in the basement and cheered for Coach Dungeon and Coach Smith. Mike, can you talk about your sideline demeanor? We’ve had Coach Cower with the jaw and an occasional saliva shower. Are you, what are you like on the sidelines? Um, I probably couldn’t answer that. You probably got to ask those who are around me. I, you know, I don’t pay attention to how I behave. I, I just try to be myself, uh. I can be emotional at times, I guess, but, uh, for the most part, uh, I tend to tend to lean on the side of, uh, uh, being calm, uh, because I I like to think clearly at times like that. What about the fact that you’re 3. I’m sorry, the fact that you’re 34 years old, but as *** football coach you’re not that young. Well, you know, um, every day I, I go to work, I, I look to learn, and, uh, I’ve, I’ve been blessed enough to be around some, uh, great coaches, uh, and, uh, some great strategists, some great, great leaders of men, um, you know, I feel like I learned *** lot from all those people, but at the same time, I realized that I have to be myself. Um, I am who I am as *** coach, you know, and I, I don’t characterize it as *** 34 year old coach or *** thirty-four-year-old coach with experience. I’m just ***, I’m *** football coach. How prepared are you, Mike? Do you think for the scrutiny you’ll be under with this job? I mean, if you get *** fender bender in the parking lot at Giant Eagle, it’s gonna lead to 5 o’clock news. I mean, are you prepared for everything that is gonna come with being the head coach of the Pittsburgh Steelers? I guess I have some sense of that, but, uh, you know, you know it comes with the territory, and, uh, that’s OK. Can you tell us how you got the news and, and how that all transpired over the weekend? Um, I was standing in my basement watching, watching *** football game and, uh, start Rooney called and, uh, needless to say, I took the call and uh. I was very excited, tried not to show him, uh, but, uh, you know, it was just, it was, it was ***, it was *** great family time, you know, we were in the basement with our 3 children watching, watching football like *** lot of families on Sundays this time of year. It was awesome. So it happened yesterday? Yes. *** lot of coaching staff. Do you know any of the current coaches have to be Uh, yes, I, I do know quite *** few of the guys on staff. You know, coaching itself is *** big fraternity, and, uh, there’s mutual respect, you know, guys through competition and conferences and things of that nature. I just think right now it’d be best that I didn’t touch specifically on staffing matters. I think that’ll sort itself out here over the next few days. Mike, how many times you’ve been to Pittsburgh and what do you know about the city? Uh, I came to the city when I was about 12 to play in *** Little League football game, rode the inclines and those things, but, uh, you know, some of my roommates in college, uh, were, were Pittsburgh guys, Upper Saint Clair, Mount Mount Lebanon guys, and, uh, so. I know quite *** bit about, uh, about the attitude of people from the city and the great deal of pride that they have about being from here and, uh, look forward to learning more. Mike, you, you had not heard anything from the. It was Sunday during the game. That was the first time you contacted them. Yes, Mike, what’s your schedule now? You go to Mobile, Alabama. Maybe you can look at coaches down here? Yes, uh, and there’s some players down there as well we’ll be looking at. I think that’s, I think that’s job one. coach is overrated, man. You got good players, you got *** chance. Uh, yeah, we, we fly to Mobile tomorrow morning to, uh, just get rolling with the process. Is that where you’ll coaches? Um, I’ll, I’ll talk with some men, yes. Mike, what’s your thoughts on the plans for Ben Roethlisberger? Excuse me. Um, he’s *** very talented quarterback. He’s *** franchise quarterback. Um, you know, like, like any other position, uh, in, in any other part of this team, we need to be fundamentalists, in how we approach our business. Uh, we need to be students of the game. Uh, look forward to working with Ben in that regard, uh, but excited about having the opportunity to work with ***, *** young man who’s very talented and has also had some of the life experiences from, from in terms of being *** professional athlete that he’s had. He’s, he’s been *** world champion. Mike, how much authority do you have over personnel decisions, um, bringing in guys, uh, making decisions on, on roster cuts, that kind of thing. Um, you know, we’ll detail some of that thing, some of those things up here as we go down the line, but the one thing that turned me on about this organization is that it’s ***, it’s *** collective effort in terms of how we do things. Um, nothing is heaped upon one specific person. I look forward to working with Kevin, uh, on, on. Personnel matters and uh excited about that really am coach as it relates to as it relates to Kevin specifically regardless of 43 3-4, whatever scheme, did you find yourself from the outset to be pretty much philosophically consistent with him and vice versa as you looked at players not only on the roster now but down the road. Senior I think that, uh, I think that our collective vision is gonna grow as we continue to work together. Um, I think our core beliefs in in regards to football are very similar and that’s probably why I am standing here, but, uh, some of those things will be addressed over time as we find *** comfort zone and working with one another. How does *** wide receiver. College, uh, develop an attitude that he likes to run the ball and coach defense. Well, I wasn’t *** very good wide receiver, obviously. No, no, um, you know, uh, playing personality and coaching personality are two different things. Uh, I’ve, I’ve learned that over time and, uh, that happens to be my coaching personality. any players called you yet? Have you called any players yet and when will you meet with the team? Uh, I haven’t spoken with any players that’ll happen here, I’m sure over the course of the next couple of days. Mike, you want to defer any conversation about assistant coaches, the fact that you’ve got *** young franchise quarterback, will continuity be *** factor in whom you select with your offensive staff so that they can have some continuity? Um, continuity is *** factor. It’s not the only factor. Uh, we’re looking for good men who happen to be good coaches. Mike, your, your rapid ascension speaks well of your abilities. Uh, there might be fans out there concerned that you’ve only had one year as an actual coordinator at the NFL level. Um, I know you addressed your age *** little bit, but could you speak to any concerns fans might have about that? I, I can’t worry about concerns that other people might have. Um, I’ve been hired to do *** job here and, and I intend to do it at *** high level. Back in 2002, you helped Ronde Barbara and John Lynch get to the Pro Bowl with Tampa Bay. Now with the current backfield here in the secondary, can you do the same with, with the Steelers? Um, I think that’s just hardware that you learn that you earn along the way as you compete for championships. Um, and, and that has to be our goal, um, to put, put consistently, uh, winning football teams on the field and compete for championships on *** year in and year out basis. Things like division championships or personal accolades, that’s just hardware that you pick up along the way. Like when you’re scouting players, you mentioned that you would have the current players do what they do best to fit them into the team. When you’re scouting players, do you scout for 34 players or 3 players? I think, I, I, I think, and, and again I’m, I, I’m not, I’m not avoiding the question. I think that uh as coaches we have to be flexible schematically to do what our guys do well. I think that if we say that this is our personality and this is all we’re looking for in terms of *** player that we might miss out on someone that has special skills. It is going to be *** blending of both if we don’t have *** chance to be consistently good over *** long period of time. So you could see yourself 4334. In the same game, switching those, those fronts or. Sure. Why not? Why not, Coach, for *** long time, uh, those, that trophy case in there with the 4 Super Bowl trophies that kind of hung over this franchise, and they finally put *** 5th 1 in there. Uh, as you walk by that case now, as the man in charge of putting the next one in there, is that, does that serve as motivation, *** little pressure? How do you, how do you look at that as *** symbol that you walk by every day? Uh, you know, I, I just walked by it one day, but, uh, just purely motivation, you know, um, I guess all you wanted as *** coach is to be *** part of something special, and, uh, it’s obvious what, what’s been done here, uh, has been special, and, uh, you wanna be *** part of that legacy, that history, uh, honored to be here and look forward to pursuing, uh, those goals. Do you have contend for the Super Bowl this year I think it’s gonna be our goal to contend for it every year. Coach, you called Coach Dungy, *** life mentor, I believe was the, the term you used, and, and *** lot of us in this room have known Coach Dungy for *** long time. You’ve even used *** couple of phrases that he uses in some of his news conferences. Is it fair to characterize it as saying the Steelers might be getting ***, *** Coach Dungy-like coach? No, I’m, I’m not gonna give myself that much credit, you know, uh, um, you know, Coach Dungy is Coach Dungy. Um, he’s been very helpful to me, uh, but at the same time I have to be myself. For the skeptics, why should they feel good about Mike Sum being the head coach of the Steelers? Um, you know, I promise, I promise that I’m gonna be blue collar and how I go about this business. Um, it’s gonna be thoughtful in terms of the decisions that we make, um, and we’re gonna work extremely hard and we’re gonna work smart. Mike, have you spoken with Russ Grim? Have not. You plan to do that soon? Um, I’m sure I will. Three more questions please. Hey, Mike, uh, your qualifications speak for themselves, but there’s this thing called the Rooney Rule. Would you’ve been interviewed here for Pittsburgh if not for that rule? Um, I personally can’t answer that. Um, speaking to, speaking to the, to the Rooney Rule, you know, um, I think it’s *** positive thing. It gives people an opportunity to present themselves, their ideas, their visions. Um, the decisions that people make after that, I think, are, are totally based on who they think is capable of doing the job. So, um. You know, uh, I think it’s been an awesome experience. Maybe the rule itself opened the door for me that that may have not have been open if it had not been for the rule, but I think once you get into the competition phase of it and you’re competing for work, that, uh, men like the Rooneys want to win and they want to put people in position that give their team the best chance to do that. Uh, Chuck Noll, Bill Cower, Mike Su, I talk about the company. No, I try not to. Uh, no, uh, you know, I’m, I’m, I’m somewhat of *** football historian. Uh, got *** great deal of respect, uh, for those who have come before me and, uh, just look forward to maybe doing my part and maybe providing *** shoulder for those that come after me to stand on. You’re *** historian Mike, have you looked, have you traced your tree all the way back? Yes. You know who sits at the top. Yes. Yeah, who is it? I’m sorry? What? Who sits at the top of your tree of my tree? Oh gosh, no, I, it just depends on what phase of my tree you’re, you’re, uh, you’re, uh, if you go back from, uh, Dungy, Noel, Paul Brown, uh, Jock Sutherland to Pop Warner, 5 degrees removed from Pop Warner. Oh boy, that’s. We’re reaching now, ladies and gentlemen. How old are your kids and do they understand daddy’s not the coach of the Steelers? Um, I have *** 6 year old son, Michael Dean, I have *** 5 year old son, Mason, and I have an 8 month old daughter, Harley Quinn. Um, they, they, they understand that, that, uh, daddy’s got *** new job, uh, you know, they, they couldn’t understand. Uh, the first time they saw reports on TV and they saw, saw the Pittsburgh symbol behind my head, they, they thought I was *** traitor, but, uh, you know, it’s, you know, they understand it about as well as *** 5 and 6 year old, uh, are probably capable of, but, you know, the funny thing is, um, it is what’s normal to them. It’s all that they know, and, uh, so it’s from that standpoint it’s not anything awkward. OK, thank you very much.
Pittsburgh Steelers introduce Mike Tomlin as head coach in 2007: From the archives
Updated: 5:38 PM EST Jan 13, 2026
It has been 19 years since Mike Tomlin was hired as head coach of the Pittsburgh Steelers.Watch the video from the WTAE archives: Mike Tomlin arrives in Pittsburgh in 2007When team president Art Rooney II introduced Tomlin at a news conference on Jan. 22, 2007, he said Tomlin was “first and foremost a good person” whose core values were a good match for the Steelers organization.”Mike wants to play the kind of football that has been the kind of football that the Pittsburgh Steelers have played, and he will bring that approach, I think, to our team, and I think he will play the kind of football that Steelers fans have come to appreciate through the years,” Rooney said.A first-time NFL head coach, Tomlin was the Rooneys’ pick to replace Bill Cowher, who retired after the 2006 season.Tomlin went on to coach the Steelers for 19 seasons before stepping down on Tuesday. He won 193 regular-season games — tied with Hall of Famer Chuck Noll for most in franchise history — and brought a sixth Lombardi Trophy to Pittsburgh with a victory in Super Bowl XLIII.
PITTSBURGH —
It has been 19 years since Mike Tomlin was hired as head coach of the Pittsburgh Steelers.
Watch the video from the WTAE archives: Mike Tomlin arrives in Pittsburgh in 2007
When team president Art Rooney II introduced Tomlin at a news conference on Jan. 22, 2007, he said Tomlin was “first and foremost a good person” whose core values were a good match for the Steelers organization.
“Mike wants to play the kind of football that has been the kind of football that the Pittsburgh Steelers have played, and he will bring that approach, I think, to our team, and I think he will play the kind of football that Steelers fans have come to appreciate through the years,” Rooney said.
A first-time NFL head coach, Tomlin was the Rooneys’ pick to replace Bill Cowher, who retired after the 2006 season.
Tomlin went on to coach the Steelers for 19 seasons before stepping down on Tuesday. He won 193 regular-season games — tied with Hall of Famer Chuck Noll for most in franchise history — and brought a sixth Lombardi Trophy to Pittsburgh with a victory in Super Bowl XLIII.