Mike Tomlin is considered one of the best coaches in the NFL, as he has a Super Bowl championship and is approaching 200 wins in his career.
However, in his time as the Pittsburgh Steelers head coach, Tomlin has struggled in one particular area: Thursday night games. Specifically, the Steelers haven't been able to excel when playing road games on short weeks in this era when Thursday night games are so prevalent.
This year, the Steelers enter their first "Thursday Night Football" game at 4-1 and in first place in the AFC North, as they head on the road to face a Cincinnati Bengals already on their third quarterback this year. This gives Pittsburgh an opportunity to put a stranglehold on the division before Joe Burrow returns from an injury.
In order to do that, Tomlin and the Steelers will have to overcome some previous hardships on Thursday night. Here's a breakdown of how Pittsburgh has performed on Thursdays in the Tomlin era.
📲 Follow The Sporting News on WhatsApp
Mike Tomlin Thursday night record
- Home record: 7-2
- Road record: 2-9
- Overall record: 9-11
Since Tomlin took over as the Steelers head coach in 2007, Pittsburgh has been great home team and bad road team on when playing games on Thursday night. In 20 games, the Steelers are 7-2 at home and 2-9 on the road, adding up to a 9-11 overall record.
This record involves all games played on Thursday nights, including three season-openers and a few games on Thanksgiving.
MORE: Ranking the 19 greatest Steelers players ever
Steelers Thursday night record
Since the Steelers played their first game on Thursday night in 1936, when the team was still known as the Pirates, Pittsburgh is just 14-21 in those games. Most of their Thursday night games have come within the last 45 years, though, including 23 of the 35 games being played since 2006.
Recently, the Steelers are 1-5 in their last six games on Thursday night, with the lone win coming against the Tennessee Titans in 2023. Pittsburgh is also 0-4 in the last four road Thursday night games, with the last win being against the Indianapolis Colts in 2016.
MORE: To Lynn Swann, the catch of his life was 'business as usual'
Mike Tomlin career record
Entering Thursday night's matchup against the Cincinnati Bengals, Tomlin has a career record of 187-108-2 in 297 career games. The veteran head coach is second among active head coaches on the all-time wins list, and 11th overall with the chance to reach the top 10 this year.
MORE: Complete list of Super Bowl MVP winners through the years
How long has Mike Tomlin been with the Steelers?
The Steelers hired Tomlin before the 2007 season, which means that Tomlin is in his 19th year at the helm. As a result, Tomlin is the longest-tenured coach in the NFL, one year ahead of Baltimore Ravens head coach John Harbaugh for the top spot.