A coach who has a good record and always gets the most satisfactory result from a game is not always the coach with the most brilliant single mind but rather the one who can best coordinate the brains and talent of his players. Mike Tomlin is one such coach as his record in the National Football League (NFL) speaks for itself.
Tomlin has been the head coach of the Pittsburgh Steelers since 2007, a time during which he has organized his team to be very hard to beat. In the fourteen years that he has been head coach of the team, he has set many NFL records, including never having a losing season. He is also the fastest and youngest coach to ever win a Super Bowl title, a feat he achieved when his team beat the Arizona Cardinals in 2009 at Super Bowl XLIII.
Mike Tomlin Never Got To Play in the NFL To Become The Accomplished Coach He is Today
Mike Tomlin is a native of Hampton, Virginia, USA. He is the son of Julia Copeland and Ed Tomlin and was born on the 15th of March, 1972. Ed, who Mike barely knew as he was raised by his mother and stepfather Leslie Copeland, played college football at Hampton Institute before he was drafted into the NFL in the 1960s. He played for the Baltimore Colts before plying his trade in the Canadian Football League with the Montreal Alouettes.
While Mike would go on to make a living in the same sport his father played, he did not get to play the game at a professional level. He only did so during his days at The College of William and Mary where he was a wide receiver. His only notable achievement as a college athlete was his selection to the second-team All Yankee Conference in 1994.
He Began His Coaching Career with a College Team
A year after graduating in 1995, Mike Tomlin kick-started his coaching career at the Virginia Military Institute where he was hired as the wide receiver coach. The following year, he worked as a graduate assistant at the University of Memphis before briefly joining the coaching staff of the University of Tennessee at Martin.
In 1997, Tomlin got employed as the defensive back coach of Arkansas State University. He was with the varsity team for 2 seasons before moving to the University of Cincinnati to coach its defensive backs.
Tomlin’s Transition from Assistant to Head Coach in the NFL
Mike Tomlin got his first coaching job in the NFL in 2001 when the Tampa Bay Buccaneers hired him as the defensive backs coach. During his time with the team, they recorded very impressive stats that was directly influenced by the team’s defense. Tampa’s defense notably never ranked worse than sixth overall. He was with the team when they won Super Bowl XXXVII in 2003.
Mike would later move on to become the defensive coordinator of the Minnesota Vikings in 2006. He spent only a year with the team before he was selected in 2007 to interview for the vacant head coach position at the Pittsburgh Steelers. Tomlin, who had only a year of experience as a defensive coordinator, was surprisingly hired by the team, replacing Coach Bill Cowher who held the position for 15 years.
Mike Tomlin got off to a great start with the team, becoming the third Steelers head coach to record a victory in his first game. The Steelers went on to finish his first season as a coach as the top-ranked defensive team in the NFL. They carried on performing very well in the following season, allowing Tomlin to become the first Steelers coach to record 22 wins within 2 seasons. He would further go on to become the youngest head coach to lead a team to the Super Bowl in 2008.
On the 29th of January 2009, Mike Tomlin was named the Motorolla NFL Coach of the Year for 2008. A few days later on the 1st of February, 2009, he became the youngest head coach to win a Super Bowl after the Steelers beat the Arizona Cardinals at Super Bowl XLIII.
Tomlin has since then continued to steer the Steelers who have never had a losing season under his watch. His performance has earned him contract extensions, and as of 2019, he has recorded a remarkable 13 consecutive non-losing season, making him the second coach in NFL history alongside Don Shula to achieve such a feat.
Mike Tomlin’s Net Worth Reflects His Team’s Performance
The terms of the contract Mike Tomlin entered with the Pittsburgh Steelers in 2007 when he was hired as head coach has never been made public. However, there are reports that the deal was a 4-year contract worth $10 million. This means that he was paid $2.5 million per annum.
In 2010, Mike signed a three-year extension worth $17.25 million which saw him get paid about $5.75 million a year. He has since then extended his stay with the team two more times and as of 2018 was reported to be among the highest-paid NFL coaches with his salary believed to be around $7 million yearly.
As a result of his earnings over the years, it is no surprise to see that the NFL coach has a net worth estimated to be around $16 million. With this, Mike is able to live a very comfortable life and can afford to spend lavishly whenever he wants. He, however, appears to not live a flamboyant life as he hardly makes the headlines like some of his players for purchasing expensive cars or homes. The only home he is known to own is the one he is currently living in with his family which he bought in April 2007 for $1.8 million.
The Coach is a Family Man
Mike Tomlin and his wife Kiya Tomlin have a very interesting love story on which their long-lasting marriage is built on. The pair are said to have become acquaintances when Kiya was a pre-med student and he was a pre-law student at The College of William & Mary, Williamsburg, Virginia. Their love blossomed through their college days so it did not come as a surprise when they solemnized their union 14 days after Kiya’s graduation in 1996.
About 4 years later, the couple started a family with the arrival of their first child Michael Dean in 2000. Two years later, they welcomed their second son Mason and in 2006, their daughter Harlyn Quinn who according to Mike is his favorite was born.
Michael, the oldest child in the Tomlin household who goes by the moniker Dino, was offered a scholarship to play football for The College of William & Mary in 2018. He, however, opted to go to the University of Maryland.
Mike Tomlin’s Wife is a Successful Fashion Designer
Tomlin’s wife intended to pursue a career in the medical field but after watching her husband leave his law practice for his passion, she was motivated to pursue a career in fashion designing. Kiya went back to college and obtained a degree in fashion designing from the University of Cincinnati’s College of Design, Art, and Architectural Planning.
Soon after her graduation, she established her own fashion label named Uptown Sweats. The company designs classy and comfortable sweatshirt dresses for mothers and older women. In 2018, Uptown Sweats came to be known as Kiya Tomlin when its owner started a new store at Etna, Butler Street, Pennslyvania.
Kiya’s business appears to be doing very well as she and her business are estimated to be worth $1 million.
