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List of Pittsburgh Steelers head coaches
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The Pittsburgh Steelers franchise has had 17 head coaches throughout its history. Founded as the Pittsburgh Pirates in 1933, the name was changed to the Steelers prior to the 1940 season to celebrate the city's heritage of producing steel. Joe Bach served two separate terms as head coach and Walt Kiesling served three separate terms. During the and seasons, due to the number of players who fought in World War II, the Steelers combined their team with Philadelphia and Chicago, respectively. During these seasons, Kiesling shared coaching duties with Greasy Neale and Phil Handler, who have not been included within this list. Since the beginning of the Super Bowl era in 1970, the Steelers have had only four head coaches, the fewest of any NFL franchise.
Struggling with a losing record for much of the franchise's early years, the team's first season with more wins than losses was coached by Jock Sutherland in 1942. In 1947, under Sutherland, the Steelers played their first playoff game against the Philadelphia Eagles. Ten of the 17 head coaches spent their entire professional coaching careers with the franchise, including Kiesling, John McNally, and Chuck Noll, who have also been voted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame. One of only four men to coach the same team for 23 years, Noll retired in 1991. Bill Cowher, who was Noll's replacement, coached the Steelers to their fifth Super Bowl victory in Super Bowl XL (2005) and was voted into the Hall of Fame in 2020. The Steelers' sixth Super Bowl win came in Super Bowl XLIII (2008) under head coach Mike Tomlin, who was hired to replace the retiring Cowher in 2007.
Key
| + | Highest winning percentage in franchise history |
|---|
Coaches
:Note: Statistics are accurate through the end of the 2025 NFL season.
| # | Image | Name | Term | Regular season | Playoffs | Awards | Ref./ | ||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Notes | GC | W | L | T | Win% | GC | W | L | Win% | ||||||||||||||||
| Pittsburgh Steelers | border=2}};" | Pittsburgh Pirates | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1 | [[File:Yearbook profile photo Forrest Douds.jpg | 60px]] | Forrest Douds* | 1933* | 11 | 3 | 6 | 2 | .333 | — | |||||||||||||||
| 2 | [[File:1929 Preseason- Panther Athletic News (Pigskin Panorama for 1929) - Season Ticket brochure (cropped).jpg | 60px]] | Luby DiMeolo* | 1934* | 12 | 2 | 10 | 0 | .167 | — | |||||||||||||||
| 3 | [[File:Joe Bach - 1952 Bowman Large.jpg | 60px]] | Joe Bach* | 1935–1936* | 24 | 10 | 14 | 0 | .416 | — | url=https://www.pro-football-reference.com/coaches/BachJo0.htm | title=Joe Bach Coaching Record | publisher=Pro Football Reference | access-date=March 20, 2008 | archive-date=March 11, 2008 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080311030126/http://www.pro-football-reference.com/coaches/BachJo0.htm | url-status=live}} | ||||||||
| 4 | [[File:Johnny Blood 1932.jpg | 60px]] | John McNally ‡* | 1937–1939* | 25 | 6 | 19 | 0 | .240 | — | |||||||||||||||
| 5 | [[File:Rooney and Kiesling at St. Vincent (cropped).jpg | 60px]] | Walt Kiesling ‡* | 1939–1940* | 19 | 3 | 13 | 3 | — | url=https://www.pro-football-reference.com/coaches/KiesWa0.htm | title=Walt Kiesling Coaching Record | publisher=Pro Football Reference | access-date=March 20, 2008 | archive-date=August 18, 2013 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130818083438/http://www.pro-football-reference.com/coaches/KiesWa0.htm | url-status=live}} | |||||||||
| Pittsburgh Steelers | border=2}};" | Pittsburgh Steelers | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| 6 | [[File:Bert Bell... - NARA - 200160.jpg | 60px]] | Bert Bell ^ | 1941 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | .000 | — | |||||||||||||||
| 7 | Aldo Donelli | 1941 | 5 | 0 | 5 | 0 | .000 | — | |||||||||||||||||
| – | [[File:Rooney and Kiesling at St. Vincent (cropped).jpg | 60px]] | Walt Kiesling ‡* | 1941–1944* | 35 | 13 | 20 | 2 | — | ||||||||||||||||
| 8 | [[File:Jim Leonard (1923).jpg | 40px]] | Jim Leonard* | 1945* | 10 | 2 | 8 | 0 | .200 | — | |||||||||||||||
| 9 | [[File:Jock Sutherland 1947.jpg | 60px]] | Jock Sutherland | 1946–1947 | 23 | 13 | 9 | 1 | .591 | 1 | 0 | 1 | .000 | ||||||||||||
| 10 | [[File:John Michelosen, 1956.png | 60px]] | John Michelosen* | 1948–1951* | 48 | 20 | 26 | 2 | .435 | — | |||||||||||||||
| – | [[File:Joe Bach - 1952 Bowman Large.jpg | 60px]] | Joe Bach* | 1952–1953* | 24 | 11 | 13 | 0 | .485 | — | |||||||||||||||
| – | [[File:Rooney and Kiesling at St. Vincent (cropped).jpg | 60px]] | Walt Kiesling ‡* | 1954–1956* | 36 | 14 | 22 | 0 | — | ||||||||||||||||
| 11 | [[File:Buddy Parker 1961.jpg | 60px]] | Buddy Parker | 1957–1964 | 104 | 51 | 47 | 6 | .520 | — | |||||||||||||||
| 12 | Mike Nixon | 1965 | 14 | 2 | 12 | 0 | .143 | — | |||||||||||||||||
| 13 | [[File:Bill Austin 1946.jpg | 60px]] | Bill Austin | 1966–1968 | 42 | 11 | 28 | 3 | .282 | — | |||||||||||||||
| 14 | [[File:Chuck Noll 1954.jpg | 60px]] | Chuck Noll †* | 1969–1991* | 342 | 193 | 148 | 1 | .566 | 24 | 16 | 8 | .667 | UPI AFC Coach of the Year (1972) | |||||||||||
| Maxwell Football Club NFL Coach of the Year (1989) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 15 | [[File:Casey Hampton and Bill Cowher pregame 2006-11-26 (cropped).jpg | 60px]] | Bill Cowher†* | 1992–2006* | 240 | 149 | 90 | 1 | .623 | 21 | 12 | 9 | .571 | AP NFL Coach of the Year (1992) | |||||||||||
| Sporting News NFL Coach of the Year (1992) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Sporting News NFL Coach of the Year (2004) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 16 | [[File:Miketomlin2016trainingcamp.jpg | Mike Tomlin | 60px]] | Mike Tomlin+* | 2007–2025 | 309 | 193 | 114 | 2 | .628 | 20 | 8 | 12 | Motorola NFL Coach of the Year (2008) | url=https://www.pro-football-reference.com/coaches/TomlMi0.htm | title=Mike Tomlin Record, Statistics, and Category Ranks Record, Statistics, and Category Ranks | work=Pro Football Reference | publisher=Sports Reference LLC | access-date=January 5, 2021 | archive-date=January 1, 2021 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210101232006/https://www.pro-football-reference.com/coaches/TomlMi0.htm | url-status=live}} | |||
| 17 | [[File:Mike McCarthy (cropped).jpg | 60px]] | Mike McCarthy | 2026–present | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 | — | url=https://www.pro-football-reference.com/coaches/McCaMi0.htm | title=Mike McCarthy Record, Statistics, and Category Ranks Record, Statistics, and Category Ranks | work=Pro Football Reference | publisher=Sports Reference LLC | access-date=January 24, 2026}} |
Footnotes
- Bach's full coaching record with the Steelers is 48 regular season games coached with a record of 21–27 and a W–L percentage of .438.
- Kiesling's full coaching record with the Steelers is 90 regular season games coached with a record of 30–55–5 and a W–L percentage of .353.
- In the Steelers combined with the Philadelphia Eagles to form the "Steagles", and Walt Kiesling shared the head coach position with Greasy Neale. In the Steelers combined with the Chicago Cardinals to form "Card-Pitt", and Walt Kiesling shared the head coaching position with Phil Handler.
References
- "NFL history 1933".
- "Steelers' History". Pittsburgh Steelers.
- "Walt Kiesling". ProFootballhof.com.
- "Hall of Famers by Franchise". ProFootballHOF.com.
- (January 23, 2007). "Steelers Name Mike Tomlin the 16th Head Coach in Team History.". Pittsburgh Steelers.
- Dulac, Gerry. (January 18, 2007). "Tomlin, 34, is NFL's rising coaching star". [[Pittsburgh Post-Gazette]].
- A running total of the number of coaches of the Steelers. Thus any coach who has two separate terms as head coach is only counted once.
- "Jap Doud Coaching Record". Pro Football Reference.
- "Luby DiMeolo Coaching Record". Pro Football Reference.
- "Joe Bach Coaching Record". Pro Football Reference.
- "Johnny McNally Coaching Record". Pro Football Reference.
- "Walt Kiesling Coaching Record". Pro Football Reference.
- "Hall of Famers by position". Pro Football Hall of Fame.
- "Bert Bell Coaching Record". Pro Football Reference.
- "Aldo Donelli Coaching Record". Pro Football Reference.
- "Jim Leonard Coaching Record". Pro Football Reference.
- "Jock Sutherland Coaching Record". Pro Football Reference.
- "John Michelosen Coaching Record". Pro Football Reference.
- "Buddy Parker Coaching Record". Pro Football Reference.
- "Mike Nixon Coaching Record". Pro Football Reference.
- "Bill Austin Coaching Record". Pro Football Reference.
- "Chuck Noll Coaching Record". Pro Football Reference.
- "NFL Coach of the Year Award". HickokSports.com.
- "Bill Cowher Coaching Record". Pro Football Reference.
- (January 29, 2009). "Fans pick Tomlin as NFL coach of the year". Pittsburgh Tribune-Review.
- "Mike Tomlin Record, Statistics, and Category Ranks Record, Statistics, and Category Ranks". Sports Reference LLC.
- "Mike McCarthy Record, Statistics, and Category Ranks Record, Statistics, and Category Ranks". Sports Reference LLC.
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