It has been 19 years since the Pittsburgh Steelers played a game without Mike Tomlin as head coach.
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Tomlin stepped down Tuesday, ending a tenure that included one Super Bowl victory and a 192-114 record. He ranks behind legendary head coach Chuck Noll in games coached (309) and wins (193) in franchise history but holds the Steelers record for win percentage (62.8).
Pittsburgh hired Tomlin to replace Hall of Fame coach Bill Cowher in January 2007, making Tomlin the first Black head coach in the team’s history. He had spent the previous season as the Minnesota Vikings’ defensive coordinator. Since then, Tomlin has been a steward of stability for the Steelers, who never had a losing season with him as coach.
Here’s a look back at what the sports world looked like the last time Pittsburgh played a game with a different head coach on Dec. 31, 2006.
Steelers storm back for victory
Pittsburgh won Cowher’s final game as its head coach, but it didn’t come easy. The Cincinnati Bengals took a 17-14 lead with 2:47 remaining and needed a stop for the win. The Steelers answered back with an eight-play, 66-yard field goal drive to send it to overtime.
The extra period lasted only three plays as Pittsburgh quarterback Ben Roethlisberger found wide receiver Santonio Holmes for a 67-yard touchdown. Cowher resigned as Steelers head coach five days later, citing a desire to spend more time with his family.
Pittsburgh’s victory ended the Bengals’ playoff hopes after they won the AFC North the previous season.
Florida on brink of first national titleFlorida defeated Ohio State in the 2007 Tostitos BCS National Championship Game. (Photo by Andy Lyons/Getty Images)
The BCS National Championship Game became a standalone event for the 2006 season — and a dominant SEC side made the most of it. Florida downed Ohio State at the Tostitos Bowl to win the national title on January 8, 2007.
The Gators dominated the Buckeyes and Heisman-winning quarterback Troy Smith 41-14. It marked the first of two championships for Florida in the 2000s and snapped Ohio State’s 19-game winning streak.
The Gators were led by quarterback Chris Leak’s 213 passing yards and touchdown, while three players ran for a score — including future Heisman Award winner Tim Tebow. Smith had just 35 passing yards and one interception.
NBA stars in midst of dominant scoring run
The NBA remained busy on the final calendar day of 2006 with seven games across the association. Multiple future Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame inductees were in action, including Kobe Bryant, Steve Nash, Tracy McGrady, Pau Gasol, Tim Duncan and Tony Parker.
Nash, Bryant and McGrady each put up more than 30 points, but it’s the latter two who were on particularly notable scoring runs.
Bryant followed up a 58-point outing on Dec. 29 with 35 on New Year’s Eve. McGrady had 38, the second game of a six-game stretch in which he scored at least 30 points. Bryant wound up leading the league in scoring with 31.6 points per game.
From the gridiron to the sidelinesCurrent Patriots head coach Mike Vrabel recorded the second-most tackles for New England in 2006. (Photo By Streeter Lecka/Getty Images)
Four current NFL coaches were making their mark on the field during the 2006 season: New England’s Mike Vrabel, Detroit’s Dan Campbell, Houston’s DeMeco Ryans and the New York Jets’ Aaron Glenn. Remarkably, three of them played on the teams they’d later lead on the sideline.
Vrabel, a linebacker, was in his sixth season with the New England Patriots, starting all 16 games and recording 89 tackles, second most on the team.
Campbell began his first season as a Detroit Lions tight end, catching 21 passes for 308 yards and four touchdowns.
Ryans had a dominant rookie season as a linebacker on the Houston Texans, leading the league with 126 solo tackles. He ended up winning AP Defensive Rookie of the Year.
Glenn suited up as a defensive back in 16 games for the Dallas Cowboys and put up 22 tackles with one interception.

