Mike Tomlin's Work Has Yet to Make Him One of the NFL's Best Two Coaches

The bloggers of ESPN.com recently concocted an article that ranked the top 10 coaches in the NFL.

I wasn't really too bothered about the No. 1 ranking. I presumed that would be Bill Belichick (he was the unanimous choice), but I was intrigued by the race for second place.

Would Mike McCarthy still be basking in his Packers' Superbowl story? Would Rex Ryan's talking have fooled the so called experts? Would Sean Payton's heroics in New Orleans be overlooked by the Saints' loss in Seattle this past season?

Personally, I thought Andy Reid would have been the choice... He was not.

There were two things that stood out from this article: First, Jim Caldwell received votes from Paul Kuharsky and James Walker.

Are you serious? What has that guy done? 

Second, Pittsburgh Steelers' Head Coach Mike Tomlin was ranked as the second best coach in the league.

Okay okay, don't blow your top Steelers' fans, for I am one of you.

I know all about his résumé—youngest head coach to win a Superbowl, youngest head coach to appear in a second, three AFC North crowns in four years and consistently keeps one of the best defenses in the league. Not to mention his unbelievable motivation and work ethic to go along with his man management.

So what's my beef?

One of Mike's favorite Tomlinisms is "reacting to adversity." This is something he has proven he can do to an extent, exemplified by leading the team to a 3-1 record with Dennis Batch (or Charlie Dixon, whichever you prefer) under center.

However a coach's greatest adversity comes in the form of his players—a task the Virginia native hasn't had to face just yet.

Ever since he became the Steelers' head coach in 2007, Tomlin has been blessed with very talented players and experienced winners on his roster.

Very few head coaches have the luxury of coming to coach a team with a franchise quarterback like Ben Roethlisberger, a Hall of Fame receiver in Hines Ward and one of the best defenses in the league manned by the best defensive coordinator Dick Lebeau.

Don't get me wrong. It's not like he hasn't had an impact.

He has definitely made Roethlisberger a better player, transitioning the team into more of a pass-first offense. He was also part of the group that drafted stud defenders such as Ziggy Hood, Lawrence Timmons and LaMarr Woodley.

He obviously has a lot of responsibilities for his team's performance, just like the other 31 NFL Head Coaches.

However, you can't say his head coaching career wasn't born with a silver spoon in its mouth.

Just ask Jim Schwartz, Steve Spagnuolo or Raheem Morris what their first season in the NFL was like with the bottom-feeders of the league. They could only dream of taking over a team one year removed from a Superbowl like the Steelers of 2007.

Tomlin, to me, is a very good head coach. But it's a little premature to make him the second best in the league at this stage.

He has come in and done exactly what the Steelers asked him to do, continuing the team's tradition of winning. But even Bill Belichick had to build a Superbowl-winning team at some stage—not just inherit one.

There is no argument that the Steelers' charismatic head coach is one of the best in the business. But at this stage in his career, it's disrespectful to others who have built their franchises from the ground up like Andy Reid, Tom Coughlan and Sean Payton.

The NFL is definitely a what-have-you-done-for-me-lately league. It's ironic that a Steelers' head coach is benefiting from such a short-sighted era that we live in.

Not that the man in question gives a damn about anything but Superbowl rings...