Tomlin's first year coaching Steelers similar to Cowher's

•  Both coaches were 35 and dealing with players who weren't much younger.

The major difference is Cowher was widely credited for rejuvenating a franchise that had become stale and underachieving in its final few seasons under a star coach. The 1992 Steelers were top-seeded in the AFC playoffs before losing to Buffalo at home, and Cowher was chosen as the NFL Coach of the Year.

"You've got to be able to handle it delicately," Cowher said in 1992. "You're dealing with a lot of egos and yet you're still trying to keep everyone headed in the same direction."

Fifteen years later, Tomlin often says very similar things.

These Steelers are only two seasons removed from winning a Super Bowl and Tomlin is righting a proven team that strayed off course for only one season. He probably won't win a lot of Coach of the Year votes like Cowher did in 1992, and the best the Steelers can be seeded in the AFC is No. 3.

Still, very much has gone right in Tomlin's first year following a season in which a lot went wrong, just as it did with Cowher in charge in 1992. And that may not be a coincidence at all.

"I don't put any vision in my head of what the team should look like or should be, because invariably what you are limiting is what you are potentially capable of being," Tomlin said. "I go into it with an open mind and I look forward to watching this team grow and develop and win on a week-in, week-out basis. That is how I approach it."