I get it Steeler Nation: we cringe when Pittsburgh plays on the road. We crack jokes, make fun, and bite our fingernails off while watching away games on TV.

Mike Tomlin is perceived to do poorly away from Heinz Field, especially against losing teams: these are teams the Steelers are supposed to beat.

Right?

If it were that easy to predict wins and losses, I would make millions off sports betting. (That’s not a joke!) However, it’s not that easy. Actually coaching a team and winning, rather than guessing which team is favored over the other each week.

This is where I get irritated with those who think Pittsburgh Steelers Head Coach Mike Tomlin should be fired: if we only knew how good we have it as Steelers fans. Tomlin is one of the NFL’s best, not only of the current crop of head coaches, but among those all-time.

I know. Blasphemy you say. He inherited all of Bill Cowher‘s players, etc.

We’ve proven that to be a myth many times over, with the exception of a few core players (such as Ben Roethlisberger). Teams change every year, which means Mike Tomlin has had to build formidable squads each year, and compete; something he has done successfully for over 9 years. In fact, Tomlin is close to being in the company of elite coaches who have won 100 games in their first 10 season in the NFL.

Currently Mike Tomlin has 96 victories in the regular season, the third-most wins in the NFL since he became the Steelers head coach in 2007. He’s the ninth head coach in NFL history to win 90 games in his first nine seasons: the others are Mike Ditka, Joe Gibbs, Dennis Green, Mike Holmgren, John Madden, Mike McCarthy, George Seifert and Don Shula.

Among the NFL’s elite, only New England (119) and Green Bay (100) have won more that the Steelers since 2007.

What’s that you say? Blasphemy? Well I hate to inform everyone that Tomlin also reached 90 wins faster than Bill Cowher and Chuck Noll, doing so in his ninth season as a head coach. (Cowher had 86 wins, Noll 74.) That puts him in great company among his predecessors, if not superseding their accomplishments to some degree.

Yet, it’s not just his Steelers predecessors that Tomlin lives in the shadow of: he’s actually one of the winningest coaches in all of football.

Entering Sunday, Tomlin’s .636 winning percentage was the fourth-best regular season winning mark among active NFL head coaches with a minimum of 50 games coached. Green Bay’s Mike McCarthy (.650) New England’s Bill Belichick (.669) and Arizona’s Bruce Arians (.670) are those ahead of Tomlin in win percentage.

Still, Tomlin doesn’t seem to get the credit he’s due. Some say he gets a pass. Others want him removed.

But why?

“Because he loses to teams he shouldn’t?”

Yes, sometimes teams lose to teams with a losing record. It’s called professional football.

The other team is paid to do the same thing: win.

However, simply labeling Tomlin’s 12 losses against sub .500 teams on the road as “failures” is a bit irresponsible, and feeding a larger frenzy of which Steelers Nation shouldn’t panic over. The Steelers haven’t had a losing season since 2003, and have never had a losing season under Tomlin.

Furthermore, those losses against sub .500 teams aren’t all that telling. Of the 12 games the Steelers went into, and lost, against teams with a losing record, are listed below.

We can’t quite predict what will happen at the end of 2016 yet, but as of now, the Steelers have lost to the Ravens and Dolphins, both teams that fans felt Pittsburgh “should’ve beaten.”

Both of those teams now share the same 4-4 record as Pittsburgh.

Also notice several teams with closer records entering into those games, particularly early in the season. Playing a team which is 0-1, 3-4, 0-2, maybe even 0-3, isn’t indicative of how good or bad those teams are.

Don’t believe me?

Remember when the Steelers started 0-4? They finished that season 8-8.

Even a team like the 2015 Chiefs, who were 1-5 entering their game that year against the Steelers, ended up on a major winning streak and finished the season 11-5.

Likewise, the 2013 Baltimore Ravens, another “losing” team, ended their season with the same record as Pittsburgh that year (who also finished 8-8, as mentioned prior.)

The 0-1 Bengals who were a “losing” team that Pittsburgh lost to? They finished the year 11-5.

Eliminating some of these games from the record of Mike Tomlin shows that the Steelers don’t have a bad head coach; the statistics are being padded with games that aren’t indicative of Tomlin’s performance.

Further consider road losses in Kansas City and Cleveland, where Ben Roethlisberger was out with an injury. Landry Jones was the starter against the Chiefs, while Charlie Batch lead the team against the Browns. Jones threw 2 interceptions in his game, while Batch threw 3 (in a game where the Steelers turned the ball over 8 times!)

I know, I know: “next man up” right? At least sympathize with part of the data, if you’re to consider the coach’s complete record on the road. It hasn’t been a smooth path to travel every single time, as some may have you believe. Preparing to win without your starters is difficult, yet, this year, one that’s filled with injuries, has the fans are as raucous as ever.

I often wonder if Green Bay or Arizona fans are as vocal about their coaches?

The Packers currently sit at 4-4, 2nd in their division, while Arizona is also second in the NFC West with a 3-4-1 record.

Should Mike McCarthy or Bruce Arians get canned from their jobs? If there isn’t as vocal of a mob wanting them fired, does that mean they too “get a pass” as many Steelers fans would have you believe Mike Tomlin gets?

Or perhaps they too are solid coaches whom management feels are doing their jobs to the best of their ability, regardless of what a vocal minority feel are “winnable” games.

I know this isn’t about “those teams” but it does reflect how patience in coaching staffs tends to yield great results. Teams with high turnover, such as the Cleveland Browns, Jacksonville Jaguars, Buffalo Bills, and yes, even the Dolphins, haven’t had anything to brag about for over a decade.

Believe me when I tell you, things could be much, much worse. If Tomlin loses a few games on the road, that should be the least of our concerns.

For the most part, his teams win, and since he’s never had a season below .500 in 9 years, that’s why he should get a pass.