A Look Back: Tomlin Wins First Game as Steelers Coach in 2007 Hall of Fame Game

The Steelers last appearance in the Pro Football Hall of Fame game was back in 2007, which also happened to be the first game on the sidelines for current head coach Mike Tomlin.

Bill Cowher stepped down after the 2006 season, a year after winning Super Bowl XL, and Tomlin was a shocker to be the new head coach of the five-time Super Bowl champs.

That first summer he had to install his new way of coaching to a franchise that was just two seasons removed from winning a title, and had to earn the respect of veteran players like James Farrior, Hines Ward, Ben Roethlisberger and others.

The first game though Tomlin and the Steelers got off to a good start, and topped the New Orleans Saints at the Hall of Fame by a final score of 20-7.

Here’s a part of our game recap from the first win for Tomlin:

Ben Roethlisberger and Brian St. Pierre threw first-half touchdowns to lead the Steelers past the Saints 20-7 in the Hall Of Fame Game in Canton, Ohio. It helped new coach Mike Tomlin accomplish something that his predecessors Bill Cowher and Chuck Noll did not, win in their first preseason game. “We had a good first step,” the no-nonsense Tomlin said. “We did some good things, got some big plays, some chunks (of yardage).”

Roethlisberger completed two of three passes on the first drive of the game, hitting Cedrick Wilson with both of them for a total of 73 yards. “He came up to me at practice,” Wilson said of Roethlisberger, “and told me he was going to be looking for me. I appreciate that and can be thankful for that. I just want to go out and make plays for him and make sure he is one of the best quarterbacks in the league.” The drive was capped off by Najay Davenport’s four yard run for the first score of the game.

Check out the rest of the recap HERE

Click HERE for NFL.com’s recap of the 2007 Hall of Fame Game with stats