Record for Mike Tomlin. The head coach of the Pittsburgh Steelers replaces NBA coaching icon Gregg Popovich.

A few days ago, the San Antonio Spurs announced that long-time coaching legend Gregg Popovich will no longer be on the sidelines as head coach in the upcoming NBA season.

After 29 years, it’s the end of the road for the Spurs’ coaching icon. The 76-year-old, who has recently been plagued by serious health problems, is retiring and moving into the role of team president.

Popovich is one of the greatest NBA coaches to step down. No other head coach has stayed with a club for so long, no other has won so many games.

He won 1,412 games in the regular season and 170 in the playoffs, leading San Antonio to all five of its titles in 1999, 2003, 2005, 2007, and 2014. But Popovich’s successes were also relevant outside of basketball.

After all, he was the head coach in US professional sports who had been in office the longest without interruption.

Mike Tomlin replaces Gregg Popovich

After Popovich stepped down, this record moved to the NFL and the Pittsburgh Steelers. Mike Tomlin is now officially the longest-serving head coach in North American professional sports.

Tomlin has been head coach of the Steelers since 2007, and the 53-year-old is entering his 19th season as head coach in Pittsburgh. Tomlin won the Super Bowl with the “Steel City” in the 2008 NFL season.

In recent years, however, “The Preacher,” as he is known to many players, has not always been uncontroversial. Nevertheless, he and the Steelers have finished all 18 regular seasons to date with a winning record.

Longest-serving head coaches: Here’s how it looks in the other leagues

In the four other major US professional leagues, Tomlin has only one serious rival as head coach: Erik Spoelstra has been coaching the Miami Heat in the NBA since 2008.

In the NHL, Jon Cooper has been with the Tampa Bay Lightning since 2013, while in Major League Baseball, Kevin Cash is the longest-serving coach of the Tampa Bay Rays (2014).

In soccer, the Sounders in the MLS have been relying on Brian Schmetzer the longest, who came to Seattle in 2016.