Steelers HC Mike Tomlin pats himself on the back following bold decision vs. New York Jets

Mike Tomlin is due for a victory lap around Pittsburgh over the next week.

Following a heavily criticized move that saw the vaunted HC replace Justin Fields with Russell Wilson, the Pittsburgh Steelers dominated the New York Jets in one of their better offensive outings in years.

So when asked about making such a bold move, Mike Tomlin made sure to note why he's the one making the big bucks:

Coach Tomlin bets on himself and comes up big

"That's why I'm well compensated," said Coach Tomlin when asked if his decision to start Russell Wilson despite a 4-2 start from Justin Fields was the boldest move of his career.

For Coach T, it's a well-deserved pat on the back when you consider that just hours before, it was reported by NFL on Fox insider and close friend of Mike Tomlin, Jay Glazer that the decision to start Russ was Tomlin's decision, and his alone:

“I spoke to Mike Tomlin about it last night and he said, look, 'I went lone ranger on it,'" said Glazer. "Terry Bradshaw, you're not the only one against this, there were a lot of people inside that organization who were as well And he said, 'look, if it doesn't work out, I'll take the heat, I'll shoulder the blame, no problem. The reason why I did this is I know I had two quarterbacks going into camp that are very capable, but I wanted to see both of them before I made a long-term decision. Well, I haven't seen the other one. I want to see at least what I have from him, exhaust all option, and then make a decision down the stretch. I'm not trying to win games, I'm trying to win a world title here. I got to see what I got in both.'”

"They don't pay me the big bucks for nothing" never rang more true than on Sunday night. Russell Wilson set a franchise record for most passing yards in a Steelers debut, executing the offense after a slow start and recording 264 yards and two TDs in the air.

The 37 points matched Pittsburgh's highest scoring output in the post Big Ben era and George Pickens was a feature, catching five passes for 111 yards and a TD on nine targets.

"I thought he was excellent," Tomlin told the media after the game regarding Russell Wilson's play. "I thought he got better as the game went on, but l'm not surprised by that. It's been a while since he's played some ball, but I thought he settled in, knocked the rust off man, and distributed the ball around and played well."

There's a reason why Coach Tomlin is the longest-tenured HC in the NFL, and he might have just proved it yet again in of the bigger decisions of his coaching career.

Related: Steelers WR George Pickens exposes the main difference between Justin Fields and Russell Wilson