With Sean Payton stepping down from the New Orleans Saints earlier in the offseason, Pittsburgh Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin now enters the 2022 season as the second-longest tenured head coach in the NFL behind only Bill Belichick of the New England Patriots. So, with Tomlin now entering his 16th season as an NFL head coach, does he have any idea how much longer he’ll want to continue in his profession?
“I have no idea,” Tomlin said during his Monday media session while in Florida for the league’s annual owners meetings. “I know I’m excited about 2022. My wife’s probably got a better understanding of that than I do.”
Last April, the Steelers announced that they had signed Tomlin to a three-year contract extension that keeps him with the club through the 2024 season. While Tomlin has yet to have a losing season since becoming the Steelers head coach in 2007, his last playoff win came way back in the 2016 season. Because of that, one must wonder if Tomlin will get another extension should he fail to win a playoff game in the next two seasons.
Tomlin just turned 50 years of age a few weeks ago and he has shown no signs of slowing down. That’s been evidenced again so far this offseason with his attendance at college pro days. He really loves the pre-draft process and quite honestly, everything else that goes along with his job description.
With the Steelers set to have a new general manager soon, Tomlin was asked on Monday if he has any interest in possibly having a dual role that would allow him to wear both hats, perse.
“Absolutely not,” Tomlin said. “I love coaching football. I’m kind of a singularly focused guy.”
2022 will be an interesting season for Tomlin as it will be his first without having veteran quarterback Ben Roethlisberger on the roster. Tomlin was asked to comment on how that makes him feel during his Monday media session.
“I’m really excited by it,” Tomlin said. “I’m energized by it. I love the anxiety associated with uncertainty. I think it brings the best out in me and I think it’s gonna bring the best out in us. At least I’m hopeful that it will.”
Tomlin enters the 2022 season with a career regular season coaching record of 154–85–2 (.643). His playoff record to date is 8–9 (.471).
