Ahead of the 2023 season for the Pittsburgh Steelers, anticipation is rather high overall due to the potential growth of second-year quarterback Kenny Pickett, a solidified offensive line and a defense loaded with star power top to bottom.
Anticipation is also high for something that seems to be pretty much a done deal at this point: a Mike Tomlin extension.
Appearing on 93.7 The Fan’s morning show Monday with fill-in host Joe Starkey, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette Steelers Insider Ray Fittipaldo stated that all signs are pointing to another Tomlin extension ahead of the start of the 2023 season.
“This is the way that it usually happens. There are different timeframes when it has happened in the past…there is everything to suggest that Art Rooney is happy with Mike Tomlin, that he likes the direction of this young team. I would imagine it happens at some point before the start of the season,” Fittipaldo said, according to audio via 93.7 The Fan. “Am I 100 percent certain it’s going to happen? No, but I think all signs do point to that happening again this year.”
With two years remaining on his current contract, Tomlin is in line for another extension based on how the Steelers like to do business, which would keep him with the organization through the 2026 season, putting him at the helm for 20 seasons to that point.
Previously, Tomlin signed a three-year extension in April 2021, just months after the Steelers lost to the Cleveland Browns in the AFC Wild Card round after winning the AFC North. That three-year extension was a bit out of the norm, considering the Steelers like to do a one-year extension plus an option with coaches.
While the Steelers have struggled in recent seasons, going 18-16-1, losing to the Kansas City Chiefs in the AFC Wild Card round after the 2021 season and missing the playoffs this past season, the belief from those inside and outside of the organization is that Tomlin is doing a great job overall in this period of transition and has the franchise headed in the right direction.
The decision to extend Tomlin again despite the lack of playoff success in the last decade or so will undoubtedly anger portions of the fanbase that are ready for a change, but the extension will not be surprising whatsoever, considering how the Steelers like to do business. The Steelers believe in stability, and that’s what Tomlin provides them.
After Rooney lauded the Steelers’ second-half surge under Tomlin, going 7-2 down the stretch to finish 9-8 and show real promise for the future ahead, an extension is all but a formality at this point for the future Hall of Fame head coach. Though it’s taken longer than initially suspected as Post-Gazette Insider Gerry Dulac stated in January that an extension would get done “soon” Tomlin isn’t going anywhere and is going to get another extension from the franchise, likely in the one-year variety.
