In the quiet time of the offseason, Mike Tomlin’s success as a coach has been debated locally and nationally. And there feels like a split. The national media praising Tomlin for his consistency, his steadiness, and ability to get the most out of an ugly situation. That’s what he did in 2022, taking a 2-6 bottom feeder and turning it into a playoff contender, falling just short in the final week of the season.
Locally, there’s a different vibe. The frustration over the franchise not winning a playoff game since 2016, winning only three postseason contests since their last Super Bowl appearance coupled with the fact the Steelers are no longer considered Super Bowl contenders and haven’t been for several seasons.
Regardless of what you think, The Athletic’s Mark Kaboly laid out his read of the situation in an interview with 93.7 The Fan earlier this week. Tomlin will never be fired and, like Chuck Noll and Bill Cowher, will leave when he wants to.
“The only way Mike Tomlin leaves the Pittsburgh Steelers is if Mike Tomlin chooses to leave the Pittsburgh Steelers,” Kaboly told The Cook and Joe Show Tuesday. “There’s no way the Rooneys are ever going to get rid of him. And probably rightfully so.”
There is a loud faction of Steelers fans who would disagree with the “rightfully so” comment. But it doesn’t change the reality and it’s hard to argue with Kaboly’s belief. Team President Art Rooney II has never hinted at wanting to move on from Tomlin, and unless something drastic happens, he never will. Pittsburgh is a good-enough franchise to always be in the mix, always be on the cusp, and without a terrible 5-12 type of season, the franchise will stand by Tomlin.
Cementing the point, Kaboly believes Tomlin will receive a contract extension later this summer. It’s possible it’s already happened and simply hasn’t been announced by the team, something that’s commonplace around the league. In Buffalo, HC Sean McDermott and GM Brandon Beane received extensions before it was officially announced last month.
Hired in 2007, Tomlin boasts a career record of 163-93-2 with a better winning percentage than Cowher and Noll. But his playoff record is worse, 8-9 compared to Cowher’s 12-9 mark and Noll’s 16-8 figure. Still, Tomlin will be the head coach of the foreseeable future and is in-line to pass Noll’s career regular season wins mark. Noll sits at 193, meaning if Tomlin can average nine wins per season, he’ll beat Noll by early 2026.
“For him to be fired, it’s just never going to happen,” Kaboly said.
The better debate around Tomlin right now is whether he’s a Hall of Famer. He’s revered by the national media and that’ll help his cause when it comes to debating his candidacy. And he has been in the upper tier of head coaches throughout most of his coaching career. But he still only has one Super Bowl ring and many of the post-merger coaches in Canton have multiple trophies. Bill Cowher is an exception, but he was aided by the Centennial Class that inducted more names than usual.
