Pittsburgh Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin is due for a contract extension in the very near future, at least judging by their history with the 16-year veteran. The Athletic’s Mark Kaboly suggests that it may already be done and we’re just waiting for an announcement.
He also suggests in the headline of his recent article on the subject that the Steelers “have no other choice” but to extend Tomlin, who has two years remaining on his contract. While such a statement is not to be taken strictly literally, it might be worth looking into with greater detail.
Specifically, what are the choices available to the organization moving forward, and which ones might be more desirable than others? How desirable do the alternatives have to be for Art Rooney II to decide it’s time to make a change from a model of stability?
Kaboly is quite right in arguing that there is no conversation to be had with respect to what will happen. Tomlin will be extended and, as Kaboly has said multiple times this offseason, he will likely be the Steelers’ head coach for as long as he decides to be, at least for the foreseeable future.
But what could conceivably change that? Extending him now makes a lot of sense, given the amount of change that has taken place within the organization and on the roster over the course of the last couple of years. You want to see how that plays out.
The Steelers just went through their first full offseason with Omar Khan as general manager and they added the post of assistant general manager, which belongs to Andy Weidl. They just went through their first season with Kenny Pickett as the selected successor to Ben Roethlisberger at quarterback, who retired in 2022 after 18 seasons with the team.
There is an intriguing nucleus to this team right now, one that might not bear full fruit for a few years. You don’t want to negatively impact what you could have by introducing questions about the stability of your leadership at the head coaching position. There are few things as detrimental to a young quarterback’s career than major regime changes.
So we know an extension is coming. I think everybody accepts that as a reality. But what about after that? Well, obviously we can’t answer that. But in four or five years from now if we’re still looking at little or minimal postseason success, what then?
And what about the argument against an extension now—the “other choice”? After all, Tomlin is already under contract for two years. While it may introduce a lame-duck element, you’re still getting a reasonable amount time to evaluate the direction this new-look roster is being taken.
Many have questions for years now whether Tomlin is the right voice for this team as he nudges closer and closer to two full decades here. Every indication internally seems to suggest the players still respond to him, but what about a different voice? At the least, what about letting this play out and reevaluating where things stand a year or two from now?
This is all hypothetical, of course, because we know how ownership feels about Tomlin. He’s not going anywhere. But there are obviously other choices, and we may never get to explore what those are and whether there might be a better alternative by continually jumping to recommit to a formula that has produced little success when it matters for the past decade and then some.
