Pittsburgh Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin has worked closely with former NFL head coach and current analyst Tony Dungy, with Tomlin coaching under Dungy in Tampa Bay in 2001, and the two men have a close relationship. Dungy also played for the Steelers and was the team’s defensive coordinator from 1984-1988, so he’s quite familiar with how Pittsburgh conducts business. On NBC’s pregame show before Pittsburgh’s Week 16 matchup against the Cincinnati Bengals, Dungy said that Tomlin plans on returning next season and figuring out the team’s problems.
He pushed back on fellow analyst Rodney Harrison, who said if he was Tomlin, he isn’t sure he would want to come back.
“If I’m Mike Tomlin, I’m not sure I even want to come back,” Harrison said, citing an unproven quarterback and “spoiled brats” on offense.
Dungy said that’s not the case.
“I know Mike Tomlin and he does want to come back, and he wants to fix that and change that and get those spoiled brats together,” Dungy said. “Get his quarterback some experience and let’s go win a championship. That’s how he’s thinking.”
That confirms a report by Mike Florio, who said Tomlin is already involved in meetings about next season and that the plan is for the Steelers to extend his contract. It always seemed like a longshot that the Steelers would move on from Tomlin but given the Steelers’ late-season collapse that’s currently unfolding and their lack of recent playoff success, it felt like more of a possibility than ever.
Things are fluid, and if the Steelers fall flat in their remaining three games, there’s always the chance that the Steelers change their minds. But as it stands now, it would be a major surprise if Tomlin isn’t leading the Steelers in 2024. Dungy’s personal relationship with Tomlin means his words have some more weight here, and while he doesn’t say if he’s talked to Tomlin, he seems pretty adamant that Tomlin doesn’t want to go anywhere. Coupled with the fact that the team is planning to extend him, there seems to be mutual interest between both parties to keep Tomlin in Pittsburgh.
For Tomlin and the Steelers, a win against Cincinnati later today would help get some of the heat off the team and Tomlin specifically. Pittsburgh’s playoff hopes will stay alive with a win, and even if it’s a Lloyd Christmas “so you’re saying there’s a chance” percent for the Steelers to make the playoffs, any chance is better than no chance. Winning today keeps those hopes alive and will put Steelers fans in a good mood heading into Christmas.
