A new report from Pro Football Talk/NBC’s Mike Florio casts questions over Mike Tomlin’s future coaching the Pittsburgh Steelers. During halftime of Saturday’s Cleveland Browns-Houston Texans game, Florio indicated Tomlin will evaluate his future in coaching after the season ends.
“This year is a unique position for Mike Tomlin for the first time ever, he’s entering the last year of his contract…I’m told he’s going to step back after this season ends, make a decision about his future with his family,” Florio said during the halftime break. “He loves the team, loves the young players there. But after the season, he’ll huddle with his family and make a decision about the Steelers.”
It should be noted Tomlin has gone into the final year of his contract before, doing so prior to his most recent three-year extension in 2021, as noted by the AP’s Will Graves.
Earlier in the year, Florio indicated Tomlin was expected to return next season with a contract extension likely to take place during the offseason. He noted the Steelers had zero indication “Tomlin wants to go.”
“What he does every year, he’s all-in, season ends, he takes a step back, reflects on where he is and where he is going,” Florio added. But the rest of his commentary suggests Tomlin is as serious as ever contemplating his future.
Still, Florio’s point seems to be Tomlin is undecided about his football future. It follows speculation from NFL insiders Jay Glazer, friends with Tomlin, and Adam Schefter, who indicated some around the league wondered if Tomlin would continue to coach after the season. Five days ago, Schefter said league sources openly wondered if Tomlin would take time off following the season.
“Mike Tomlin gets to dictate what happens here, not the Pittsburgh Steelers,” Schefter said on January 8. “They’re not firing him, he’s staying on, but he’s staying on if he wants to. If he decides that he’d like to walk, well that’s a different subject. And maybe there’s a team out there, he’s from Washington, his wife loves Los Angeles, maybe one of them wants to lob a call into the Steelers to see if they could wind up doing something with him.”
The day before, Glazer appeared on FOX Sports, noting the Steelers had no intention to fire him and that Tomlin would return if he wants to, repeating “it’ll be his choice” twice during his brief blurb.
“Mike Tomlin, it’ll be his choice if he goes back to the Steelers or not, but it’ll be his choice,” Glazer said
Tomlin’s contract currently runs through the 2024 season. Hired in 2007, he’s served as the Steeler’s head coach for the last 17 seasons. He extended his non-losing streak to 17 years with Pittsburgh’s 10-7 finish in 2023, the third-longest such streak in NFL history and the longest of any coach to begin his head coaching career.
Tomlin, 51, has a career record of 173-100-2. His wins are tied for 11th most in NFL history and 20 shy of tying Chuck Noll’s franchise mark. He’s been to two Super Bowls, winning one, 2008 in his second year with the team. With Bill Belichick and the New England Patriots parting ways, Tomlin is currently the longest-tenured NFL head coach with one team and has the second-longest streak in the four major American sports, trailing only San Antonio Spurs’ head coach Gregg Poppovich.
To date, Tomlin’s never made mention about considering stepping down from his role. While he’s still young, he has a lot of coaching years under him, and has gone through particularly challenging seasons in recent years. The 2019 season without Ben Roethlisberger, the 2020 season played during the pandemic, and the past two years in the post-Roethlisberger era as the team reinvented themselves. Based on Florio’s wording, Tomlin doesn’t appear ready to make a move with another team but a break from the grind of the job. Last year, Sean Payton took a year off from coaching before returning to football with the Denver Broncos for 2023.
Pittsburgh is slated to hold its playoff game Monday at 4:30 PM/EST against the Buffalo Bills. If the Steelers are eliminated, then eyes will be on Tomlin’s status going forward.
