For the first time in his 17-year coaching career, there was a was a national conversation about Mike Tomlin’s future in Pittsburgh. First, during the Steelers’ lowest point of their three-game losing streak that dropped them to 7-7 and seemingly out of the playoff race, some wondered if this would be the year Pittsburgh would fire (or trade) Tomlin. After Tomlin righted the ship and got the team into the postseason, speculation centered on Tomlin possibly choosing to walk away from coaching for at least a season.
But Tomlin reportedly told the team Tuesday he intends on coaching in 2024. And players have publicly gone to bat for Tomlin in the media, Cam Heyward and T.J. Watt outlining passionate defenses of him since the Steelers’ season ended.
On Instagram, WR George Pickens and OT Broderick Jones echoed Watt’s thoughts, posting these responses Wednesday afternoon. On his IG story, Jones posted a photo of Watt’s quote with the caption, “I’m with you tj.”
Pickens did similar, using the same quote with a pair of “100” emojis to signal his agreement.
Tomlin came to Pickens’ defense throughout the year as the outside world criticized him, justifiably, for his comments and low-effort moments. Tomlin held a midweek press conference, rare for him, to commit to developing Pickens on and off the field.
From veterans and franchise pillars like Watt and Heyward to youngsters like Jones and Pickens, Tomlin’s support is coming from all corners of the locker room. That doesn’t diminish the fair criticism against him, chiefly his lack of playoff success nearly spanning the past decade. But it shows the players don’t want to see a change get made. And unless Art Rooney II does something that would shock everyone, Tomlin is going to be the team’s head coach for 2024, likely with a contract extension in hand by the time the new season kicks off.
While Tomlin will be back, the rest of the coaching staff might look different. Changes figure to occur on the offensive side more so than the defensive end of it though the Steelers losing any coaches to other jobs could organically shake things up. Last year, the team had to replace Brian Flores after he was hired by the Minnesota Vikings to be their defensive coordinator. This year, the team is reportedly losing Offensive Assistant Glenn Thomas to the college ranks. Perhaps secondary coach Grady Brown could garner defensive coordinator interviews once league teams fill their head coach and general manager vacancies, of which there are many.
