The Pittsburgh Steelers’ 2023 season came to a close with a 31-17 loss at the hands of the Buffalo Bills in the AFC Wild Card Round, the fourth time in a row the Steelers have gone one-and-done in the postseason. The end of the season now will bring speculation over Mike Tomlin’s future, as numerous insiders have speculated that he could potentially take some time off. That speculation is going to be even more rampant after Tomlin walked out of his press conference when he asked about his contract after the game, but inside the locker room, players are rallying around their coach.
Cornerback Patrick Peterson just wrapped up his first season in Pittsburgh, but he has little doubt that Tomlin is the right fit to lead the Steelers. Speaking to reporters, including Mike DeFabo of The Athletic, he praised the work Tomlin did.
“I know I love it here,” Peterson said. “I love Coach T, everything he’s done to motivate this team and put us in position to be successful. There’s no doubt in my mind he’s the right guy for the job.”
Cameron Heyward echoed that sentiment in his postgame press conference, saying the Steelers “would not function” without Tomlin.
“There’s a lot of credit there [to Tomlin], but it’s not like we’re happy to just get to this point. We put so much into it, he put so much into it, and I think every player in there wouldn’t be anything without Mike T,” Heyward said via Steelers.com. “This group would not function, to even get to a playoff berth, without Mike T. He keeps us accountable from top to bottom.”
Meanwhile, rookie offensive tackle Broderick Jones said he’s “never had a coach” like Tomlin, per DeFabo.
“He’s not the type to yell at you and get on you. He’s a different kind of coach and I really appreciate him. He does a lot for the team, and he does a lot for me, he always talks to me, he tells me what he’s looking for from me,” Jones said.
It’s clear that the locker room has a lot of love for Tomlin and that the want to see him stay. He has one year left on his contract with Pittsburgh and the team isn’t going to fire him, so if he leaves, it would be on his own accord. His youngest daughter is going to college next year, and with one year left on his deal and 17 years in Pittsburgh, he may decide it’s time for something new.
If he does, it will be a blow to a Steelers locker room that really seems to enjoy him as a coach, and it would be a blow to the Steelers losing their head coach and someone who’s been a stable presence in Pittsburgh’s locker room since taking over in 2007. The lack of recent playoff success is a damning stat on Tomlin’s resume right now, and there are a lot of fans who might be happy if he does decide to leave. But inside the locker room, he’s a guy who’s beloved by players and coaches, and it would be a tough pill to swallow to see him leave for another opportunity.
Tomlin will likely take some time to decide his future, but we’ll know within the next week or two whether he’s going to continue to lead the Steelers going forward.
