Throughout the 2023 season, there were rumors that head coach Mike Tomlin could choose to leave the Pittsburgh Steelers as he enters a contract year in 2024. But Tomlin affirmed his commitment to the team at his end-of-year press conference and did so again in a sitdown with Rob King for Steelers.com. Tomlin was asked if he expects to be coaching the Steelers for the “foreseeable future,” and he said his attitude to coach has only intensified.
“Absolutely. I love what I do. I love where I do it. I love who I do it with. I answer that question rather easily, to be quite honest with you. Certainly, we have things like contracts and things to address, but just in spirit, in terms of what I do, the energy I bring to what I do, the desire to step out of that car every day and step into that facility, it hasn’t waned in any way. If it’s done anything different, it’s intensified.”
Despite the rumors, which got louder and louder with the Steelers losing three games in a row from Weeks 13-15, Tomlin didn’t go anywhere, and while his contract extension isn’t done yet, team owner Art Rooney II said that the team is planning on extending his contract. With the additions of Russell Wilson, Justin Fields (even if he’s just a backup), and Patrick Queen, the Steelers should be a much better team next season than they were this year. Working with a new roster and new challenges sounds like it’s ignited Tomlin’s fire to continue coaching this team if it was ever in doubt to begin with.
It sounds like just a matter of time and semantics as to when Tomlin’s extension will be finalized, but coupled with his end-of-season comments, expect him to be the coach in Pittsburgh for a while. His lack of recent playoff success has been a black mark on his resume as the Steelers haven’t won a playoff game since 2016., That has to change, especially with the moves the Steelers have made this offseason. But Tomlin remains one of the most well-respected coaches in the league and Queen cited him as one of the key reasons why he decided to sign with the Steelers.
While the Steelers’ aggressiveness this offseason has been uncharacteristic, their loyalty to coaches will probably never change as long as the Rooney family owns the team. With Mike Tomlin still wanting to coach the Steelers and Rooney having talked about extending him multiple times, he will remain in Pittsburgh.
