The Pittsburgh Steelers and head coach Mike Tomlin agreed to a three-year contract extension on Monday. There have been plenty of people who have supported to extension and plenty of people who see it as keeping the Steelers mired in playoff futility.
However, one former opponent of Tomlin and the Steelers is a fan of the move.
“I like Tomlin,” Chad “Ochocinco” Johnson said on Monday night’s episode of Nightcap. “I like what he’s done with the organization over a period of time. Obviously, there’ll be some years. There’ll be some down years, obviously, when there are situations when you don’t have a quarterback in place or in play to be able to be successful…The timing is perfect to extend Mike Tomlin, not for the work that he’s already done but the work that he’s going to continue to do for that franchise. And even as a Bengal, even as a Bengal player, I can pay my respects and my due diligence for Tomlin, who was always good to me and always been a great coach. And I always loved competing against him.”
Johnson was part of the Steelers-Bengals rivalry for six seasons before the Steelers hired Tomlin as head coach ahead of the 2007 season. Tomlin only oversaw the Steelers for four seasons before Johnson moved on to the New England Patriots for his final season, but those four seasons obviously made an impact on Johnson.
Evidently, this is another example of a player (albeit a former one) who did not spend any time in Tomlin’s locker room but respected the man. The fact that Johnson played almost his entire career in the AFC North for a rival team and can respect Tomlin speaks only further to the kind of coach and man Tomlin is. Then you can look at the reaction of Tomlin’s players to the news of the extension to see how much they love their coach.
However, Johnson’s comments about the work that Tomlin will continue to do for the Steelers point to the biggest problem people have with the Tomlin extension. The Steelers haven’t won a playoff game since 2016 and they have only won one Super Bowl under Tomlin. The Steelers need to start having playoff success again under Tomlin.
Unfortunately for Tomlin and the Steelers, the 2024 schedule looks absolutely brutal, putting them up against it for even making the playoffs. So is Johnson correct, that this is the perfect time? Perhaps it is, because fans would be even angrier if the extension came after a frustrating season thanks in large part to the schedule.
