Mike Tomlin has said it in every way possible. He wants to coach. He doesn’t plan on skipping Pittsburgh for another football job, a broadcast booth, or to lay on a beach somewhere. He’s a football coach through and through. Today’s three-year extension should be the final piece of proof for the court of public opinion.
Tomlin’s extension comes as no surprise. He wasn’t going to enter 2024 as a lame duck coach and Art Rooney II confirmed a new deal would be coming earlier this offseason. The only question was for how long. Would Tomlin mimic Kevin Colbert and begin going year to year? Would the Steelers only offer a shorter-than-usual two-year deal as a “prove it” contract as Mike Tomlin and this organization look to return to winning playoff games.
In the end, it was neither. It was the Steelers’ typical three-year extension, the same he’s received throughout his head coaching tenure. It commits him through the 2027 season and into his mid-50s. Assuming he sees it through, he’ll have led Pittsburgh for 21 seasons. He’d also become the ninth-longest tenured head coach in NFL history only trailing iconic names like George Halas (No. 1 at a ridiculous 40 years), Don Shula, Paul Brown, and Andy Reid among others. He’d sit just shy of Chuck Noll’s tenure and has already surpassed Bill Cowher’s.
Knowing how the Steelers operate, Tomlin’s all but guaranteed to see the whole deal. He certainly won’t be fired, if it even comes to that, the next few years. No way will the Rooneys eat that guaranteed money. It took until midway through 2023 before the Steelers finally mustered up the courage to let OC Matt Canada go, paying him to not coach their team.
During last year’s losing streak, the buzz around Tomlin’s future wouldn’t end. It came in two camps. Would the team fire him for not meeting the standard? Not winning enough in the regular season and a playoff drought that’s dragged on since 2017. The other camp was if Tomlin wanted to continue coaching. Pushed by some of the major media types, chiefly Pro Football Talk’s Mike Florio, the thought was Tomlin’s coaching tenure had run its course. He’d be coveted by all the networks and could take a cushy job giving his thoughts on how everyone else was doing without dealing with the rigors of coaching an NFL team.
It all led to Mike Tomlin walking off the podium when asked about his future following the Steelers’ playoff loss to the Buffalo Bills, creating its own news cycle of the Brian Windhorst “what does it mean?” meme. Tomlin apologized for his actions at his year-end presser and answered head-on his commitment to leading the Steelers. Monday’s extension cements things.
There can and still will be debate about whether Tomlin should have the job. Or if the team needs a new voice and direction. That’s not going to stop. That’s never going to stop. But Tomlin walking away? He’s not doing it. Not now. Not for a long time. To quote another long-tenured coach – so quit asking.
