Mike Tomlin will be the head coach of the Pittsburgh Steelers for the foreseeable future.
As expected, the Steelers and Tomlin agreed to another contract extension, keeping the longtime head coach in the Steel City for the next few years. The Steelers announced a three-year extension for Tomlin that will run through the 2027 season.
We have signed Coach Mike Tomlin to a three-year contract extension.
📝: https://t.co/xmE6qR7hnb pic.twitter.com/36TBHdybiS
— Pittsburgh Steelers (@steelers) June 10, 2024
Tomlin is coming off a 10-7 season in 2023 that saw the Steelers make the playoffs before losing in the AFC Wild Card matchup to the Buffalo Bills. The 10-7 season extended his non-losing seasons streak to 17 seasons, spanning his entire career as head coach of the Steelers.
“I am appreciative for this contract extension and thankful for Art Rooney II for his support during my first 17 years in Pittsburgh,” Tomlin said regarding the extension, according to Steelers.com. “We are continuing to work diligently to get back to where we belong – sustained playoff success with the ultimate goal of winning the franchise’s seventh Lombardi Trophy.
“I am very excited to get the 2024 season underway and provide our fans with a memorable year.”
Tomlin is within striking distance of the Steelers’ all-time wins record, as he continues to leave his mark on the franchise record books. Though the playoff struggles are real and frustrating — the Steelers have lost five-straight playoff games and not won a playoff game since 2016 — Tomlin did a great job getting the Steelers into the 2023 playoffs after dealing with a number of injuries defensively and going through three starting quarterbacks before finishing 10-7.
Tomlin’s extension was all but a formality following the 2023 season, especially after team president and owner Art Rooney II stated during his end-of-year media availability that he still believes in Tomlin as the right coach for the franchise and that the extension would “get done when it gets done.”
“I think the players still respond to Mike and that’s number one. He still has the key characteristics that we saw when we hired him. He can keep the attention of a group of 20-year-olds for a whole season and keep them in the fight the whole way,” Rooney said of Tomlin in January, according to Steelers.com’s Bob Labriola. “So, still feel good about Mike. Obviously, if I didn’t we’d make a change. If we didn’t think Mike was able to lead us to a championship, he wouldn’t be here. And that’s why he is here.”
It’s been a rather busy offseason for the Steelers as Tomlin has seen the roster under GM Omar Khan reshaped. In are quarterbacks Russell Wilson and Justin Fields, safety DeShon Elliott and linebacker Patrick Queen. Out the door are quarterbacks Kenny Pickett, Mitch Trubisky and Mason Rudolph, wide receiver Diontae Johnson and defensive back Patrick Peterson.
Despite entering his 18th season as head coach in the same spot in Pittsburgh, Tomlin’s desire hasn’t waned.
Even though he’s accomplished quite a bit in his career and has a Hall-of-Fame resume, there is still a burning desire from Tomlin as a coach.
“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,” Tomlin said, according to an interview with Steelers.com’s Rob King from the NFL owners meetings in Orlando in March. “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.”
The Steelers closed the 2023 season in impressive fashion, winning three straight games with third-string quarterback Mason Rudolph to get into the playoffs, all while dealing with major injuries defensively that left the unit being held together by patchwork. Add a busy offseason featuring the addition of a number of new faces, including new offensive coordinator Arthur Smith, and things are looking up for the Steelers.
So, too, are they for Tomlin, especially with a new extension in hand.
