Will Mike Tomlin ever coach the Steelers to another playoff win?
So, here is the question, right? The Steelers just signed head coach Mike Tomlin to a new three-year extension. If he plays out the length of the deal, he will have coached here for 21 years. But he has already coached here for 17 years, and he hasn’t won a postseason game in seven.
In fact, Tomlin has failed to win a postseason game in 13 of his first 17 seasons. He won three games (and the Super Bowl) in 2008, then two in 2010. Since then, he led the Steelers to one win in 2015 and two in 2016.
And then, nothing. Lots and lots and lots of nothing. A lot of head coaches saw their entire tenures at their job run their course during the time that has elapsed since Mike Tomlin’s last postseason win. Hired and fired, maybe even with a playoff win or two in between, but not enough.
Like, I’m not kidding. The Tennessee Titans hired Mike Vrabel as head coach in 2018. He won two playoff games—both in 2019—and then the Titans fired him after the 2023 season. Mike Vrabel’s entire head coaching career, complete with some playoff success, elapse in the time since Mike Tomlin last led the Steelers to a playoff win.
Art Rooney II could not have possibly signed off on this new three-year extension without believing that Tomlin will bring them more playoff success. I am sure that he thinks just that. The problem is, it doesn’t mean that he is correct.
A lot of the roster that Tomlin has put together this year looks good. But as is always the case, it will ride or die with the quarterback position. Do they have enough there in Russell Wilson and Justin Fields? Tomlin is staking his reputation on it. He may have a lifelong tenure here, effectively, but his legacy depends on what happens next. At least, a chunk of it will. Yes, he won a Super Bowl and a lot of regular season games. But he’ll still be the guy who couldn’t win in the playoffs “with his own players”. Especially in Pittsburgh.
The Steelers’ 2023 season has been put out of its misery, ending as so many have before in recent years: a disappointing, blowout playoff loss. The only change-up lately is when they miss the playoffs altogether. But with the Buffalo Bills stamping them out in the Wildcard Round, they have another long offseason ahead.
The biggest question hanging over the team is the quarterback question. Does Russell Wilson make them a Super Bowl-caliber team, or are they wasting a year? Will he play just one season in Pittsburgh before moving on, or the Steelers moving on from him? How will the team address the depth chart?
The Steelers are past free agency and the draft and their roster for the 2024 season is coming into focus. They made numerous moves through signings and trade—and release. More than usual, they seemed comfortable creating holes, confident they can fill them. Now that we have so many pieces of the puzzle, however, we merely have a new set of questions to ask.
