Head coach Mike Tomlin signed a three-year extension with the Pittsburgh Steelers this offseason, and it might not be the last one for Tomlin in Pittsburgh. Despite coaching the Steelers since 2007, Tomlin is just 52, and NFL Media’s Ian Rapoport said Tomlin will have a job with the Steelers as long as he wants one. Appearing on the Chipped Ham and Football podcast with Brian Batko of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, Rapoport said that he doesn’t think Tomlin has lost any enthusiasm for coaching.
“I would just say, for me, he’s gonna have a Steelers job as long as he wants, as he should. And I don’t know, look at some point it’s the end for everyone and at some point Mike Tomlin will know. But I just haven’t sensed him losing energy or losing patience or not liking it as much. Those are the things you sort of can sense, but with Tomlin I don’t get any of it. So I was not surprised he got an extension,” Rapoport said.
While Rapoport didn’t explicitly say it would be the head coach job, there’s really no other job Tomlin could have unless he wants to move up into the front office in some capacity. It makes sense after his latest extension that Tomlin could be Pittsburgh’s coach for life. The three-year extension signifies that ownership still has faith in him, and unless the next three seasons are a disaster, Tomlin very well could continue in Pittsburgh.
The problem could be if the next four seasons (the extension runs through 2027) don’t result in a playoff win. That will make it over a decade without one for the Steelers, and ownership might eventually lose patience. With an improved roster this season, winning in January is going to be important for Tomlin to regain some faith from the fan base, and it will make the next few years less stressful when it comes to thinking about and talking about his future.
There’s been no indication from Tomlin that he’s lost any enthusiasm for the job, and he told Rob King back in March that his desire for the job hasn’t waned. He wants to coach the Steelers, he’s still fired up to coach the Steelers, and he’ll do so for the next four years, and probably for the rest of his head coaching career, however long that may be.
