While the Pittsburgh Steelers’ season outcomes have stagnated, head coach Mike Tomlin’s message hasn’t. That’s the view of ESPN analyst Louis Riddick, who believes he hasn’t lost the locker room even if Pittsburgh’s been unable to get over the playoff hump.
“If you listen to the words of guys like T.J. Watt and Cam Heyward, which we’ve sat in rooms and talked to them before games,” Riddick said Wednesday on Get Up. “And they tell you, look, even still at this point in time in his tenure with Pittsburgh, his message still resonates with those guys. And those guys have heard it.”
There’s perhaps no greater test to measure a head coach than the response, or lack thereof, from a locker room. Lose the locker room and there’s no bringing the team back.”
Quantifying a message is difficult to do but the NFLPA yearly report cards indicate players are still buying in on Tomlin. He received the team’s highest grades of any area, ranking better than the team facilities, travel, and view of ownership. While the Steelers’ grade ranked just 28th of the 32 teams, Tomlin received an A-grade, seventh highest across the league.
Art Rooney II said as much this offseason when asked why he stands by Tomlin, telling reporters in a January interview “players still want to play for Mike.” Riddick concurs.
“That is not the issue. His message has not gotten stale,” Riddick said.
As shown throughout last year’s Hard Knocks Tomlin’s message may still resonate, but there’s also a continually new group he’s sending that message to. Pittsburgh has consistently overturned large chunks of its roster, including replacing over 8,100 snaps from the 2024 season for 2025. Even if the message is getting through, the results haven’t budged. Pittsburgh has won nine or 10 games in four-straight seasons and failed to win a playoff game since 2016, leaving the franchise stuck in the NFL’s middle. Good enough to keep Tomlin but not strong enough to make a serious Super Bowl push.
No matter what the fan base thinks of Tomlin and even as insiders like NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero ponder his future, Tomlin is expected to remain the Steelers’ head coach during his current contract, which runs through 2027.
