The Pittsburgh Steelers and Mike Tomlin agreed on a three year contract extension last off-season. The deal was out of the ordinary for the team as they normally stay with two year agreements with Tomlin. But this extension was different. It was put in place to show stability as the team headed into a major state of change. They knew that 2022 would be a transition year for the team, and the changes have piled up.
"I am pleased to announce we have extended Mike Tomlin's contract through the 2024 season," Steelers president Art Rooney II said back in 2021. "Mike is one of the most successful head coaches in the National Football League, and we are confident in his leadership to continue to lead our team as we work to win another championship."
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First it was the end of an era when Ben Roethlisberger retired after 18 seasons with the team. A majority of the younger part of the fanbase has never lived in an era without Roethlisberger under center. From there long time coach Keith Butler retired. And then following the 2022 NFL Draft General Manager Kevin Colbert stepped down from his position. The team also made several changes at the assistant level hiring Pat Meyer, Frisman Jackson, and Brian Flores.
Steelers General Manager Kevin Colbert and Vice President of Football and Business Operation Omar Khan after practice at training camp Wednesday August 3, 2016 at St Vincent College in Latrobe. (Chaz Palla/Tribune-Review)
With Colbert gone the team named his long time assistant Omar Khan as his replacement after a three month interview process. The promotion of Khan was another nod to the fact that as much as things change they still stay the same. Khan knows the way Pittsburgh conducts business. He's been their President of Business for the past several years. There isn't going to be much of a change from the Steelers philosophies with Khan in charge.
With all of that said Oddsmaker BetOnline came out with their latest betting odds for who will be the first head coach fired in 2022. Tomlin came in with the 12th greatest odds at 16/1 tied with the Baltimore Ravens John Harbaugh.
Matt Rhule at 3/1
Mike McCarthy at 5/1
Pete Carroll (6/1)
Frank Reich (7/1)
Ron Rivera (8/1)
Dan Campbell (10/1)
Kevin Stefanski (10/1),
Kliff Kingsbury (12/1)
Mike Vrabel (12/1)
Arthur Smith (14/1)
Robert Saleh (14/1)
Mike Tomlin (16/1)
John Harbaugh (16/1)
There is absolutely zero chance that the Steelers ever fire Tomlin mid-season for performance related issues. There is also a very slim chance that the team ever moves on from Tomlin regardless of what the team does unless they had a very sustained run of bad seasons.
