One of the exceptions to the Tomlin contract rule came in 2021 when the team waited until Tomlin only had one year left on his contract before giving him a new three-year deal. At the time it was believed Tomlin had thoughts of jumping to TV booth and that was the reason for the late extension. Recently reports came out that the Steelers and Tomlin were close to an extension, but on Wednesday the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette's Gerry Dulac pumped the breaks on those reports say that Tomlin won't receive a new deal this year.
"The Steelers plan to adhere to the same time frame they used when they gave Tomlin a three-year extension in 2021 - wait until he has a year remaining on his contract before giving him an extension," Dulac wrote.
Many Steelers fans were likely hoping that the team would put Tomlin on the hot seat after he's failed to win a playoff game in the TJ Watt era. The fact they aren't giving Tomlin an extension now still might excite some fans who are still holding out hope that the team will take into consideration the results of the 2023 season before inking him to a new deal.
"According to sources, the Steelers “fully expect” Tomlin to be their coach beyond the current contract," Dulac continued.
Tomlin is the NFL's second longest tenured head coach, behind just Bill Belichick. Tomlin could soon surpass Belichick in that respect as it has been reported that New England Patriots' ownership is unhappy with Belichick and he may be on the hot seat.
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Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin
Tomlin's Successful Steelers' Career
Ever since Tomlin became the Steelers' head coach in 2007, he has been widely regarded as one of the best coaches in the NFL and one of the most respected by players. He became the youngest head coach to ever win a Super Bowl when the Steelers' defeated the Arizona Cardinals at the end of the 2008 season, a record that has since been broken by Sean McVay. Tomlin also brought the Steelers' to the Super Bowl during the team's 2010 campaign, however they lost to the Green Bay Packers.
Tomlin has a .636 winning percentage during the regular season in his time as head coach of the Steelers. He is often praised for never posting a losing season in his head coaching career. He has managed to do this even with starting quarterback, Ben Roethlisberger, being out for the last 14 games of the 2019 season. The team started 0-3 but somehow Tomlin coached the team to a winning season with Mason Rudolph and Devlin Hodges both starting games at quarterback.
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Steelers Kenny Pickett and Mike Tomlin
Most criticism of Tomlin comes from the lack of recent playoff success for the Steelers. The team has not won a playoff game since the 2016 season, which ended with the Steelers losing to the Patriots in the AFC Championship game by a score of 36-17. Although the lack of recent playoff success is frustrating, Roethlisberger was at the tail end of his career and the team became limited in the passing game. Yet, Tomlin found a way to make the playoffs in each of Roethlisberger's last two years in the NFL. The Steelers' have been thought to be "rebuilding" especially with starting a rookie quarterback in 2022, however they still found themselves in playoff contention going into week 18.
It's needless to say that Steelers' fans are extremely lucky to have one of the better and most consistent head coaches in the NFL, despite the lack of recent playoff success. Tomlin still finds a way to win year in and year out, and with the team's young players developing more and more between each season the Steelers' can expect to find themselves with opportunities to go deep in the playoffs in the years to come. There is no doubt Tomlin will be signed to another extension, just not this season.
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