PITTSBURGH — The NFL’s longest-tenured coach has no plans to go anywhere.
Mike Tomlin, hired on January 22, 2007, presided over the Steelers for 18 seasons, during which he never had a losing season. However, after extending its playoff winless streak to eight seasons with a blowout loss to the Ravens on wild card weekend, speculation swirled that the Steelers might be able to make a change.
Given that Tomlin signed a three-year extension last offseason, which made him one of the five highest-paid coaches in the NFL, and that he works for an organization that has only employed than three head coaches since 1969, a firing would be very unlikely and quite likely. out of character for the Steelers. Still, some wonder whether Pittsburgh might be enticed to trade a coach who, despite his playoff disappointments, is widely considered one of the league’s best.
“Buy some time,” Tomlin said when asked about the potential of a trade.
Tomlin’s consistency in the regular season and continued disappointments in the playoffs have created a unique chasm between those who still trust him and those who believe the Steelers need to make a change at the top to escape football purgatory. Tomlin, who said he has “big shoulders” to carry the baggage, reiterated Tuesday that he believes he is still the right person for the job.
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“I don’t make excuses for failure,” Tomlin said. “I own it. But I also feel that I am capable of it, and so as long as I have the opportunity, I will continue. But I certainly understand the frustrations and probably more importantly than that, I participate in them, because that’s how I’m wired.
Although the head coach will almost certainly remain the same and Tomlin said he thinks there are “really solid fundamental things to build on,” the coach also acknowledged there will be ways for the Steelers to change and evolve. That could include changes to the coaching staff, where defensive coordinator Teryl Austin and offensive line coach Pat Meyer are two of the people who could be under the microscope.
“Certainly, changes happen this time of year,” Tomlin said. “There are definitely changes that happen when we don’t get the outcome we want. These are just the realities of the industry. I imagine there will be things that change here on many levels, but that’s the game. I understand that. I’m open to that.
Tomlin said the Steelers are still in the early stages of evaluating what went wrong and where to go from here. One of the biggest decisions the team will have to make is what to do next at quarterback. Last offseason, the Steelers remade their depth chart by signing Russell Wilson, trading Kenny Pickett, and trading for Justin Fields.
Now that the season is over, both Wilson and Fields are ready to hit the open market. Tomlin said he and general manager Omar Khan will spend half a day this week analyzing the market as they begin the long process of tackling the top job.
“Obviously we don’t have a quarterback under contract and so we’re having some major discussions there,” Tomlin said. “It was a very good experience with the three quarterbacks who were on our roster this year, individually and collectively. We’re certainly willing to consider these guys, but there’s a lot of work ahead of us.
“The major work, obviously, starts first and foremost with just understanding our options, what the field looks like in terms of free agency, what the draft pool looks like, and then starting the process in terms of decision-making based on known variables.
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Fields led Pittsburgh to a 4-2 record before the Steelers turned to Wilson. When asked if Fields had done enough to merit consideration, Tomlin said yes.
“I thought the way he handled his professional situation was really impressive,” Tomlin said. “I thought he brought an urgency to his daily work, whatever his role. I thought he was continually improving in our ball system throughout the process.
One way or another, the Steelers will need a spark on offense. After showing signs of growth midway through the season, the offense faltered the rest of the way. During the four-game losing streak to end the regular season, plus the playoff loss to the Ravens, the Steelers averaged 14.2 points per game.
“We definitely need to score more points,” Tomlin said. “You’re not going to score 14 points a week in January and be successful.”
At the same time, the Steelers employed the highest-paid defense in the NFL for three years, sometimes at the expense of adding talented and capable offensive players. As the team is currently built, they will devote the most salary cap space to defense in 2025 unless the Steelers make some significant roster changes.
Asked if he was willing to change that approach, especially after this well-compensated defense offered little postseason resistance against Patrick Mahomes, Josh Allen and Lamar Jackson in their last three playoff losses, Tomlin responded that “everything is certainly up for discussion.” At the same time, he also blamed some of the defensive struggles on the offense.
“Things don’t happen in a vacuum,” Tomlin said. “There are certainly elements of what we do that you can isolate and analyze, but each element that you isolate and analyze is affected by others. And that’s just the makeup of what we do. And so I would be remiss if I didn’t say that it’s not as black and white as you make it out to be.
Time will tell exactly how much and in what ways the Steelers choose to change over the next year and whether those adjustments will help the team win its first playoff game since Jan. 15, 2017. Tomlin, however, remains confident that he can help the Steelers hoist the title. franchise’s seventh Lombardi Trophy.
“Rest assured that we are not doing the same things and expecting different results,” Tomlin said. “We adapted. We have changed our approach and we will continue because we are not getting what we are looking for and it is the confetti game. It’s to be world champion.
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(Photo: Rob Carr/Getty Images)