Mike Tomlin and the Pittsburgh Steelers might have salvaged their season with a blowout win over the Cincinnati Bengals on Saturday.
Pittsburgh finds itself at 8-7 on the season and in a four-way tie for the final playoff spot in the AFC heading into Week 17.
The backdrop here are continued rumors about Tomlin’s own future in Pittsburgh.
Fox NFL insider Jay Glazer talked about this earlier on Sunday, reporting that several teams around the NFL are holding out hope that the Steelers opt to trade their long-time head coach. “All I am telling you is that Mike Tomlin’s name has been brought up an awful lot lately,” Glazer noted.
This comes on the heels of another report indicating that Pittsburgh intends to offer Tomlin an extension during the offseason.
It’s no surprise that we’re hearing different reports on Tomlin. He’s been Pittsburgh’s head coach since all the way back in 2007 and is the second-longest tenured head coach in the NFL behind Bill Belichick. Should Tomlin remain with the Steelers, he’ll likely take over as the longest tenured with Belichick seemingly playing out his final season in New England.
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Mike Tomlin coaching record: 273-100-2, 1 Super Bowl title
For Pittsburgh, continuity on the sideline has been the name of the game within the organization. In fact, the Steelers have had just three head coaches since all the way back in 1969.
Whether that changes moving forward remains to be seen. There is some thought that the Steelers’ brass is not happy about the direction of the organization.
Under Tomlin, Pittsburgh has not won a playoff game since all the way back in 2016. They are a pedestrian 26-22-1 since the start of the 2021 NFL season.
As for a potential destination, the Las Vegas Raiders, Carolina Panthers and Los Angeles Chargers have fired their head coaches this season. All three could make sense for Mike Tomlin.
Current Panthers owner David Tepper is a former minority owner of the Steelers. Surely, he’d love to make a splash. However, Tepper’s hands-on approach might not be attractive to someone of Tomlin’s ilk.
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The Patriots, Washington Commanders, Chicago Bears, Atlanta Falcons and New Orleans Saints also will likely have head coaching openings once the 2023 season comes to a conclusion.
There are not going to be limited options for Tomlin should the head coach and his Steelers decide a divorce should be in the cards this coming offseason.