Steelers' Mike Tomlin Likely To Move To Year-To-Year Contracts

The Pittsburgh Steelers are lucky enough to have one of the best head coaches in the NFL in Mike Tomlin. He is now the longest tenured head coach in the league after Bill Belichick and the New England Patriots parted ways. Tomlin hasn't won a playoff game since the 2016 season, but he has very famously never had a losing season during his 17 years as a head coach. He finds ways for Pittsburgh to remain in the playoff hunt at the end of the season, no matter what is going on within the locker room. 

Tomlin is entering the final year of his current contract in 2024, which was a three-year extension that he signed in 2021. Pittsburgh and Tomlin have a history of finalizing extensions between the two sides right around the time of training camp. It may be as soon as everyone arrives in Latrobe, or it might be a week into camp. This is the pattern that Tomlin's extensions seem to follow, so the lack of news revolving around the matter shouldn't be concerning to fans.

Ray Fittipaldo recently discussed a Tomlin extension on 97.1 The Fan, specifically sparking the question of whether or not Tomlin wants an extension rather than moving forward on a year-to-year basis.

"I would fully expect that to happen around the time they report to camp, say mid-to-late July. They'll get that done. It's just a matter of the numbers and how long Mike wants to be here. You know, when Kevin Colbert was still the GM he kind of took it year to year, instead of signing two-year extensions, he would sign one-year extensions. I'm wondering now if we're at that point with Mike's career. He just takes it year by year, do a one-year deal and then you know, we'll do the whole dance again next year." 

Towards the end of Kevin Colbert's tenure as the Steelers' general manager, he was just being renewed on one-year deals until his retirement following the 2022 NFL Draft. Tomlin is entering his 18th season in Pittsburgh as the head coach and he may want that same freedom to be able to move on if he chooses to rather than inking another three-year extension. 

Tomlin has never signed anything less than a three-year deal throughout his time in Pittsburgh. He signed a four-year deal when he was first hired ahead of the 2007 season, and then signed three-year extensions in 2010 and 2012. This kept Tomlin's contract from being a distraction until the 2017 offseason, when he signed a four-year extension during training camp. Tomlin then inked a three-year deal in 2021, and is currently waiting on his next contract offer from Art Rooney II. 

After the 2023 season, there were some questions surrounding Tomlin's future in Pittsburgh. Some thought the organization may feel like it is time to move on, and others felt like Tomlin would want to move on. Tomlin and Rooney have since made it clear that both sides want Tomlin as the head coach of the Steelers, so at least a one-year extension will be coming Tomlin's way sometime during training camp.

Steelers' Mike Tomlin Must Win A Playoff Game In 2024

Pittsburgh hasn't won a playoff game since the 2016 season, where they eventually got blown out in the AFC Championship Game by New England. Tomlin's ways of managing to record a winning season, but not advance in the postseason are growing old. The fan base is more split than ever between those who love Tomlin, and those who want him gone due to the lack of playoff success. 

Pittsburgh has the hardest schedule in the league in 2024, and has an absolute gauntlet at the end of the year with a ton of divisional matchups and games against the Kansas City Chiefs and Philadelphia Eagles. Getting to the playoffs will be a tall task for Tomlin, but finding a way to keep his team fresh going into the postseason will be even harder.