Why Steelers should consider stunning Mike Tomlin move

Head coach Mike Tomlin and the Pittsburgh Steelers have had a great run, but it may be time for a divorce.

Since winning their last playoff game during the 2016 season, the Steelers have been mired in mediocrity. The six-time Super Bowl champions haven't won 12 games or more since the 2020 season. This season, Pittsburgh (6-6) is at risk of missing the playoffs.

Steelers fans have grown tired of the underwhelming results. In a 26-7 home loss to the Buffalo Bills in Week 13, they started chanting "Fire Tomlin" in the fourth quarter. Change is needed in Pittsburgh, but the team should consider another option: trading the HC. 

Why Steelers should trade Mike Tomlin

In his Tuesday mailbag, Joe Starkey of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette suggested that the Steelers trade the Super Bowl XLIII champion. 

"They can [trade Tomlin], although Tomlin's contract unbelievably includes a no-trade clause — as [ESPN's] Adam Schefter revealed last season — so they'd need his permission," wrote Starkey while replying to a reader.

Reports have indicated Tomlin is still happy in Pittsburgh. However, Tampa Bay Buccaneers consultant Bruce Arians, Steelers offensive coordinator from 2007-11, has said he would "start over" if he were the HC.  

Tomlin should realize a trade may help him rejuvenate his career. He should also remember it worked out for Jon Gruden, his boss when he was a defensive backs coach for the Buccaneers from 2001-05.

In February 2002, the Las Vegas Raiders (then based in Oakland) dealt Gruden to the Buccaneers for four draft picks (including two first-rounders) and $8M. That season, Tampa Bay won its first Super Bowl.

More recently, HC Sean Payton has thrived since the Denver Broncos acquired him from the New Orleans Saints in January 2023. In his second season in Denver, the team snapped an eight-year playoff drought. This season, the 10-2 Broncos are in Super Bowl contention.  

Pittsburgh could fetch needed draft capital in a deal that included Tomlin. If the season ended Tuesday, the Tennessee Titans (1-11) would have the No. 1 pick, while the New York Giants (2-11) would own the No. 2 selection (via Tankathon). Both teams have roster holes, but they may trade their first-round selections for a coach of Tomlin's caliber. 

The coach — who has spent his entire 19-year head-coaching career in Pittsburgh — has never had a losing season. Surely, he could build another winning culture in Tennessee or New York. 

The Steelers, meanwhile, could use the Titans' or Giants' pick to select a successor for 42-year-old quarterback Aaron Rodgers, perhaps Indiana's Fernando Mendoza or Alabama's Ty Simpson. The Indiana star leads the FBS in touchdown passes (32), and the Alabama standout is tied for 14th (25). 

A trade makes plenty of sense for both parties. Tomlin could use a change of scenery, and it's time for the Steelers to enter a full-blown rebuild. That would be easier if they sent the HC elsewhere.