It’s unsettling to be Mike Tomlin at this time of the year. The Pittsburgh Steelers defeated the Baltimore Ravens in the final week to advance to the playoffs as a wildcard. However, their luck ran out against the Houston Texans, who defeated them 30-6.
With the season ending shortly after the 26-24 win, ESPN made a post on X that said Tomlin has not won a playoff game since 2016, marking seven years playoff drought for the longest tenured head coach in the NFL. This has driven discussions on whether the Steelers should consider firing him.
Will Mike Tomlin Be Fired?
Currently, there are no reports or rumors that suggest that the Steelers will fire Mike Tomlin.
Despite the playoff drought extending, it appears unlikely that the Steelers will pull the plug on Tomlin. There are a couple of reasons for that, actually.
Tomlin signed a multi-year contract extension that will keep him in Pittsburgh till the end of the 2027 season. While the buyout clause of his contract is unknown, it isn’t difficult to expect that firing Tomlin without cause could be expensive.
Moreover, Steelers ownership has a long history of standing by coaches. Meanwhile, NFL insider Adam Schefter and others strongly doubt Pittsburgh would fire Tomlin.
“If a change ever occurs there, it’s going to be because Mike Tomlin doesn’t want to be back there,” Schefter said on The Pat McAfee Show. “Mike Tomlin, again I know people in Pittsburgh don’t like it, hasn’t had the losing season in his 18 years as head coach. They also haven’t won a playoff game since 2016. It’s both ways, some people view it one way, other people view it another way.”
Schefter sees it no other way for the Steelers and Tomlin’s union to be broke unless the head coach himself wishes to step away from the program. He took the example of Andy Reid on how he once left the Philadelphia Eagles and found success with the Kansas City Chiefs.
“If they did not want Mike Tomlin there, maybe the message is stale. Maybe he moves on like Andy Reid, finds a new home,” Schefter added. “Andy Reid’s time in Philly ran out, he went to Kansas City and we see how that worked out for him. … If Mike Tomlin were a coaching free agent, he automatically would become the No. 1 coaching free agent out there. He could have any coaching job he wanted. He could have any broadcasting job he wanted.
“The Steelers fans clearly have had enough of Mike Tomlin, but they’re not firing Mike Tomlin. That’s not gonna happen. We’re not gonna get one of these announcements that the Steelers have relieved him of his duties the way that we do from these other teams.”
Thus, even if there are fans out there who want to run Mike Tomlin out of Pittsburgh, the reality of the same is far different at the franchise level.
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