Mike Tomlin reportedly tells players he plans to coach Steelers in 2024

Last updated: 2024/01/16 at 10:13 PM

BigP Published January 16, 2024

The longest-tenured coach in the NFL says he is staying put.

Amid speculation that he could leave Pittsburgh as he enters the final year of his deal, Mike Tomling asserted to his players during a team meeting Tuesday that he will coach the Steelers in 2024, NFL Media reported.

Tomlin’s remarks come one day after the Steelers’ season-ending playoff loss to the Bills. He stormed off the podium during his postgame press conference when a reporter began to ask him about his contract.

Prior to Monday’s 31-17 loss, there’ve been rumors that Tomlin could depart the Steelers at season’s end due to his contract status. Neither Tomlin nor the Steelers have publicly commented on his contract situation or his future with the team in recent weeks. It is uncommon, though, for proven head coaches to enter the final year of their deals without an extension in place.

Tomlin is expected to meet with the media later in the week to close out the Steelers’ 2023 season. A pair of Steelers leaders still expressed a desire for Tomlin to remain in place as the team’s head coach.

“I want to play for Mike T,” T.J. Watt told reporters Tuesday. “It was huge in my contract talks that I don’t want to play for anyone other than Mike T. You guys see the way I talk about how much I respect and appreciate him as a coach, man and leader.”

“Every player in there wouldn’t be anything without Mike T,” defensive captain Cameron Heyward told reporters Monday. “This group would not function to even get to a playoff berth without Mike T. … I wouldn’t want to play for any other coach.”

Pittsburgh made it to the postseason for the third time in four years in 2023, going 10-7 despite its middling offense. The Steelers, of course, have yet to have a losing record over a record 17 seasons under Tomlin.

He became the longest-tenured head coach in the league last week after the Patriots parted ways with Bill Belichick following 24 seasons. Tomlin has carried the torch for a proud Steelers franchise since replacing Bill Cowher in 2007. He led Pittsburgh to a Super Bowl title in his second season and reached the title game again two years later.

The Steelers have won only three playoff games since 2011, however, and none after the 2016 season.

Pittsburgh has historically given an unprecedented amount of leash to its head coaches. Tomlin is only the franchise’s third head coach since 1969, following 23 seasons from Chuck Noll and 15 from Bill Cowher.