The Steelers recently extended Mike Tomlin’s contract through the 2024 season. Here’s why this is good for Pittsburgh.
Despite his fantastic career record of 145-78-1, there are many Steelers fans out there who question whether the recent re-signing of head coach Mike Tomlin to a three-year extension was a good idea. Some of these questions are justified.
Tomlin has never had a losing record since joining the organization back in 2007, but things haven’t quite gone according to plan for the Steelers in recent years either. While Pittsburgh was missing quarterback Ben Roethlisberger for nearly all of the 2019 season, Tomlin’s team simply has not been good down the stretch for years now. Since 2018, Pittsburgh has a record of just 7-11 from Weeks 12-17, and this is something that clearly must improve.
Though there is no guarantee that Tomlin will be able to turn this ship back around and start stringing together playoff wins, he gives them as good of a chance as anyone right now. Here are three reasons why Mike Tomlin’s extension was good for the Steelers:
Familiarity and experience
Tomlin is one of the most iconic head coaches in all of football, but he’s not getting by on just his reputation alone. He never would have made it this far if he wasn’t as successful as he has been. In theory, the thought of bringing in a fresh, new offensive-minded head coach sounds terrific, but Pittsburgh may not quite be ready for that.
Instead of wiping the coaching staff clean and starting over this past offseason, the Steelers elected to keep Tomlin around a while longer. With an aging core who already has an established relationship with their Super Bowl-winning head coach, this might be for the best. Tomlin may not be around much longer than the 2024 season, but we would have to assume that he has the best shot at leading this team to a championship in the near future.
Tomlin could help the Steelers during a transition phase
It’s not always the best approach to start a complete rebuild all at once. Though many questioned some of the offseason decisions Pittsburgh made this year, it’s hard to say that Tomlin isn’t worth one more extension. This recent deal will no doubt outlive Roethlisberger’s tenure with the team.
Call me crazy, but I don’t think it’s a bad idea to have an established coach like Tomlin around to help make some important decisions for the future of this franchise. After all, Tomlin was partially responsible for establishing a championship roster and the Steelers have been considered one of the better drafting teams over the past decade or so.
While he may not be the best when it comes to clock management or motivating his team to close out games late in the season against inferior opponents, Tomlin has drafted and developed some cornerstone players that the Steelers will be able to build around after this championship window closes. In addition, if the Steelers did decide to go in a different direction in another year or two, Tomlin would no doubt hold a good bit of trade value, thanks to his pedigree with Pittsburgh. Once they find the next head coach they really want, they could even trade him to a team in need of an established head coach – assuming he wants to continue his career coaching in the NFL.
Steelers have had great success in the past
Many fans will argue that Mike Tomlin inherited an already great football team, and I get that. However, it’s still a massive victory that he was able to win a Super Bowl. Now 14 years later, Tomlin has yet to have a losing record and he has 5 seasons of 10-plus wins in the past 7 years.
What does this have to do with his most recent extension? Experience counts for something. While I would not put Tomlin on the same level as the upper-echelon coaches like Bill Belichick, Andy Reid, and Kyle Shanahan, he might still be in the next tier down, and you could do far worse than having him as a head coach.
Considering that the Steelers are still tied for the most winning franchise in the history of the NFL, they must be doing something right. Yes, there were years of great talent that seem to be wasted when Pittsburgh collapsed late in the season, perhaps Ben Roethlisberger should own more of the blame than we have been giving him.
The fact of the matter is that Tomlin has put his team in a position to win each year, and with his recent three-year extension, he may be able to give us one more competitive ride to chase a title. At the very least, he should prove to be a worthy bridge to whoever ends up being the next head coach in Pittsburgh.