Furious Mike Tomlin storms out of media session following a question about his future

Mike Tomlin wasn't having it after the Pittsburgh Steelers' 31-17 loss to the Buffalo Bills in the Wild Card round of the playoffs. Tomlin was eagerly searching for his first postseason win in seven years, but his team trailed by at least two scores throughout the majority of the game.

Shortly after this crushing playoff loss, Tomlin reluctantly fielded questions from the Steelers media. Toward the end of the presser, one reporter began asking a question and couldn't even finish her sentence before Tomlin stormed away from the podium in disgust.

The reporter began her sentence by asking about the year remaining on his contract, and Coach 'T' wasn't having it. Following his fourth straight disheartening playoff loss dating back to the 2017 postseason, this is no doubt the very last thing that Tomlin wanted to discuss.

The reporter who posed this question was confirmed to be ESPN's Brooke Pryor. Many fans were quick to run to Tomlin's defense, claiming that it was unnecessary to begin her question like this after a shattering playoff loss (and unrelated to the Steelers game itself).

As you might be aware, Tomlin's name has circulated in rumors over the past month. Some notable names (ESPN's Adam Schefter included), said they wouldn't be surprised to see the Pittsburgh Steelers head coach step away and 'take some time off' following the postseason.

Judging by Tomlin's stark reaction to the framing of this question, it seems clear that he doesn't even want to discuss the idea of his departure from this team.

Steelers fans have a right to be upset with a lack of playoff success

At this point, one has the right to question whether or not this should really even be up to Tomlin. It's been well established that Tomlin was only ever going to leave Pittsburgh if it was on his own terms., But does that same model apply when his team currently has a longer drought without a playoff win than 23 other ball clubs?

It's a justified question. There's no doubt that Mike Tomlin is a very good NFL coach. There's also no doubt that things have gotten remarkably stale in Pittsburgh over the years.

Tomlin was clearly furious with reporters, and I'm sure he will give them an earful in his post-season press conference. However, this team has been humiliated in the playoffs on three straight games, and every Steelers fan will be begging for change. It remains to be seen what will happen with the coaching staff in 2024, but if Tomlin has his way, it doesn't look like he's going anywhere.