We all knew there would be options for the Pittsburgh Steelers this offseason when it comes to head coach Mike Tomlin. Despite his postseason struggles, Tomlin’s resume is as good as any in the NFL minus a handful of names so there will always be teams who hope Tomlin’s message will be fresh for their team where it’s gone stale in Pittsburgh.
But there’s zero motivation for Tomlin to leave. Tomlin signed a three-year, $50 million contract extension and has the full confidence of Steelers ownership. It has become clear the Steelers expectations do not center around Super Bowls anymore which fits with what Tomlin can do. Winning records every year, stretches within the season of exceptional play which offers just a glimmer of hope for next season when the team inevitably falls flat in the playoffs.
In the case of the Chicago Bears, it was reportedly the Steelers who rebuffed the call. But despite the team’s ongoing loyalty to Tomlin, there had to be a moment when the idea of a boatload of draft capital for Tomlin, while there are so many exceptional coordinators out there in line for head coaching jobs, looked pretty darn tempting.
We don’t expect the Bears call to be the last one the Steelers take. But we expect the results to be the same. The Rooneys are committed to Tomlin and Tomlin knows how good he has it in Pittsburgh. We just hope Tomlin wants to find some answers to get this team over the hump and bring back the team the fans want to see.
