It has become public knowledge—thanks to insider Adam Schefter—that the Chicago Bears were apparently rejected in their attempt to negotiate a trade for Pittsburgh Steelers HC Mike Tomlin.
Trades involving head coaches are typically rare, but the compensation packages have been enormous over the past few decades, as seen with two of the most famous examples: Jon Gruden in 2002 and Sean Payton in 2023.
The Bears recently signed former Detroit Lions OC Ben Johnson as their next head coach, and the Steelers may regret not pulling the trigger heading into the 2025 offseason.
Plenty of other HC candidates, including Johnson, could have adequately filled the theoretical vacancy left by Tomlin, and the trade compensation would have likely been enormous.
Instead of potentially acquiring the Chicago Bears’ 10th overall pick in the 2025 draft—along with additional picks—the Steelers will once again be forced to draft outside the top 20, locking themselves into another 10-7 ‘winning’ season under Tomlin in 2025.
