What was unthinkable a few years ago has become a possibility: the Steelers and head coach Mike Tomlin could part ways this offseason.
Pittsburgh won their ninth game in Week 16, guaranteeing a winning record for the sixth year in a row and the 16th in Tomlin’s 19 years as head coach. He has never led the Steelers to a losing season.
However, Tomlin has not won a playoff game since 2016 with exits in the wild card round in four of the last five seasons. The Steelers’ lack of a franchise quarterback has been a clear limiting factor in the postseason, but they never play poorly enough in the regular season for a top draft pick. This has created a difficult cycle in Pittsburgh that can only be altered by an expensive trade-up in the draft or parting ways with Tomlin.
The latter has never seemed to be an option, until now. Firing Tomlin outright is unlikely, per CBS Sports’ Jonathan Jones and ESPN’s Adam Schefter, but he and the team may mutually agree to part ways. The veteran head coach may be looking for a “reset” via a broadcasting gig before returning to an NFL head coaching job, according to both Albert Breer of Sports Illustrated and Ryan Dunleavy of the New York Post.
Tomlin would no doubt be one of the hottest head coaching candidates if available, whether that happens this offseason or in the future. The Steelers might be best served by trading Tomlin, but the no-trade clause in his contract and the timeline of the NFL’s hiring cycle are two significant roadblocks, per Jones.
The Steelers have already considered the possibility of a post-Tomlin future. They had “internal discussions” about Notre Dame head coach Marcus Freeman, per The Athletic’s Dianna Russini. Multiple teams had interest in the 39-year-old, who opted to take an improved contract to stay in South Bend rather than entertain an NFL job. Freeman’s desires could change in the future and potentially offer Pittsburgh another opportunity to secure Tomlin’s successor, provided such a change does not happen this offseason.