Steelers Now
The Pittsburgh Steelers are doing some due diligence in case head coach Mike Tomlin decides to step down after the 2025 season, according to multiple national reports.
Two potential candidates for the Steelers have been identified, with Albert Breer of Sports Illustrated and Diana Russini of The Athletic both reporting this week that the Steelers have been connected to both Notre Dame head coach Marcus Freeman and Los Angeles Rams defensive coordinator Chris Shula. You can safely bet that if two such names were explored, there were more on that list.
What does that mean for a team that almost never makes changes at the head coaching position? Let’s break it down.
I suppose there’s a chance in Art Rooney II’s mind that Sunday’s game is make-or-break for Tomlin — or that he’s already worn out his welcome, but I doubt it. If that’s the case, he hasn’t shared though thoughts with many in the organization. It remains highly unlikely that the Steelers will decide to move on from Tomlin this offseason.
It’s just now how Rooney or the Steelers have ever done business, and with the team 9-7, there’s no reason to think those things will change right now.
While the fans’ frustration with the status quo is palpable, the Steelers are just not going to fire a coach after a winning season that includes exceeding its Las Vegas win total for the sixth straight season, and remaining in the division race with the Baltimore Ravens — inarguably in a better big-picture position to contend — to the final week of the season.
It has seemed likely for a long time that if Mike Tomlin and the Steelers eventually part ways, that it will probably be because Tomlin is the one making that decision. But he’s never given the idea a whole lot of thought before.
Why would this year be different?
The above-mentioned anger of the fanbase could be on. Tomlin is a master at shutting out the outside noise surrounding his team, but it’s hard to argue when in it comes in the form of tens of thousands chanting for him to be fired in his home stadium.
If Sunday Night’s game ends that way — it might be something that Tomlin decides he doesn’t want to experience again.
There are other factors, as well. Tomlin’s children are grown now, with his daughter a sophomore at Georgia. There’s not as much tying him to Pittsburgh as there once was.
The Steelers’ high-profile additions this offseason that were mostly driven by Tomlin — Aaron Rodgers, Jalen Ramsey, Darius Slay, Jonnu Smith — have not necessarily played out the way the team hoped. Tomlin could look at those failures, even though the team has still played up to expectations, as a sign that he’s lost...
