Steelers Now
The Pittsburgh Steelers will have to make a decision this March about the future of head coach Mike Tomlin.
According to a report by Adam Schefter of ESPN, Tomlin’s contract extension with the team, a three-year deal he signed in 2024, is actually a two-year deal with an option for the 2027 season.
Furthermore, the Steelers will have to make a decision about whether to pick up that option next March.
Steelers president Art Rooney II is unlikely to unilaterally move on from Tomlin this offseason — the team hasn’t fired a head coach since 1968 — but the presence of his option coming due will present a challenging inflection point this offseason.
The Steelers are 6-6 after starting the season 4-1, having lost five of their last seven games, and the current skid has them looking at the AFC playoff picture from the outside in.
Current playoff odds give the Steelers a 31% chance of making the postseason, with that number plummeted to 15% if they lose to the Baltimore Ravens on Sunday.
It was expected that Rooney would stick with Tomlin, even if he misses the playoffs or suffers his first losing season as a head coach, but he not only will have to make that decision, but whether or not to add another year to Tomlin’s contract this offseason.
This article originally appeared on Steelers Now: Steelers Must Make Decision About Mike Tomlin’s Future This Offseason
