Thereās no way to avoid the irony of the way in which the Steelersā long-standing head coach brought an end to his tenure by quickly walking away
ORCHARD PARK, NEW YORK – JANUARY 15: Head coach Mike Tomlin of the Pittsburgh Steelers looks on during the first quarter against the Buffalo Bills at Highmark Stadium on January 15, 2024 in Orchard Park, New York. Sarah Stier/Getty Images/AFP (Photo by Sarah Stier / GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA / Getty Images via AFP)
SARAH STIERAFP
In what proved to be his final postgame press conference for the 2023 season, the Steelersā coach didnāt stand on ceremony as he walked off the podium after being asked about his future. Needless to say, itās anyoneās guess where if anywhere, he will coach next.
Whatās the deal with Mike Tomlin?
Truth be told, Mike Tomlin, had to know that there were going to be questions about his future in the coming days, and thatās even before the 31-17 Super Wild Card Weekendvloss to the Buffalo Bills, that brought the Pittsburgh Steelersā season to an end this past weekend. Frankly, things havenāt been good in Pittsburgh for a while now and that was demonstrated when Tomlin publicly criticized the team, referring to his men as āfundamentally poor.ā
At this point, it remains unclear as to what comes next for Tomlin and there has been no official word on what comes next for the longest-serving head coach with one team in the NFL – Bill Belichick is gone now. So, here we are with Tomlin having alluded to the fact that he will take some time to think about his next move. Indeed, the 51-year-old recently explained that he will discuss his options with his family before making a firm decision on his future. To be clear, his 17 straight seasons without a losing season is the most in NFL history for a first-time head coach. In the time that heās been in charge, Pittsburgh has seen a Super Bowl victory, two AFC titles, seven division titles, and been to the playoffs 11 times.
