Getty The Pittsburgh Steelers signed head coach Mike Tomlin to a 3-year extension on June 10.
Although members of the national media tried to cast doubt, most who follow the Pittsburgh Steelers were aware that it was just a question of when, not if, the team would sign head coach Mike Tomlin to a contract extension this summer. As it turned out, that when was the beginning of the second week of June.
“We have signed Coach Mike Tomlin to a three-year contract extension,” the team tweeted.
We have signed Coach Mike Tomlin to a three-year contract extension.
His new deal will expire at the end of the 2027 season. Tomlin will be entering his 18th season in Pittsburgh this fall.
Team insiders Gerry Dulac of The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette and Mark Kaboly of The Athletic tweeted about Tomlin’s new deal minutes after the team’s announcement.
“Steelers give coach Mike Tomlin a three-year extension, keeping him through at least the 2027 season,” wrote Dulac.
“Steelers sign Mike Tomlin through the 2027 season, team announces,” wrote Kaboly.
Tomlin became head coach of the Steelers in 2007. He led the team to its sixth Super Bowl championship during his second season.
Steelers’ Mike Tomlin Receives Extension as He Becomes Longest-Tenured NFL Head Coach
With Bill Belichick departing the New England Patriots this offseason, Tomlin has become the league’s longest-tenured head coach. He could hold that title for at least the next four years.
By the end of his extension, Tomlin will also be approaching history. SI.com’s Albert Breer wrote on X that the 2027 season will be Tomlin’s 21st season. That’s only two shy of tying Chuck Noll’s franchise record.
Noll coached the Steelers from 1969-91. Not only is his 23 seasons the most in Steelers history, it’s tied for the fourth-longest NFL head coaching tenure ever.
Belichick left the Patriots after 24 campaigns. Only Tom Landry of the Dallas Cowboys with 29 seasons and Don Shula of the Miami Dolphins at 26 campaigns coached more consecutive years with one team.
Tomlin has already made history as the first NFL head coach to not register a losing record in his first 17 seasons. He has amassed a 173-100-2 mark with the Steelers.
He also owns an 8-10 postseason record. Tomlin has led the Steelers to two Super Bowl appearances and one championship.
Social Media Reacts to Tomlin Extension
Tomlin has been a polarizing figure over the past several years. So unsurprisingly, there were some opposite reactions to his new extension.
Steelers Depot’s Alex Kozora viewed it as a positive because the head coach’s future beyond 2024 will no longer be a distraction.
“Can hopefully put to bed any more discussion over if he still wants to coach like the storyline that dominated the winter,” wrote Kozora.
Tomlin’s future became a focal point during Pittsburgh’s three-game losing streak in December. It remained a talking point in January when ESPN’s Adam Schefter speculated that Tomlin could leave the Steelers.
But the Steelers and Tomlin continuously told the media this offseason that they would be agreeing to an extension. For that reason, The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette’s Christopher Carter was not at all surprised by the team’s announcement on June 10.
“Kept saying they were going to get it done when they were going to get it done,” Carter wrote. “But there wasn’t much a question that it WOULD get done.”
Some Steelers fans, though, were less enthused with the extension.
“Who’s ready for more 9-8 seasons!” tweeted Lost Tribe Sports.
“Three additional years of no playoff wins,” wrote Rant Bruschi.
Tomlin hasn’t led the Steelers to a postseason victory since January 2017. And although Tomlin has never suffered a losing season, the Steelers have gone 8-8 or 9-8 four times in his 17 years.
Pittsburgh, though, won 10 games during 2023.
The Score’s Daniel Valente acknowledged that the Tomlin extension would make fans upset but shouldn’t.
“This is about to make a lot of people very mad,” wrote Valente in response to the extension. “(And wrongfully so).”