During the 2023 NFL season, Pittsburgh Steelers coach Mike Tomlin led the team to an improbable playoff berth.
Overcoming major struggles on offense and football’s toughest division, the Steelers worked their way to a strong 10-7 record.
It seems that may not be enough for Tomlin to keep his job.
In a January 15 article, The Athletic’s Mike Sando revealed that an NFL executive had told him they “heard rumblings” about Tomlin’s time in Pittsburgh potentially coming to an end.
“Yeah, I’ve heard rumblings,” the executive said. “I don’t know what it is. It’s hard to be at the same place for 10 years. Belichick, if you break up his time with the Patriots, it is multiple 10-year runs. He basically reinvented everything after 10 years, became an offense-oriented team. I have no idea about Carroll or Tomlin, but sometimes things become stale and an organization needs a new voice.”
A Tough Act to Follow
If the Steelers really do decide that now is the time to move on from Tomlin, whoever replaces him is going to have some big shoes to fill.
Since becoming the head coach of the Steelers, Tomlin has been remarkably consistent. In each of his 17 seasons, the team has finished at or above .500.
He has taken the team to a pair of Super Bowls in that time, winning one. They won the AFC North seven times and are making their 11th playoff appearance this season.
The franchise has hit a bit of a rough patch recently. They haven’t won a playoff game since the 2016 season and have missed the playoffs three times in the last six years.
Still, there is no question that Tomlin has been one of football’s best coaches for nearly two decades.
It’s unclear what the Steelers’ plan would be to replace him. His successor likely isn’t currently a member of the organization and the Steelers would have already fallen behind quite a few teams who are already searching for a coach.
Whoever that next coach would be, they’d have a pretty daunting task in front of them to keep the Steelers achieving the level of success Tomlin has in his career.
Steelers Don’t Change Coaches Often
While the New England Patriots were viewed as the model of the stability in the NFL for two decades thanks to Bill Belichick, Tom Brady, and “The Patriot Way”, the Steelers are the franchise that has truly embodied stability in the Super Bowl era in the NFL.
Since the start of the Super Bowl era in 1966, the Steelers have had just four coaches.
Bill Austin coached the first three before being fired.
Then Chuck Noll took over. He coached the team for 23 seasons, winning four Super Bowls before he retired following the 1991 season. He was later inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
Noll was followed by Bill Cowher. Cowher was in charge of the Steelers for 15 seasons, winning a Super Bowl of his own and putting together a career .623 winning percentage. He retired in 2006 and later joined Noll in the Hall of Fame.
After Cowher came Tomlin, who has now headed the team for 17 seasons.
If the Steelers do decide to cut ties with Tomlin, he would be the first coach they’ve fired since the late 60s.
The Steelers clearly don’t take these kinds of coaching decisions lightly and will need to be completely certain they can get somebody better suited to the franchise if they were really going to move on from Tomlin after this season.
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NFL Exec Has ‘Heard Rumblings’ Steelers Could Consider Big Coaching Move