NFL teams hoping to have Pittsburgh Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin coaching their teams next offseason are unfortunately out of luck. The Steelers announced on Monday that they have signed Tomlin to a three-year contract extension that will keep him in the Steel City through the 2027 season.
“Mike Tomlin’s leadership and dedication to the Steelers have been critical to our success during his first 17 years as head coach,” Steelers president Art Rooney II said in a statement on the team’s website. “Extending his contract for an additional three years reflects our confidence in his ability to lead the team to another playoff and championship win while continuing our tradition of success.”
Tomlin, 52, was hired by the Steelers in 2007 and has been their head coach ever since. With Bill Belichick and the New England Patriots parting ways early in 2024, Tomlin will be the NFL’s longest-tenured head coach. If he holds out until the end of his new contract extension, he will have coached the Steelers for 21 years.
When talking about NFL teams and coaching staffs together, you have to use the word “if,” but the Steelers are not like other teams. Since 1969, the Steelers have had exactly three head coaches: Hall of Famers Chuck Noll (1969-91), Bill Cowher (1992-2006), and Tomlin (2007-present). Last season, it was big news when Tomlin fired offensive coordinator Matt Canada midseason, because the Steelers hadn’t changed coaches in season since 1941, more than 80 years ago.
The Steelers like to make decisions and stick with them, but that’s not why they’ve had Tomlin as their coach for 17+ years. They have him as their coach because he’s very, very good at what he does. In 17 years, they’ve never had a season with a winning percentage below .500. Every season he’s coached has had at least 8 or 9 wins, including the final two seasons after Ben Roethlisberger left the company, which was Tomlin’s toughest job. He’s 275-173 with a winning percentage of .633 and has led the Steelers to the playoffs 11 times.
Tomlin wasn’t in the mood to talk about his contract earlier this year. After the Steelers’ playoff loss to the Buffalo Bills in January, when reporters asked him about his future with the team, he left the stage in impressive fashion. Now that his contract is over, Tomlin has a few more things to say.
“I’m grateful for this contract extension and would like to thank Art Rooney II for his support during my first 17 years in Pittsburgh,” Tomlin said on the team’s website. “We will continue to work diligently to get back to our roots of continued playoff success with the ultimate goal of winning the franchise’s seventh Lombardi Trophy.”
“We’re excited for the 2024 season to begin and provide our fans with another memorable year.”
