The January hand-wringing over Mike Tomlin's job security proved to be pointless.
The Steelers coach has signed a three-year extension, the team announced on Monday.
"Mike Tomlin's leadership and commitment to the Steelers have been pivotal to our success during his first 17 years as head coach," Steelers president Art Rooney II said in a statement. "Extending his contract for three more years reflects our confidence in his ability to guide the team back to winning playoff games and championships, while continuing our tradition of success."
As the longest-tenured active coach in the NFL, Tomlin has defined stability in Pittsburgh. He's never finished with a losing record in his 17 seasons, has led the Steelers to seven AFC North titles, 11 playoff bids and two Super Bowl appearances, winning his first (XLIII) in 2008.
Perhaps most importantly, Tomlin has guided the Steelers to respectable contention even when working with a thin roster. Tomlin cycled through three quarterbacks in 2023, yet still managed to lead Pittsburgh to a 10-7 finish and an unlikely postseason berth, besting his 2019 efforts in which he nearly propelled the Steelers to the playoffs despite being forced to turn to Mason Rudolph and Devlin Hodges following Ben Roethlisberger's season-ending elbow injury.
If we've learned anything from the Steelers in the post-Roethlisberger era, it's how important Tomlin's experience and leadership has been in keeping the franchise afloat. That's what made the concern regarding his job both interesting and peculiar following the end of the 2023 season -- another campaign in which the coach deserved to be commended, despite their lack of fight in a loss to Buffalo on Super Wild Card Weekend.
Pittsburgh is a franchise that simply does not like change when it comes to head coach. Tomlin is only the third coach of the Steelers since the hiring of Chuck Noll in 1969, and despite not winning a playoff game in seven years, he's proven his worth repeatedly by managing to prevent catastrophe in the Steel City.
The Steelers have rightfully done what was necessary to keep Tomlin atop the hierarchy in Pittsburgh with his extension. With Russell Wilson and Justin Fields now filling out the quarterback depth chart following a remarkably productive offseason, Tomlin and the Steelers have checked off another item with their new contract. All that's left is to complete the work needed to compete in 2024 and beyond.
