After missing the playoffs in 2009 and amid speculation that his job might be in trouble, coach Mike Tomlin was given a three-year extension by the Steelers, the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reported Tuesday.
Tomlin's original five-year contract runs through 2010 and has an option for 2011, with the coach earning $2.5 million each year. Tomlin's extension will run through 2014 and is worth an average of $5 million per year, a league source told NFL Network insider Jason La Canfora.
The extension comes at a time when Tomlin is preparing to start the season without his two-time Super Bowl-winning quarterback. Ben Roethlisberger was suspended for the first six games of the season after being accused of sexual assault by a Georgia college student. The charge was later dismissed.
It also comes just seven months after Tomlin's first non-playoff season, a year that began strong with a 6-2 start but finished uncharacteristically weak with five consecutive losses. Tomlin has a 31-17 record in three years in Pittsburgh.
