Mike Tomlin is now in his 19th season as Pittsburgh Steelers head coach, and while he has never quite been in grave danger of losing his job, there have definitely been times when he has been on shaky footing.
That begs the question: where does Tomlin’s future in Pittsburgh currently stand?
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The Steelers have gotten off to a 3-1 start this NFL season, and thanks in part to shocking ineptitude from the rest of the division, they are certainly in the driver’s seat in the AFC North.
But what if things go south for Pittsburgh this year? Aaron Rodgers is surely only around for one year, and some other members of the Steelers’ core are definitely aging.
In a recent mailbag, Albert Breer of Sports Illustrated was asked if Pittsburgh would ultimately consider moving forward with a full-on rebuild, which could include parting ways with Tomlin.
Breer’s answer may surprise you.
“I think the Steelers have been set up for that the whole time—in fact, part of the equation in signing Aaron Rodgers was that they only had so many swings left with guys such as T.J. Watt and Cam Heyward, and wanted to take advantage of the opportunity in front of them,” Breer wrote. “… Basically, it was a you-know-what-or-get-off-the-pot time. So this is their swing at it, and post–Aaron Rodgers, there’s probably a pretty serious retooling coming.”
Of course, the Steelers’ decision to rebuild does not necessarily mean that Tomlin would lose his job. He is under contract through 2027, and he has never had a losing season in Pittsburgh. The Steelers could always just retool with Tomlin still at the helm, which is a distinct possibility.
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In fact, unless Pittsburgh completely unravels down the stretch this year (which doesn’t seem incredibly probable), it’s rather likely that Tomlin will be back in 2026 unless he decides to step away.
The Steelers have a great chance of making a deep playoff run this season given the state of the AFC. If that occurs, you can bet Tomlin will return for next fall, barring unforeseen circumstances.
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