With Sunday’s loss to the Los Angeles Chargers, we’ve reached the portion of the Pittsburgh Steelers’ offseason where Mike Tomlin’s future comes into question. While one who usually indulges in theories and thoughts about the future, Mike Florio, took a more subdued route when asked if this could be the year owner Art Rooney II turns the page.
“I haven’t sensed that there’s any appetite for making a change,” Florio told 93.7 The Fan’s Andrew Fillipponi and Chris Mueller when asked if the Steelers could move on from Tomlin after the season. “And anytime I sniff around on that, the immediate answer is there’s no way, no how, that Art Rooney’s gonna do it.”
A recent article from The Athletic mused about trading Tomlin to the New York Giants after head coach Brian Daboll was fired. The links between the franchises made the thought more appealing. A strong relationship and long history between the Rooney and Mara families could make for an easier conversation than cold-calling the way the Chicago Bears did last offseason.
“It really didn’t go very far,” Rooney told Bob Pompeani in January of the inquiry. “We weren’t interested in really pursuing it. And so it was a pretty short conversation.”
Florio didn’t dismiss the idea but downplayed it, finally admitting that coach trades are more media fodder than reality.
“Teams don’t spend enough time considering the possibility of trying to trade for a coach.”
A year ago, Florio led the Internet think-pieces about trading Tomlin. That never came close to happening. It’s a rare move for the NFL, especially for coaches actively on the sidelines. Discounting semi-retired names like Sean Payton and Bruce Arians, the last coach to be traded was Herm Edwards in 2006. A move largely made over salary, not performance, reasons.
Still, Tomlin’s scrutiny increases with each failed season. Every year that Pittsburgh’s playoff victory drought increases, each season the team goes without winning the AFC North, there’s a better case to be made over the Steelers’ stagnation.
Firing Tomlin seems unlikely, given his top-tier salary that Rooney would still owe, in addition to paying his replacement. A trade is unlikely given the aforementioned reasons. That could keep Tomlin on the sideline through at least 2027, but it’s worth wondering if Rooney is done handing out contract extensions until on-field results follow.
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