NFL rumors: How Mike Tomlin, Steelers chatter could pop up despite successful 2024 campaign
01/05/2025 01:53 PM
As there have been fans saying the Pittsburgh Steelers should fire Mike Tomlin after the 19-17 loss to the Cincinnati Bengals on Saturday, there have been some rumblings of other teams inquiring about his future. With the Steelers on a losing streak, ESPN NFL insider Adam Schefter went through the possible head coaching changes around the league and mentioned Tomlin as an interesting tidbit.
While Schefter would not say that Tomlin is sure to coach a different team next season, even saying he doesn’t believe Pittsburgh will do anything, but believes there will be teams contacting them with the struggles happening currently. There is no doubt that there would be an immense amount of interest if there would be a divorce between the franchise and Tomlin.
“One other coaching note,” Schefter said. “I think that there are going to be teams out there that have watched the way that the Pittsburgh Steelers season has ended and wonder whether they should call the Steelers to see if they should inquire about whether the Steelers will be willing to move on from Mike Tomlin and move him to another organization. I don’t think Pittsburgh will do that, that has not been what they’ve been about, and there’s no indication that they would. But I do think there are teams wondering whether they should lob in a call, just to see if they could stir Pittsburgh’s interest.”
A spin on the NFL coaching carousel. pic.twitter.com/VqBSp7CSq2
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) January 5, 2025
Tomlin’s future with the Steelers has been questioned before, but there is no denying that he is revered around the league and a team in need of a coach would chomp at the bit to acquire his services. He has been with Pittsburgh since 2007 where he took them to two Super Bowls, winning one in 2008 along with 15 winning seasons.
Steelers’ Mike Tomlin has “extremely high value,” says former NFL scout
One person who had some interesting thoughts on the matter was former NFL scout John Middlekauff who on his podcast “3 & Out” spoke about how the two parties should split. He would argue about the trajectory of the Steelers, especially how they are in a division with “two Hall of Fame quarterbacks” in reference to Baltimroe Ravens’ Lamar Jackson and Cincinnati Bengals’ Joe Burrow.
“Sometimes it's just time for a change. Not all divorce has to be super anger and hatred. Sometimes, like, 'Yeah, we're both better off going our separate ways,'” Middlekauff said. "I understand why Mike Tomlin likes being the coach of the Pittsburgh Steelers. It's pretty cool. Pays well. Sweet brand. It's just not really working. It clearly has run its course. Because the same thing's happening now as last year, the previous year, the previous year. You're gonna be 0-5 [in the playoffs] now since 2016 when next week comes to an end.”
"His value is extremely high,” Middlekauff said of Tomlin. "I just wonder if you're a Pittsburgh Steelers fan, what are we doing here? What are we doing here? Because we've got two teams in our division with Hall of Fame quarterbacks. I just don't, and there's no good answer.”
At any rate, the Steelers are 10-7, second in the division, and are playoff-bound in the wild card round as it remains to be seen how they finish.
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