PITTSBURGH — Mike Tomlin told Pittsburgh Steelers players and coaches on Tuesday that he plans to coach the team in 2024, a day after leaving a news conference when asked about his contract, sources told ESPN.
Tomlin, who has one year left on his contract, has given no indication he wants to retire in recent weeks, a source close to the situation told ESPN's Jeremy Fowler, and Tomlin “just wants to coach football.” The source added that talks about a contract extension could intensify this offseason.
A day after the Steelers' loss to the Buffalo Bills, defensive tackle Cameron Heyward, the team's longest-tenured player, expressed his support for Tomlin and strongly rejected speculation about his coach's future.
“I'll just say this about Mike T, why are we so worried about someone who has a year on his contract, has been locked up and just wanted to play, coach football?” Heyward said. “We don't ask anyone else if they need to come back for another year or anything else. I just think it's not doing him any favors. This guy has been locked up from the beginning, but we're still worried about whether he'll come back or not. He's been locked down, and I appreciate that because that has only created more dissension between players and coaches.
“We just want to focus on one goal. He wants to focus on one goal, and I think that's fair to him. I think everyone likes to say, 'Oh, he could take a year off. He could do this.' He has one year left.
“I just think, why would you answer a question like that? You're worried about trying to win a playoff game and then last night we lost a big playoff game. Why do you need to address that now? That's not the time or the time. And I appreciate the question, but I think for him overall, Coach T has earned that thing of being singularly focused on one goal, and we've asked him this question week after week. It's just not fair to the process.”
Tomlin is no stranger to the Steelers' contract cycle. Although the Steelers have previously extended coaches at least two seasons past the end of their deals, Tomlin signed a three-year extension in 2021 with one year left on his previous contract. Speculation about Tomlin's future intensified late in the 2023 season as the Steelers battled a three-game losing streak and questions arose about leadership and responsibility within the locker room.
While praising his coach's consistency, Heyward said he hasn't noticed a change in his head coach that would suggest he has lost enthusiasm for the job.
“My idea is that he's going to be the coach here,” Heyward said, “and if anyone thinks it should be anyone else, and you're asking for a lot more than that. Mike T wants to be a Pittsburgh Steeler, he's a Pittsburgh Steeler. Why? anyone else for anything else?
Speaking for the first time since injuring his knee in the regular-season finale, star pass rusher TJ Watt echoed Heyward's sentiments. Watt also said nothing “groundbreaking” was discussed in Tuesday's brief team meeting.
“I want to play for Mike T,” Watt said. “That was very important in my contract negotiations. I don't want to play for anyone other than Mike T. You understand and see in the way I talk about him, how much I respect and appreciate him as a coach, as a man, as a leader. That It's my support for him.”
