Mike Tomlin Is Not a Fan of One NFL Rule Change Proposal
PALM BEACH, Fla. — One of the NFL rule change proposals that will be voted on at the 2025 NFL owners meetings this week is a measure put forward by the Detroit Lions to make a drastic change to the way the NFL seeds its teams in the playoffs. Pittsburgh Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin is not a fan of the proposed change.
NFL division winners have always earned not only a playoff berth, but a home playoff game, under every iteration of the league’s playoff system since the 1970 merger. The current 14-team, three-round schedule gives one team in each conference a bye, with the other six division winners getting a home playoff game, and the three wild card teams going on the road in the first round.
The Lions want to upend that order, seeding teams only by overall record. That was a significant point of contention in the NFC last year, where the 14-3 Vikings had the second-best record, but were seeded fifth because they did not win the ultra-competitive NFC North.
The No. 6-seeded Washington Commanders (12-5) and No. 7 Green Bay Packers (11-6) both went on the road, while division winners with worse records, the 10-7 Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Los Angeles Rams, got to play at home.
But don’t expect Tomlin and the Steelers to lend their support to the measure.
“I’m a division purist, to be quite honest with you,” Tomlin said. “I love the rivalries that is division play. I love the structure of our scheduling that highlights it. I’d just categorize myself as a division purist. I think the division winner should get a playoff game and a home playoff game.”
Tomlin has won seven division titles in his 18 seasons as the Steelers head coach, including both seasons the Steelers advanced to the Super Bowl, in 2008 and 2010.