NFL Insider: Mike Tomlin to Mull Coaching Future after Season

Mike Tomlin is entering the last year of his contract, which could affect how he thinks about his coaching future. According to Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk, Tomlin will mull his coaching future after the season’s conclusion. He expects Tomlin to talk with his family about the future of his coaching career, and at 51-years-old, Tomlin could decide to step away.

“This year is a unique position for Mike Tomlin for the first time ever, he’s entering the last year of his contract,” Florio said. “I’m told he’s going to step back after the season ends, make a decision about his future with his family. He loves the team, the loves the young players there, but after the season, he’ll huddle with his family and make a decision about the Steelers.”

It should be noted that Tomlin has coached into the final season of his deal in 2021 before receiving an extension. But the deal ends after the 2024 season, although team president Art Rooney II said this summer that it would get done.

“We’ve done the contract at different points and people seem to read more into that than is warranted,” Rooney said to Steelers Nation Radio in July. “The contract will get done when it needs to get done. As Omar said, I expect Mike to be here a lot longer than the existing contract. We’ll get it done when the time comes.”

Tomlin is now the longest-tenured head coach in the NFL and the second-longest tenured in the four major American sports, behind only Gregg Popovich of the San Antonio Spurs. But speculation about his future with the Steelers has run rampant. To some saying he should be fired to others, speculation he could step down has all come around, but it seems unlikely that anything will happen. Still, that will not stop the speculation from running rampant.