Report: Steelers Rejected Bears’ Trade Request for Mike Tomlin
Adam Schefter of ESPN previously reported that one team reached out to the Pittsburgh Steelers about trading for head coach Mike Tomlin. And now, we know who the team was.
Schefter reported on Saturday morning that the Chicago Bears recently called the Steelers to see if they would be allowed to talk to and potentially try to trade for Tomlin, only to have Pittsburgh rebuff their inquiry.
Schefter added that at least one other team besides the Bears checked into the idea that it could somehow could try to trade for Tomlin, only to be informed that the Steelers coach has a no-trade clause in his contract.
“Discussions never made it to Tomlin, nor is it likely they would they have been successful even if they did,” Schefter wrote.
During his season-ending press conference on Tuesday, Tomlin was rather direct when asked about any team who may inquire about his availability in a potential trade.
“I have no message. Save your time,” Tomlin said.
Tomlin signed a three-year, $50 million contract extension that will keep him in Pittsburgh through 2027 last offseason, so it appears he won’t be leaving anytime soon despite not winning a playoff game in eight years.
“I understand the nature of what it is that we do, the attention and criticism that comes with it,” Tomlin said on Tuesday. “As a matter of fact, I embrace it, to be quite honest with you. I enjoy the urgency that comes with what I do and what we do.
“I don’t make excuses for failure. I own it, but I also feel like I’m capable and so as long as I’m afforded an opportunity to do that, I will continue. But I certainly understand their frustrations and probably more important than that, I share it because that’s how I’m wired.”
Steelers offensive coordinator Arthur Smith, who interviewed with the Bears on Thursday, is technically still in the running as Chicago completes its lengthy list of interviews, but according to a report by Aaron Schultz of Bleacher-Report on Thursday, there are two and possibly three finalists for the job, and Smith is not among them.
“It’s been made clear to me that for all intents and purposes, the Chicago job … it is a two-horse race between Mike McCarthy and Ben Johnson,” Schultz said in an appearance on The Herd with Colin Cowherd on Thursday. “If Brian Flores goes in and wows them, then he is still in that mix, but right now, I think McCarthy and I think Ben Johnson are the two leading candidates for Chicago.”
Like it or not, Tomlin will have a bust in Canton someday. He’s never had a losing season in 18 years as the Pittsburgh Steelers head coach, only Bill Belichick and Tom Landry have more consecutive non-losing seasons. But with Tomlin not having won a playoff game in nearly a decade, many think his message has grown stale in Pittsburgh. That’s why former Steelers free safety Ryan Clark wonders if Tomlin should consider his options and leave the Steel City.
“Coach Tomlin should look into whether or not his voice is better suited somewhere else,” Clark said to TMZ. “Whether or not the cache that he will carry from what he’s done in Pittsburgh will help another locker room more than it’s helping the locker room in Pittsburgh. Andy Reid’s voice seemed to have lost a little steam in Philadelphia that was picked up in Kansas City. I believe that can be an answer for Mike Tomlin.”
Despite Clark wondering if Tomlin would be better suited elsewhere. He by no means thinks he should be fired.
“I think you’re in a place where you’re trying to figure out are they overachieving early or underachieving late? And I believe answering that question is your answer to whether or not coach Tomlin should be elsewhere. Here’s the thing I’m going to say and I want this to be the headline that this is used. Coach Tomlin should not be fired,” Clark said. “Coach Tomlin is too good of a football coach. He’s accomplished too much. His resume is too long and it’s still too strong to be fired. I’m saying that coach Tomlin should look into whether or not his voice is better suited somewhere else.”