Steelers Players Passionately Defend Mike Tomlin: ‘I Want to Play for Mike T’

PITTSBURGH — The future of Mike Tomlin as the head coach of the Pittsburgh Steelers is at its apex. On Monday night, after their loss to the Buffalo Bills, Tomlin walked off the podium before a question about the future of his contract could be asked.

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. ESPN’s Adam Schefter and Jay Glazer, Tomlin’s friend, suggested he could step away. But the players bashed those ideas on Tuesday, believing Tomlin should stay. Cam Heyward, in particular, gave an impassioned defense of Tomlin.

“I’ll just say this about Mike T — Why are we so concerned with somebody who has a year on their contract, who’s been locked in, has wanted to just coach football? We don’t ask anybody else if they need to come back for another year or anything else. I think it’s doing him a disservice. This guy has been locked in from the very get go. But yet we’re worried if he’s coming back or not,” Heyward said. “…My thought is he’s going to be the coach here. And if anybody’s thinking it should be anybody else, then you’re asking for a whole lot more than just that. Mike T wants to be a Pittsburgh Steeler and is a Pittsburgh Steeler. Why would you want anyone else.”

Heyward questioned why Mike Tomlin had to answer that question right after the game. Regardless, he was not the only player to come to Tomlin’s defense. T.J. Watt expected Tomlin to be here for the rest of his career when he signed long-term with the team. That was a crucial reason he wanted to re-sign with the Steelers.

And so, Watt blasted the idea that the team could move on from Tomlin. To him, that makes no sense, and he believes that Tomlin rallies people around the team far better than anyone from the outside could understand.

“I want to play for Mike T. It was huge in my contract talks that I don’t want to play for anyone other than Mike T. You guys see the way I talk about how much I respect and appreciate him as a coach, man and leader,” Watt said.

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.”

Even a young guy like Jaylen Warren said that Tomlin coming back should happen. He says that Tomlin treats the guys in the locker room right and gets them ready to go every week. From what he’s heard around the NFL, Tomlin is the exception, not the rule. And while there need to be changes, and everyone agreed on that, it seems clear they want him in the building.