ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. -- "Mike, you have a year left on your contract ..."
And, before the word "left" could be said by the reporter in the moments following the Steelers' 31-17 loss to the Bills in the AFC playoffs Monday at Highmark Stadium, Mike Tomlin began his motion to exit stage left.
— DK Pittsburgh Sports (@DKPSmedia) January 16, 2024
Tomlin had fielded questions about the loss, as he usually does. But he almost never answers broader questions like these in postgame press conference settings, choosing to defer those until his usual weekly session on the South Side.
Monday's loss to the Bills dropped Tomlin's playoff record to 8-10. The Steelers have not won a playoff game since Jan. 15, 2017 -- seven years to the date of Monday's game. Tomlin is 0-3 in his three playoff trips in the six seasons since. Those 2,556 days in between that last playoff win and Monday's playoff loss only draws the uncertainty to a new level, but the time to address anything regarding the future, he felt, was not present while he was standing at that lectern.
Consider the opinions of those who play for him. In the post-game locker room, players were asked about that status of their head coach. All of the answers came back with similar tones.
"You know, that was a testament to even get to the playoffs," Cam Heyward said. "We battled all year long. And, you know, I don't really pay attention to what the coaching thing is because I feel like Mike T is going to be back. But, that's not my decision. I'm not going to speak for him. I just know, I think the group here collectively is a strong group that can win a Super Bowl."
And, in fact, Heyward gave Tomlin the credit for getting a Steelers team that was hammered by injury into the position they were in:
"There's a lot of credit there but it's not like we're happy to just get to this point," Heyward said. "You know, we put so much into it. He put so much into it and I just, every player wouldn't be anything without Mike T. This group would not function to even get to a playoff berth without Mike T. He keeps us accountable from top to bottom and I don't want to play for any other coach."
That endorsement from the captain of the team rings loud and clear throughout the locker room.
"I know I love it here, I love Coach T, everything he's done to motivate this team and put us in a position to be successful," Patrick Peterson said. "There's no doubt in my mind he's the guy for the job."
Speculation about Tomlin's future in Pittsburgh has risen at more than one point this season. Some reports from national outlets have suggested that the Steelers could look to trade Tomlin in order to acquire draft capital and start a re-tooling with a new head coach. A report from this weekend from a national outlet hinted Tomlin -- who is as much of a football junkie as one can imagine -- could take time his offseason to mull his next step, which could include sitting out a year.
There is a level of credence to take with these things reported by national outlets. Those are all just reports. Nothing is concrete until Tomlin or the Steelers say otherwise.
This offseason will provide an answer of Tomlin's future in Pittsburgh. The Steelers typically do not allow a coach to enter a lame-duck period in which they are in the final year of a deal with nothing in ink for the season prior, and that hasn't changed with Tomlin. If he's traded or steps away, then the flow of the offseason will provide that answer. His tenure was not going to be decided in that post-game press conference.
