As lately as final week, some noteworthy members of the NFL group continued to recommend that the Pittsburgh Steelers ought to commerce head coach Mike Tomlin to an staff following Pittsburgh’s newest one-and-done playoff look.
Tomlin clearly is not going anyplace this offseason, and Steelers staff president Artwork Rooney II gave the coach a public vote of confidence throughout Rooney’s end-of-season media availability on Monday.
“Once you take a look at what number of video games Mike has received on this league, you do not win that many video games if you happen to’re not an excellent coach. I do know he is pissed off like all of us are…however we nonetheless be ok with him being the chief,” Rooney stated, as shared by Brooke Pryor of ESPN.
Tomlin, who turns 53 years previous in March, is a one-time Tremendous Bowl champion head coach who has by no means had a dropping season since he accepted the Steelers job in 2007. He additionally hasn’t recorded a playoff win for the reason that 2016 marketing campaign, and that has some believing the Steelers may use a brand new voice to get the proud franchise again to competing for extra than simply postseason appearances.
“It is honest to query it after dropping 5 in a row,” Rooney responded when requested if Tomlin’s messaging continues to be resonating along with his gamers coming off Pittsburgh’s fifth consecutive playoff defeat, a 28-14 wild-card loss to the rival Baltimore Ravens on Jan. 11. “However once I speak to the gamers, I believe the gamers nonetheless need to play for Mike, and so I am not involved about his message.”
Tomlin clearly has supporters amongst these at the moment within the Steelers locker room and amongst gamers connected to different organizations this winter. Moreover, he could have turn out to be the most-coveted candidate of this offseason’s hiring cycle had he and the Steelers agreed to half methods after the Ravens sport.
If nothing else, Rooney’s newest feedback point out he by no means got here near shifting on from Tomlin regardless of what followers and a few native media personalities needed to say following Pittsburgh’s loss to Baltimore. Tomlin signed a three-year contract extension that reportedly included a no-trade clause final offseason, and it feels like he may keep in his job by means of at the very least the expiration of that deal.
