As just lately as final week, some noteworthy members of the NFL neighborhood continued to recommend that the Pittsburgh Steelers ought to commerce head coach Mike Tomlin to an crew following Pittsburgh’s newest one-and-done playoff look.
Tomlin clearly is not going anyplace this offseason, and Steelers crew president Artwork Rooney II gave the coach a public vote of confidence throughout Rooney’s end-of-season media availability on Monday.
“While you take a look at what number of video games Mike has gained on this league, you do not win that many video games in the event you’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 because the 2016 marketing campaign, and that has some believing the Steelers might use a brand new voice to get the proud franchise again to competing for extra than simply postseason appearances.
“It is truthful to query it after dropping 5 in a row,” Rooney responded when requested if Tomlin’s messaging continues to be resonating together 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 wish 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 might have grow 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 appears like he might keep in his job by at the very least the expiration of that deal.
