The Pittsburgh Steelers are in a weird spot when it comes to the future of the organization. The faith in Head Coach Mike Tomlin is certainly wavering as he has not won a playoff game since the 2016 season and just lost his sixth consecutive postseason contest. A large portion of the fan base wants to see the organization move on from Tomlin, but that doesn't seem to be a possibility heading into the 2025 offseason. Some teams around the league have been reported to be interested in Tomlin, but a trade is also not likely possible at this juncture.
NFL insider Adam Schefter reported after Pittsburgh's Week 18 loss to the Cincinnati Bengals that some teams around the league will be testing the availability of Tomlin. One team actually did inquire, and found out there is a no-trade clause in Tomlin's contract. This means Tomlin would need to approve whatever trade is being considered before it can be made official, which is very unlikely. The organization also seems to want to keep Tomlin around. Former quarterback Ben Roethlisberger spoke about Tomlin's future on the most recent episode of his podcast, Footbahlin With Ben Roethlisberger.
"I know that Tomlin's got two years left, we can get into that whole thing, but you know, not that the Cowboys are like the Steelers' rival, but they are in terms of like they want to be America's team. We are America's team," Roethlisberger said. "I could, I feel like that'd be a place that Tomlin would want to go. Like it's the Big D, it's the big defense, he's a defensive guy. I'd see him wearing Cowboys hats to press conferences."
The Steelers and Dallas Cowboys might not be rivals now, but there is a lot of history between the two franchises. They have met in three Super Bowls, with the Steelers winning two of them and the Cowboys winning the most recent matchup at the end of the 1995 season. This is still considered a heated rivalry by some of the older fans of the two teams, so as unlikely as it is, Tomlin winding up in Dallas would stir up some emotions.
Regardless of the no-trade clause, the organization seems content moving forward with Tomlin at the helm. All hope of trading Tomlin went away during the coach's end-of-year press conference on Tuesday when he told other teams not to waste their time inquiring about his services. This was an unlikely scenario that has been brought up a bunch since the Steelers were eliminated from the playoffs on Saturday night.
Dallas has been coached by Mike McCarthy for the last five seasons, but his contract expired after the conclusion of the 2024 season. The Cowboys seemed like there was interest in bringing him back, but the organization made it official on Monday that they would be moving on. Dallas did itself a disservice by waiting to come to this conclusion, as the organization missed out on the window to submit interview requests for coaches still in the postseason.
Steelers Will Make Coaching Staff Changes As Mike Tomlin Will Be Back In 2025
The Steelers will keep Tomlin for the 2025 season, but the people around him on the coaching staff may change. Offensive Coordinator Arthur Smith has some interest from the Chicago Bears and New York Jets for their head coaching vacancies, but if he doesn't get either job, he will most likely be back. Defensive Coordinator Teryl Austin is on the hot seat after a mediocre year with a talented group.
Other than the two main coordinators, Tomlin hinted that some other coaches on his staff are no longer under contract. These kinds of details are not made public when it comes to coach's contracts, but some changes should be expected at some positions on the staff.
