After a wild end to the Pittsburgh Steelers' season that saw head coach Mike Tomlin walk-out of a press conference after a 31-17 loss to the Buffalo Bills, the answer to the question that was asked has seemingly been answered.
According to NFL Insider Mike Garafolo, Tomlin told Steelers players on Tuesday that he plans to return as head coach for Pittsburgh for the 2024-25 season.
Tomlin, who led his team to the playoffs for the third time in four years, was asked on Monday night about his future with the organization with one year left on his contract, a comment that saw him walk-off mid question. The 51-year-old has had a ton of speculation about the possibility of him stepping away after the season, and the fire only seemed to be stoked after the wild-card loss to Buffalo.
When asked about Tomlin, lineman Cameron Heyward, the longest tenured Steeler, made it clear that he was not thrilled with the questions that were being asked in regard to his coach's commitment.
"I just think it's doing him a disservice," said Heyward to the media on Tuesday at locker clean-out day. "This guy's been locked in from the very get-go, but yet we're worried about if he's coming back or not.
"We just want to focus on one goal, he just wants to focus on one goal ... why would he answer a question like that? He's worried about trying to win a playoff game. And then last night, we just lost a big playoff game. Why does he need to address that then?"
Star Steelers linebacker T.J. Watt also mentioned on Tuesday his support for his coach, saying simply: "I don't want to play for anybody but Mike T."
Through all the speculation, Tomlin has reportedly made up his mind and will return for his 17th season. The 2024-2025 campaign will see the former Super Bowl champion officially be recognized as the longest-tenured active coach in the NFL, after Bill Belichick parted ways with the New England Patriots last week.
Tomlin has yet to have a losing season as head coach of the Steelers, and has set the record for continuous seasons without a losing season to start a coaching career at 17.
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