The Steelers may see a change at quarterback when Ben Roethlisberger retires in the next couple seasons, but it's less likely to see a change at head coach.
The team announced Tuesday morning that it had signed Mike Tomlin to a three-year contract extension, keeping him through the 2024 NFL season.
We have signed Coach Mike Tomlin to a three-year contract extension.
— Pittsburgh Steelers (@steelers) April 20, 2021
Tomlin just finished his 14th season as head coach, with this extension keeping him until his 18th season. That guarantees he would be the second-longest tenured head coach in franchise history behind Chuck Noll at 23 seasons, passing Bill Cowher's 15 seasons after this year.
When the Steelers finished with a 12-4 regular season record in 2020, Tomlin tied Marty Schottenheimer's record for the most consecutive seasons to begin a head coaching career without a losing season. During Tomlin's tenure, the Steelers' worst finishes have been 8-8 seasons in 2012, 2013 and 2019. But he's also coached the Steelers two a Super Bowl victory, two AFC Championships, seven AFC North titles, and nine playoff appearances since his first season in 2007.
Tomlin's total regular season record of 145-78-1, has him tied with Pete Carroll for 22nd in all-time wins, and his .650 winning percentage is 17th all-time. The only active coaches with better winning percentages are Bill Belichick and Sean McVay.
The extension puts to bed any notion that that Art Rooney II placed the weight of the Steelers failing to win a single playoff game in the past four seasons on Tomlin. His 8-8 playoff record has taken a hit the last five seasons as the Steelers have gone 2-3 during that time with losses to the Patriots, Jaguars and Browns during that time.
But the Steelers have long been an organization that believes in stability, having only three coaches in Noll, Cowher and Tomlin since 1969, an unprecedented run in NFL history. What may have helped Tomlin earn his extension was his turning the defense around in recent seasons and how he kept the team together without Roethlisberger in 2019.