On Thursday, the Pittsburgh Steelers officially announced that they have extended head coach Mike Tomlin’s contract for an additional two years, keeping him with the team through the 2018 season.
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Tomlin, 43, is entering his ninth year with the Steelers.
As with their quarterbacks, the Steelers normally sign their coach to an extension when he has two years left on his current contract.
“I am pleased to announce we have extended Mike Tomlin’s contract through the 2018 season”, Steelers President Art Rooney II said in a statement.
Pittsburgh made the playoffs last season after a two-year absence from the postseason, losing to the Baltimore Ravens in the Wild Card round.
He became the youngest head coach in NFL history to coach in – and ultimately the youngest to win – a Super Bowl when he led the Steelers to a 27-23 victory over the Arizona Cardinals in Super Bowl XLIII. Tomlin is the man for Pittsburgh and the team is lucky to have the coaching stability it has.
Since 1969, the Pittsburgh Steelers have had just three coaches.
This extension is crucial for the Steelers organization and gives relief to any worries that Tomlin was going elsewhere anytime soon.
Tomlin was originally hired in 2007, following Bill Cowher’s 1992-2006 coaching span.
The team Mike Tomlin has in place now, is taking on a bit more of a youth movement which is needed to keep up in today’s league but I suspect that Big Ben, James Harrison, Antonio Brown, Le’Veon Bell, Heath Miller and other leaders on the team will continue to buy into the Mike Tomlin way and lead by example.
“These past nine years in Pittsburgh have been a wonderful experience for my family”, Tomlin said. Tomlin has coached 45 Pro Bowl selections during his Steelers tenure.
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Tomlin will look to lead the Steelers back to the playoffs again this season, in hopes of bringing the Vince Lombardi Trophy back to Pittsburgh for the seventh time in NFL history.
