Pittsburgh Steelers owner Art Rooney II revealed a lot about his thought process after his club fell in the AFC Wild Card Playoffs earlier this month.
Rooney made it abundantly apparent that he still supports long-time head coach Mike Tomlin, despite speculations that the two may divorce in the offseason.
“So, I still have a good feeling about Mike. “Obviously, if I didn’t, [we] would make a change, but if we didn’t believe Mike was capable of leading us to a championship, he wouldn’t be here, and that’s why he is here,” Rooney told ESPN.
In the same breath, Rooney expressed dissatisfaction with his team’s recent lack of success in the NFL Playoffs. It speaks to Tomlin’s performance and how Pittsburgh has not been considered as a real Super Bowl contender for the better part of a decade.
“Certainly, there’s a resolve and determination there,” Rooney said of Tomlin. “And, as I mentioned before, I believe all of us who have been around for a while are eager to take this next step — and growing impatient — and we need to see the kind of development we all desire. Mike believes this as strongly as anyone else in the building.”
Pittsburgh has not won a playoff game since 2016, when it lost to the New England Patriots in the AFC Championship Game. Since then, the squad is 0-4 in playoffs. That is unacceptable for Rooney or Tomlin.
Mike Tomlin’s future with Pittsburgh Steelers is firmly in the air.
Tomlin, 51, stated in his post-season press conference that he expects to sign an agreement with the Steelers before the 2024 season. Rooney did not travel that far on Monday.
“It’ll be done when it gets done,” Rooney remarked. “Those things are difficult to predict how long they will take. At this moment, I don’t see it being completed before the [offensive] coordinator is recruited. “I believe that will happen sooner rather than later.”
Tomlin is entering the final year of his current contract after serving as the Steelers’ head coach for the previous 17 seasons. It’s an unfamiliar circumstance for him.
It’s unclear whether this means the Super Bowl-winning head coach will enter the 2024 season as a lame duck. While exceedingly unlikely, Rooney’s words on Monday did little to improve the situation.
