After an improbable run to the playoffs, the Pittsburgh Steelers’ season came to an end with a 31-17 loss to the Buffalo Bills in the Wild Card round.
Heading into the game, the status of head coach Mike Tomlin for next season was seemingly up in the air.
According to ESPN’s Adam Schefter, Tomlin could potentially taking a break like Sean Payton.
There was also recently an executive that told The Athletic’s Mike Sando that he’s “heard rumblings” that the Steelers could potentially part ways with Tomlin.
Despite the swirling rumors, Tomlin has recently gotten public support from both current and former players.
That didn’t change after the loss to the Bills.
Following the game, former All-Pro defensive tackle Cameron Heyward made it clear who he wants to play for next season while speaking to the media.
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Heyward told the media that he believes Tomlin will be back next season and added,“I don’t want to play for any other coach.”
The Steelers’ Playoff Drought
With a long history of success in Pittsburgh that includes a 10-win season in 2023 despite major QB issues, there is only one thing that can be held against Tomlin at this point in his career.
It has been a long time since the Steelers won a playoff game.
The Steelers haven’t won a playoff game since the 2016 season despite having made it to the postseason four times in that span.
Their five consecutive playoff losses are tied for the second-longest streak in the NFL right now.
The consistency of the Steelers is certainly something to be admired, but it is only worth so much when it doesn’t lead to playoff success.
Firing a coach after winning 10 games with Mason Rudolph, Kenny Pickett, and Mitch Trubisky as his quarterbacks would be pretty cutthroat, so the Steelers could decide to see what Tomlin can do in the last year of his contract, especially if they get some help at QB during the offseason.
If the Steelers do decide to keep Tomlin, he’ll need to start getting results in the playoffs or he won’t be able to get away from the job security talk in the offseason.
A Long Career With Tomlin for Heyward
Throughout his NFL career, Heyward has never played for any coach other than Tomlin.
That’s a career that spans 194 games over 13 seasons. That’s a whole lot of football together.
In that time, both the player and coach have put together impressive runs.
The team hasn’t had a sub-.500 recor in that time and has won the AFC North four times.
Heyward has earned four All-Pro nods and six Pro Bowl appearances during those 13 seasons.
He has been a key piece of the Steelers defense for more than a decade and remained integral to their run defense this season.
It seems there may be a chance that it’s his last season.
While speaking to the media, Heyward revealed that he wants to continue playing, but couldn’t commit to another year in the league.
Heyward said, “In my heart I want to play…it’s been rough.”
Whether or not this was the last time we see Heyward on an NFL field, he made it clear that he wants to finish his career with the same one he had when it began.
