Sources: Tomlin told Steelers he will stick around in 2024

Mike Tomlin informed the Steelers that he will continue as head coach in 2024.

PITTSBURGH — Mike Tomlin told Pittsburgh Steelers players and coachesThis Tuesday, that He plans to continue coaching the team in 2024Sources revealed to ESPN, a day after he left a press conference when asked about his contract.

Tomlin, who has one year remaining on his contract, He has given no indication that he wants to retire in recent weeks.a source close to the situation told ESPN's Jeremy Fowler Tomlin “just wants to practice.”. The source added that talks about extending the contract may intensify this season.

One day after the Steelers lost to the Buffalo Bills, the defensive tackle Cameron Heyward, the team's longest-tenured player, expressed his support for Tomlin and strongly rejected the speculation And about the future of his coach.

“I'll just say this about Mike T, Why do we worry so much about someone who has one year left on his contract?“Were you locked in and just wanted to play football as a coach? We don't ask anyone else if they need to come back for another year or anything,” Heyward noted. I just think this doesn't do him any favors. This guy has been locked up since the beginning, but we're still worried about whether or not he'll come back. He was removed, which I appreciate because it only created more discord between the players and coaches.

“We just want to focus on one goal. He wants to focus on one goal, and I think that's fair for him. I think everyone likes to say, “Oh, I can take a year off.” I can do this. He only has one year left.

“I just think, ‘Why would he answer a question like that?’ He’s worried about trying to win a playoff game and then we lost a big playoff game last night. Why do you need to address this now? This is not the time or place and I appreciate the question.But I think Coach T has earned this thing of being singularly focused on one goal and we've asked him that question week after week. “It's not fair to the process.”

Tomlin is no stranger to the Steelers contract cycle. Although the Steelers have previously extended coaches for at least two seasons after their contracts expire, Tomlin signed a three-year extension in 2021 with one year remaining on his previous contract. Speculation about Tomlin's future intensified late in the 2023 season, as the Steelers were on a three-game losing streak and questions were raised about leadership and responsibility within the locker room.

While Heyward praised his coach's consistency, he stated that he had not noticed any changes in his head coach that might indicate that he had lost enthusiasm for the job.

“My idea is he's going to be the coach here, and if anyone thinks it should be anyone else, you're asking for a lot more than that. Mike T wants to be a Pittsburgh Steeler, he's a good player,” Heyward said. Pittsburgh Steelers Why (Can anyone else do that for anything else?)