As noted by Grant Gordon of the NFL’s website, neither Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Aaron Rodgers nor head coach Mike Tomlin was ready to make any declarative statements about their futures following the club’s 30-6 wild-card playoff loss to the Houston Texans on Monday night.
That contest became the second since late November to feature pockets of angry Pittsburgh fans chanting for the club to fire Tomlin. Following the defeat, Rodgers made it clear that he doesn’t share the opinion held by those particular supporters.
Aaron Rodgers thinks Mike Tomlin is still “the right guy” for Steelers
“Mike T. has had more success than damn near anybody in the league for the last 19, 20 years,” a defiant Rodgers said, per Brooke Pryor of ESPN. “And more than that, though, when you have the right guy and the culture is right, you don’t think about making a change, but there’s a lot of pressure that comes from the outside, and obviously that sways decisions from time to time. But it’s not how I would do things and not how the league used to be.”
The Steelers have now lost seven consecutive playoff games under Tomlin, and their last postseason victory occurred in January 2017. On Monday night, Pittsburgh was shut out in the second half of the game by a dominant Houston defense in front of what became a restless Acrisure Stadium audience.
Tomlin famously has never had a losing season since he accepted the Pittsburgh job in 2007, and the Steelers are the reigning AFC North champions. Nevertheless, it seems more and more Pittsburgh fans have lost faith in Tomlin’s ability to do more than guide the club to one-and-done postseason trips.
Cameron Heyward doesn’t “really care” how some Steelers fans feel about Mike Tomlin
“I don’t really care about that noise because they don’t know what Mike T. puts into this,” longtime Steelers defensive lineman Cameron Heyward said in response to the “Fire Tomlin” chants. “They don’t know how he goes out of his way to prepare every man. They don’t know about the countless nights that man is in there studying film. Coach is going to do so much. Players have to play better.”
The three-year contract extension that Tomlin signed in June 2024 included a team option for 2027, which must be exercised by March 1 of this year. He recently hinted he is still passionate about coaching, but the fact that he didn’t deny following Monday’s loss that he could step away from the Steelers at some point in the near future raised eyebrows among some members of the football community.