Following the Steelers’ 31-17 wild-card loss to the Bills, Tomlin fled stage left after a reporter in Pittsburgh’s
postgame news conference asked, “Mike, you have a year left on your contract.”
The 51-year-old began his time on the platform by congratulating his opponent on a hard-fought victory, discussing
what led Pittsburgh to lead Buffalo 21 early points, and providing injury updates before opening up to media.
He addressed questions on Pittsburgh’s turnovers, the team’s failure to generate a run game, Buffalo’s tight end
usage, T.J. Watt’s absence, and quarterback Mason Rudolph’s performance.
Unfortunately, the contract dilemma proved to be a bridge too far.
There have been recent reports that Tomlin, whose contract expires after the 2024 season, may leave the Steelers a
year early. And, while there was little question he’d take some time to grieve another postseason loss before painting
a clear image of the future, such a brazen exit does not guarantee he’ll return for an 18th season.
Tomlin has a 173-100-2 record as a head coach, two Super Bowl appearances (one of which he won), and 11
postseason trips.
Monday’s defeat was a microcosm of Tomlin and his teams’ tenacity during his time with the Black and Gold.
The Steelers were missing their leader, Watt, and fell behind 21-0 at the two-minute warning in the first half.
They fought back, though, as Rudolph found Diontae Johnson for a 10-yard touchdown with 1:43 left to begin a run
in which the Steelers outscored the Bills 17-3 over the next 21 minutes to make it a one-score game at the 10-minute
mark of the fourth quarter.
Despite their valiant efforts, Pittsburgh’s comeback began too late, and Buffalo drew away to defeat them.
