The report came quickly, a day after the Steelers’ season ended with another one-and-done postseason performance.
They’re “not planning” to make a coaching change.
It’s an interesting choice of words. Plans can change. Sometimes, they do. So what would change their plans as to the future of Mike Tomlin?
One thing that could change their plans is an offer they can’t refuse.
Given the widespread belief that Tomlin would immediately find another head-coaching job if he wanted one, why not trade him and get significant value?
The problem with that approach is that coaches can’t be traded like players. The procedure goes like this. A team interested in hiring another team’s coach calls that team and engages in negotiations on compensation, if the team employing the coach has interest in a deal. After an agreement on terms is reached, the new team has permission to negotiate with the coach in an effort to reach a deal. If no deal is reached, there is no trade.
The more practical approach is that the team interested in a coach with another team determines through back channels whether the coach would have interest. If the message from Tomlin’s camp is, “No thanks.” It’s the same result.
Why would Tomlin want to agree to a trade? He could simply refuse, forcing the team to perhaps change its plans in a different way. Then, if the Steelers would fire him, he’d be able to take another job right away unencumbered by his new team giving up a first-round pick or more. Or he could take a year off with full pay and have his pick of open jobs in 2026.
If the report were that the Steelers definitely will not make a coaching change, it would look and feel different. The words “not planning” could be a subtle invitation to the Jets, Bears, Saints, Jaguars, Raiders, and possibly the Cowboys, whose contract with Mike McCarthy expires in two days.
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