Mike Tomlin's exit was possibly a message for 2024
When the issue of his contract came up during Monday night's post-game press conference, Steelers coach Mike Tomlin made an abrupt exit, stage left.
The rest of us were left to figure out what it all meant.
Here's an idea. Tomlin, who possibly will decide to: (1) decline an extension, (2) finish out his contract in 2024, and (3) become a free agent, wants all reporters to know right now that, if/when they mention his contract status, he'll just leave.
That's the only way to compartmentalize being all in with his job in Pittsburgh and potentially reserving the right to go elsewhere in 2025, without compensation to the Steelers. If he stays, he will indeed be all in.
The man who routinely says he wants volunteers and not hostages will volunteer nothing that would undermine the effort to win as many games as possible in 2024. And he will never regard himself as a hostage. He made a commitment through next year. For the first time during his career as the team's head coach, he's entering an offseason with only one year of job security. It's a unique situation, one that allows him to entertain the possibility of picking any team he likes in 2025.
If that's what he chooses to do, he'll need to be prepared to handle questions about his contract until the 2024 regular season begins and the Steelers, by rule, stop negotiating. Tomlin's strategy for dealing with such questions could be as simple as walking away whenever the issue is raised.
At some point soon, he'll do an end-of-season press conference. If any of the reporters in the room muster the nerve to ask him about his contract, he might just walk away, again. That would make the message clear, if it isn't already.
Ask me about my contract, and the press conference is over. Eventually, if not already, they'll stop asking.
