It was a waste of time to worry about Mike Tomlin’s job security in January since it turned out to be unfounded.

The Steelers made the announcement on Monday that the coach has signed a contract extension for a period of three years.

As stated in a statement, “Mike Tomlin’s leadership and commitment to the Steelers have been pivotal to our success during his first 17 years as head coach,” said Art Rooney II, the president of the Steelers. “Extending his contract for three more years reflects our confidence in his ability to guide the team back to winning playoff games and championships, while continuing our tradition of success.”

Tomlin has established a level of consistency in Pittsburgh, making him the active coach with the longest tenure in the National Football League. Throughout his 17 seasons with the Steelers, he has never finished with a losing record. He has guided the team to seven AFC North championships, eleven playoff appearances, and two Super Bowls, with his first Super Bowl victory coming in 2008 (Super Bowl XLIII).

Despite having a somewhat small roster, Tomlin has been able to steer the Steelers to a decent contender, which is maybe the most crucial accomplishment. In 2023, Tomlin led the Pittsburgh Steelers to a 10-7 finish and an improbable postseason berth, surpassing his performance in 2019, in which he nearly led the Steelers to the playoffs despite being forced to turn to Mason Rudolph and Devlin Hodges due to Ben Roethlisberger’s season-ending elbow injury. In 2023, Tomlin led the Steelers to a 10-7 finish and an improbable postseason berth.

If there is one thing that we have learned from the Steelers in the post-Roethlisberger era, it is the significance of Tomlin’s leadership and expertise in maintaining the franchise’s existence. That is what made the concern surrounding his future both interesting and strange after the conclusion of the 2023 season. This was yet another season in which the coach deserved to be commended, despite the fact that they did not put up much of a fight in their loss to Buffalo on Super Wild Card Weekend.

Pittsburgh is a franchise that simply does not like change when it comes to head coach. Tomlin is only the third coach of the Steelers since the hiring of Chuck Noll in 1969, and despite not winning a playoff game in seven years, he’s demonstrated his worth repeatedly by managing to prevent catastrophe in the Steel City.

The Steelers have correctly done what was necessary to maintain Tomlin atop the hierarchy in Pittsburgh with his deal. With Russell Wilson and Justin Fields now filling out the quarterback depth chart following a remarkably good offseason, Tomlin and the Steelers have checked off another item with their new contract. All that’s left is to complete the work needed to compete in 2024 and beyond.