Playoff success or not, Mike Tomlin isn't leaving the Steelers

You better believe it. The 10-7 Pittsburgh Steelers are playoff-bound, baby! Thanks to the heroics of the Tennessee Titans and the collapse of the Jacksonville Jaguars, the Steelers officially punched their ticket into the AFC playoffs as the No. 7 seed. They will face the AFC East winner at their place. Whether that is at the Buffalo Bills or the Miami Dolphins remains to be seen. Buckle up, Pittsburgh!

Had the Steelers failed to qualify for the postseason, it would have made things much easier for long-time head coach Mike Tomlin to go his own way. While the Steelers have remained playoff-viable for well over a decade now, they are not getting to the conference title bout under their current iteration. They will stay in the awful middle of the AFC for the foreseeable future until major changes are made.

One team that is expected to move on from its head coach on Black Monday would have to be the Washington Commanders. They have been abysmal since the weather turned. Washington will almost certainly have a top-three pick in the upcoming 2024 NFL Draft, a rich quarterback one at that. Plus, Tomlin is a native of Virginia, having played his college football for the William & Mary Tribe.

Tomlin would be unemployed for a day if he left Pittsburgh, but there is no way that it happens now.

For better or worse, Mike Tomlin will lead the 2024 Pittsburgh Steelers

What I am so afraid of for the Steelers is them convincing themselves that The Fake Slide King Kenny Pickett himself is the answer to their prayers. He was the only quarterback taken in the first round of the 2022 NFL Draft for a reason. Pickett was thought to be the most pro-ready quarterback in a terrible quarterback draft class. His incredibly low ceiling is what will hold the Steelers back for now.

I mean, the Steelers already fired their formerly ineffective offensive coordinator Matt Canada mid-season. The Steelers never used to do such a thing! Canada recruited Pickett back when he was in high school. Together, they looked like the dynamic tandem of Deacon Hill running Brian Ferentz's plays on the Imitation Steelers known as the Iowa Hawkeyes. We are simply delaying the inevitable.

The whole reason why the Steelers are in the playoff is other teams in the AFC not getting it done in the final weeks of the season, as well as the improved play of one Mason Rudolph. Maybe he should be the Steelers' Week 1 starter? Regardless, the Steelers and Tomlin are going to somehow convince themselves that this level of perpetual mediocrity is good and that they like it, dammit! Good grief...

I would love to be proven wrong, but when has a No. 7 seed ever beaten a No. 2 seed in the playoffs?