The Steelers’ game in Buffalo was postponed until Monday due to a winter storm, and then head coach Mike Tomlin stormed off the podium after Pittsburgh’s 31-17 loss to the Bills.
Tomlin was asked about having one year left on his contract, which abruptly ended his press conference before it really began. His reaction certainly didn’t help quiet the rumors about his future in Pittsburgh.
Andrew Fillipponi and Danny Parkins of the Audacy original podcast “1st & Pod” discussed Tomlin walking off the podium and if it could’ve been a calculated decision by the longtime Pittsburgh head coach.
“Tomlin is so media savvy, by doing that he allowed for this to become a bigger story,” Fillipponi said (23:05 in player above). “That’s the part of it that I don’t get. Why did he want this? If anyone takes anything out of the Steelers’ aspect of this game – they probably would not have otherwise.”
Tomlin led the Steelers to another winning season at 10-7 thanks to three straight wins to close out the year. While that earned them a playoff spot, that resulted in another playoff loss for Pittsburgh.
“Storming off will make the talk shows because it’s good video. He strikes me as someone who after a loss like that, that did not strike me as acting. That did not strike me as calculated, ‘Oh I storm off, this is going to make me a part of the news cycle,’” Parkins said. “That seemed like genuine disdain for the question and anger at the loss and the performance and the audacity to talk about the future while you’re still processing.”
It was a fair question to ask Tomlin, and the head coach had to have known it was coming given his contract situation and some of the rumors around it.
“I think all of that’s true but that doesn’t mean it can’t be calculated or premeditated,” Fillipponi said. “I think he’s very aware. I think he’s made aware of it by his staff. And, for whatever reason, he wanted that to be his message to people.”
Tomlin made his message clear, but it remains to be seen how that’ll impact his future in Pittsburgh.