Report: Chicago Bears tried to trade for Mike Tomlin, Pittsburgh Steelers rebuffed deal

The Chicago Bears reportedly tried to trade for Pittsburgh Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin, according to ESPN’s Adam Schefter. 

However, the Steelers rebuffed the trade, sending the potential deal into no man’s land. This isn’t the first time the idea of trading for Tomlin was floated going into the coaching cycle.

“Discussions never made it to Tomlin, nor would they have been successful even if they did,” Schefter wrote. “When asked earlier this week about the idea that a team could inquire about his availability — when in fact at least one team already had — Tomlin responded: ‘Save your time.'”

It wasn’t just the Bears to check in on Tomlin for a trade. However, the other team wasn’t revealed by Schefter.

“At least one other team besides the Bears checked into the idea that it could somehow could try to trade for Tomlin, only to be informed that the Steelers coach has a no-trade clause in his contract, according to a league source,” Schefter wrote. “The inquiring team quickly halted its efforts and moved on, according to sources.

“Though other teams have been interested in Tomlin, the Steelers have no interest in moving on from him, despite Pittsburgh’s fifth consecutive one-and-done trip to the playoffs.”

This comes after another so-so finish for the Steelers. Pittsburgh went 10-8 overall for the second straight year. They posted yet another record at or above .500 with that as that streak extends another season since 2004.

However, Pittsburgh was once again eliminated from the NFL Playoffs. The Ravens won 28-14 over the Steelers in the Wild Card last Saturday. That sent the Steelers into the offseason on a five-game losing streak after starting at 10-3. Now, the franchise has either missed the playoff or hasn’t made it out of that opening round since 2017.

With that, the Steelers find themselves a bit in no man’s land. They’re still winning more games than they lose with Tomlin’s consistency. That consistency is now applying to the postseason too, though, with them either missing the playoffs or doing nothing more in them than earning their berth for nearly a decade now.

Still, for now, Tomlin and Pittsburgh will be staying together going into the kickoff of 2025.