Mike Tomlin, Steelers Agree to New Contract: Latest Details, Comments, Reaction

Mike Tomlin was rewarded for his overall body of work Thursday, as the 43-year-old Pittsburgh Steelers head coach signed a two-year contract extension to remain in the Steel City through 2018.

Ian Rapoport of NFL.com reported Tomlin's new deal will make him one of the top three-to-five highest-paid coaches in the NFL and all of sports. Jeremy Fowler of ESPN said the deal, which runs through the 2018 season, is worth at least $7 million annually.

Steelers.com provided a statement from team president Art Rooney II, who is thrilled to have the ninth-year head coaching veteran in the fold for the foreseeable future:

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I am pleased to announce we have extended Mike Tomlin's contract through the 2018 season. Mike has proven he is one of the top head coaches in the National Football League, and we are confident he will continue to lead the team in our pursuit of another Super Bowl championship.

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Tomlin expressed his gratefulness for the new deal, but he made it clear it won't impact the manner in which he goes about his business moving forward, per Steelers.com:

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I very much appreciate this contract extension, but my sole focus has been and will continue to be meeting the challenges that lie ahead for the 2015 season. These past nine years in Pittsburgh have been a wonderful experience for my family, and I look forward to pursuing what is the Steelers' goal every year – bringing another Super Bowl championship to the city of Pittsburgh.

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Tomlin's tenure with the Steelers has been extremely fruitful thus far, as he led the team to a Super Bowl championship at the conclusion of the 2008 season and brought the Steelers back to the big game two years later, where they narrowly lost to the Green Bay Packers.

As pointed out by ESPN.com's Jeremy Fowler, the former William & Mary tight end has enjoyed unprecedented success during his coaching career with the Steelers:

That is no small feat considering the Steelers were previously led by two of the greatest head coaches of all time in Chuck Noll and Bill Cowher.

Per ESPN.com's Field Yates, Tomlin's extension is another example of the Steelers' ability to develop and keep top head coaches for long periods of time:

Tomlin has brought the Steelers to the playoffs in five of his eight seasons at the helm, and Pittsburgh has never had a losing record during that time.

On the heels of an 11-5 2014 campaign, the Steelers are expected to be contenders in the AFC. They had the No. 2 offense in the league last year behind quarterback Ben Roethlisberger, running back Le'Veon Bell and wide receiver Antonio Brown.

Tomlin will have to overcome Bell's three-game suspension to start the season, but if he is able to do that and use his defensive expertise to take Pittsburgh's defense from the middle of the pack to the top 10, then the Steel City could be celebrating its seventh Super Bowl title in the near future.  

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