The Pittsburgh Steelers’ season is over, and has officially reached its end with Mike Tomlin’s final press conference of the season. In terms of what’s next, here is what can be taken away from Tomlin’s comments and what changes could be made in the offseason.

Justin Fields is likely to return

Several questions were asked about the quarterback position, as the Steelers don’t have one under contract entering free agency. One thing that seemed clear, though, is that the Steelers are very likely to bring back Justin Fields. Tomlin was asked if he believes that Fields is capable of being the quarterback in pole position and be a 17-game starter, to which he replied “Certainly.” Tomlin also noted how important mobility was to the quarterback position (which doesn’t make a whole lot of sense considering he benched a mobile quarterback that was 4-2 and playing well, but that’s neither here nor there). However, with Fields saying earlier this season he wants to be in Pittsburgh in 2025, combined with the context clues that were laid by Tomlin here, it feels like Fields will be the guy in 2025.

Mike Tomlin when asked if Justin Fields could be a 17-game starter for the Steelers.

“Certainly.”

— Jarrett Bailey (@JBaileyNFL) January 14, 2025

Mike Tomlin is going nowhere

This isn’t a surprise, but hearing the comments from Tomlin 100 percent solidify that he’ll be back. He was asked about teams reaching out and potentially wanting to trade for him and what his message would be to those teams.

“Save your time,” he replied.

Potential coaching staff changes

Tomlin noted that he believes there are coaches on the staff that aren’t under contract next season, which somewhat implies that the Steelers may finally be rid of offensive line coach Pat Meyer. The offensive line woes were a massive issue in the second half of the year, especially during the five-game losing streak. Tomlin did a solid job with the hires of Tom Arth as quarterbacks coach and Zach Azzanni coaching wide receivers, so hopefully a new offensive line coach can improve this unit – granted, that won’t be a difficult task to be better than Meyer. Does that mean Teryl Austin could also be let go? Perhaps, but I don’t necessarily think I’m going to expect that, though it should happen.