The Baltimore Ravens and Pittsburgh Steelers have formed one of the great rivalries in modern football, as John Harbaugh and Mike Tomlin have found ways to keep their teams in the thick of the postseason hunt no matter what issues may spring up over the course of any given season.
The Steelers are once again figured to be a team the Ravens need to worry about, as they have made a massive improvement at the quarterback position via the Russell Wilson addition and compiled one of the more well-received 2024 NFL Draft classes. Having Tomlin on the sidelines is an immense help for them.
The Ravens’ hopes for a Steelers implosion that would neuter their chances of competing with Baltimore in the AFC appear to be officially dead and buried. Pittsburgh wants Tomlin, one of just three people since 1969 to coach the Steelers, to compete with Harbaugh and Lamar Jackson.
Tomlin agreed to a three-year contract with the Steelers that will keep him in Pittsburgh until 2027. The Steelers usually seem to punch above their weight class, and this will ensure that Baltimore needs to keep an eye on Pittsburgh as they continue to build a winner.
Steelers will compete with Ravens in future after Mike Tomlin extension
The Steelers have never had a losing season with Tomlin as the coach, making them either the barrier the Ravens needed to surpass to win the division or an aggressive team constantly nipping at Baltimore’s heels as a perpetual Wild Card squad.
While Tomlin has been mocked by Ravens fans for his lack of championship success over the last decade, he’s also been a regular winner with some teams that had no business coming close to the playoffs. His offenses have been poor, with the three-headed monster of Kenny Pickett, a horrid offensive line, and poor schemes causing havoc.
Tomlin and Harbaugh are currently the two longes-tenured coaches, as that duo and Andy Reid are the only coaches in the NFL who have tenures longer than eight seasons under their belt. Pittsburgh and Baltimore are aligned in that they both value consistency and longevity from their coaches.
The Ravens are still projected to be a better team than the Steelers in 2024, but the coach who has given Lamar Jackson more problems than any other seems ready to compete for the next decade. Expect Pittsburgh to put up a fight when they play Baltimore.