Mike Tomlin rumor pops up for Chicago Bears before quickly being debunked

Speculation has emerged over the course of the past month that the Pittsburgh Steelers may entertain the idea of parting with head coach Mike Tomlin with the idea being that the Steelers wouldn't fire Tomlin but look to trade their current head coach.

On Saturday, that speculation was taken a step further when Diana Russini of The Athletic (Subscription Required) listed the Chicago Bears, Washington Commanders, and Carolina Panthers as teams that the Steelers may be interested in engaging in trade talks with regarding Tomlin.

While the Panthers have already fired their head coach, there is an expectation that the Bears may part ways with head coach Matt Eberflus after the season, ditto for the Commanders and head coach Ron Rivera.

Trading for Tomlin would be a bold strategy for the Bears. While there is no doubt that the Bears have the draft capital to make such a deal, the idea of using that capital for a head coach does not appear to be aligned with how general manager Ryan Poles has operated in his first two seasons with the team.

The idea of the Steelers trading Tomlin this off-season may have been short-lived in any event as Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk reports that not only do the Steelers intend to bring back Tomlin next season, but the plan is to do so with an extension.

There is no doubt that if Tomlin were to part ways with the Steelers, the Bears should absolutely have him in for an interview. At the very least, it would be a free review of their organization from an external individual. Having said that, for the direction that the Bears are seemingly headed in, a rookie quarterback starting for them in 2024, Tomlin, at this point in his career, may not be the best fit for the position--especially with his struggles with finding the right offensive coordinator.

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