Mike Tomlin takes his Pittsburgh Steelers team into Sunday's NFL showdown against Baltimore Ravens with intensifying scrutiny over his future as the head coach of the organization.

The highly-regarded Tomlin, 53, has led the Steelers for 18 seasons and while the team haven't won a playoff game since 2016, Pittsburgh have never had a losing season under Tomlin's guidance. 

But they are 6-6 heading into the Ravens clash, another playoff-chasing rival as the regular season enters the final stretch and there are rumblings of discontent among the ardent fanbase over how things have panned out this season.

As ESPN reports, while Tomlin has two years left on his current deal the 2027 campaign is on the table as a team option. They will not fire Tomlin, whatever happens for the rest of 2025, but both Tomlin and the team are facing some big decisions.

The Steelers must decide about activating that final year by March 1, 2026. The front office will conduct meetings after the 2025 campaign ends to consider whether they will keep Tomlin until 2027.

Should they decide not to, it puts the team in a potentially risky position. The Steelers haven't fired a head coach since 1968 so theoretically, Tomlin would then enter the final year of his deal with everyone knowing he is going to leave.

When the Steelers lost 26-7 to the Buffalo Bills last weekend, fans in Pittsburgh started to chant for him to get fired but ESPN says that it isn't something that Tomlin's bosses are considering. 

Tomlin also has a no trade deal in his contract which makes the potential for the Steelers to move him on a lot harder. He could, of course, choose to waive it.

Furthermore, the Steelers quarterback is 42-year-old Aaron Rodgers. Many expect him to retire after this season - he's on a one-year deal in Pittsburgh - so Tomlin would potentially oversee the first year of the team's new quarterback before leaving. 

But should Tomlin, Rodgers and the Steelers find a renewed sense of momentum and reach the postseason, it would make any decision about the future a lot more straightforward.

'As one source told me, if the Steelers just win today all this probably goes away,' NFL Insider Ian Rapoport said Sunday morning on NFL gameday. 

The Steelers schedule is a mixed bag from here. They take on the Miami Dolphins after the Ravens, followed by Detroit Lions and Cleveland Browns.

They then round out the regular season back against the Ravens in Pittsburgh.