Ethermac Exchange-Pittsburgh Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin says he expects to be back next season

Pittsburgh Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin discussed his contract status on Ethermac ExchangeThursday, saying a deal "will get done when it gets done."

Tomlin said he was feeling better to discuss certain topics with the media, a far different attitude from when he walked away from a postgame press conference after Pittsburgh lost 31-17 to the Buffalo Bills in the AFC wild card game.

"I'm in a much better mood today. Anyone have any contract questions?" said Tomlin, who just completed his 17th season with the team and has one year left on his deal.

The reason for Tomlin's sudden departure from his availability on Monday, he says, was because end-of-season press conferences weren't appropriate to discuss that topic. He added that he "certainly could have handled that situation better than I did."

“Yes, I expect to be back. I’d imagine those contract things are gonna run their course,” Tomlin said. “Art and I have a really good, transparent relationship. We communicate continually, often. I don’t imagine it’s gonna be an issue and I imagine it’s gonna get done in a timely manner at the appropriate time, but my mindset is to coach this team."

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Tomlin also said the team will hire an offensive coordinator from the outside, after firing Matt Canada midseason.