A day after being eliminated in the Wild Card round of the playoffs, the Pittsburgh Steelers have found themselves in an unfamiliar position: a team searching for a head coach. Legendary coach Mike Tomlin told the team on Tuesday that he’s stepping down as Pittsburgh’s head coach after 19 years. Now, the entire football world will be locked in to see what’s next for Tomlin, and the Steelers will search for their fourth head coach in over 55 years.
While Tomlin led Pittsburgh to a 10-7 record and a playoff appearance this season, there was speculation, from outside the building, about his future all season. Turns out, that speculation has been going on inside the building as well. NFL insider Ian Rapoport revealed that this decision has been looming for Tomlin for the last seven weeks, but he hadn’t communicated it with anyone in the building.
The insider says most people within the organization didn’t even want to ask Tomlin about it, though they had a feeling it could happen. Instead of bringing it up internally, Pittsburgh allowed Tomlin to focus on football and ultimately make his own decision on his time.
From our breaking news segment: #Steelers coach Mike Tomlin. has, in fact, walked away with TV potentially in his future. pic.twitter.com/VLPTWkl9lu
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) January 13, 2026
Pittsburgh Steelers reportedly had a feeling Mike Tomlin would step down, but never brought it up
In addition to Rapoport’s report, multiple other insiders are calling Tomlin’s decision one that was months in the making, and possibly years. Obviously, the head coach wouldn’t make such a massive decision like this in the less-than-24 hours following a disappointing playoff loss, but it is interesting to wonder just how long Tomlin has been considering sitting down his clipboard.
This has been a heavily-discussed possibility, and now that it has actually happened, the football world is coming to terms with this new reality and asking what’s next. For Tomlin, a consensus has quickly emerged that he will enter the television business. Considering his résumé as a coach and his beloved personality, he’ll have plenty of TV offers waiting for him.
The coach will likely be able to find his way back to the sidelines if he wants to as well. Since he stepped down and has years left on his contract, any return to coaching would start with the Steelers trading him or releasing him from his contract. Those are all discussions for possibilities down the line.