After years of playoff failure and calls from fans for change, Mike Tomlin chose to step down as Head Coach of the Pittsburgh Steelers. His 19-year run felt like it may never end before he took matters into his own hands, and the decision felt incredibly sudden given his attitude heading into the playoffs. Things clearly changed after the Steelers' brutal beating at the hands of the Houston Texans, but was that really enough to completely change everything?
According to NFL insider Josina Anderson, it was just the thing that tipped the scales.
She reported back in November that a long-time NFL coach was contemplating changing things up, and she just made it clear that Tomlin was the coach she was referring to.
Adding onto that, she also said a source believes this move was years in the making, saying, "I would say this has been building gradually for the last 3 years."
More Context: I tweeted that there was a "longtime NFL head coach" that was contemplating a "change of scenery," back in November. That head coach was Mike Tomlin, as I have since indicated many times recently.
— JosinaAnderson (@JosinaAnderson) January 13, 2026
The facts of the matter are: League sources heard that Mike Tomlin… https://t.co/y9gb5mzcQJ pic.twitter.com/xOxpFJHmoB
Mike Tomlin's decision to leave the Pittsburgh Steelers looks far less sudden after latest rumors
It would make sense that Tomlin has spent the past few years contemplating his future. Fans have been asking themselves whether or not he is still the right man for the job for at least that long, and some even longer. The playoff win drought and struggles finding a franchise quarterback since Ben Roethlisberger retired have soured the last decade of Steelers football, and Tomlin was clearly feeling the heat.
Even the best coaches have their limits, and the calls for his job and the brutal 30-6 loss Monday night against the Texans seem to have been the last straw for Tomlin in Pittsburgh.
Only time will tell if he chooses to get back into coaching after a year away, or if he will go the Bill Cowher route and make TV his long-term home after over two decades coaching pro ball. His legacy in Pittsburgh has long since been cemented, and he has nothing to prove at this point except that he just needs the right roster to make it back to the promised land.
Maybe if the right team comes calling in 2027, we'll see Tomlin on the sidelines once again. If not, he will always be able to say that he left the NFL on his own terms. That is a rarity in a league that often tells you when your time is up.