Winners of the AFC North following a remarkable, last-second victory on ‘Sunday Night Football,’ the Pittsburgh Steelers are preparing to host a playoff game in the Wild Card round.
Had Tyler Loop’s kick gone through the uprights, the script would’ve been flipped. The Baltimore Ravens would be crowned as division champions for the third consecutive year, John Harbaugh would still be their head coach, and the Steelers would be sent home with uncertainty surrounding Mike Tomlin.
Mike Tomlin’s Steelers Chapter Is Not Finished Yet
The Ravens and Harbaugh parted ways on Tuesday after 18 seasons together. He was the second-longest-tenured coach in the league, only behind Tomlin. Eventually, the time will come when either Tomlin wants to step away from coaching or the Steelers want to venture in a different direction, but that time isn’t now. Instead, with 42-year-old quarterback Aaron Rodgers leading the way, the Steelers are in a position to compete for a Super Bowl.
Tomlin, who is entering the twilight of his 19th season in Pittsburgh, isn’t privy to any of the outside noise surrounding his job status.
“The number of texts I get in my phone of people checking on me gives me an indication of the level of outside noise,” Tomlin said in an appearance on the ‘Rich Eisen Show’ on Wednesday. “When I get texts from people that are just checking in and checking on me, that lets me know the outside noise is pretty loud.”
#Steelers HC Mike Tomlin, reacting to John Harbaugh’s firing, said this is the component of today’s sports culture — there is no patience in the industry.
“I’m sure we all want to be Don Shula or Tom Landry but those days are gone.”
(via @RichEisenShow) pic.twitter.com/3EoahmKdOM https://t.co/ql3ap3ZDzN
— Ari Meirov (@MySportsUpdate) January 7, 2026
There comes a time when, eventually, a coach’s philosophy just becomes stale. That may or may not have happened with Tomlin and the Steelers quite yet, but even Super Bowl-winning coaches aren’t untouchable; the Ravens reinforced that fact with their decision to part ways with Harbaugh.
Tomlin is undeniably accomplished. He has yet to coach a sub-.500 football team in his 19 seasons, appeared in two Super Bowls, and won one. However, since his last Super Bowl appearance, which was a 31-25 loss to the Green Bay Packers in February of 2011, Tomlin has only led the Steelers to an AFC Championship Game once.
Despite the shortcomings and how long he’s been at the helm, the fire that he began his head-coaching career with in 2007 is still burning brightly.
“I’m institutionalized,” he said. “I gotta have it. I just love the challenges week in and week out that this job provides, the growth in it, the collective and individual growth. A lot of lessons I’ve learned in life have been through my football experiences. I’ve been on a team every year of my life since 1980, so I really appreciate it.”
Tomlin Addresses Broadcasting Rumors
Could television be in Tomlin’s future? There’s a precedent for it; John Madden, Bill Cowher, Jimmy Johnson, Jon Gruden, Jason Garrett, etc. If Tomlin were to venture into broadcasting, commentary, or just joining a panel as an analyst, he’d likely be a tremendous fit. He is often praised for his communication skills, and it’s no secret that you have to be an excellent communicator to hold a head-coaching job for as long as he has.
Those rumors, whether they come to fruition or not, are simply more conjecture that Tomlin just refuses to partake in.
“I don’t participate in any of that, man, I can’t allow myself to,” he said. “I’m not even really privy to the specifics of what you’re talking about. I just realize it’s a component of what I do, what we do, and you better learn to live with it or at least endure it. There are more US senators than NFL head coaches, and I have a respect and appreciation for that and maybe an understanding of some of the things that come with that.”
