It's hard to think of the NFL without head coach Mike Tomlin leading the Pittsburgh Steelers but as of Tuesday that's the reality we live in. Tomlin told Steelers leadership he is stepping down after the AFC North champions fell 30-6 to the Houston Texans in the Wild Card Round on Monday.
It'll be a painful goodbye for such an icon in Pittsburgh but it was a wise decision by Tomlin to make the Steelers' choice for them before loyalty played a factor.
Statement from Steelers President Art Rooney II on Coach Mike Tomlin: pic.twitter.com/1g5iqKi9MN
— Pittsburgh Steelers (@steelers) January 13, 2026
Tomlin was the longest-tenured active head coach in the league at 19 seasons and managed to never record a losing season in that span. He helped lead Pittsburgh to two Super Bowl appearances, taking home the Lombardi in 2008-09.
Mike Tomlin saved Steelers from making a bad choice out of blind loyalty
To quote one famous "Tomlin-ism," the standard is the standard, but lately the standard in Pittsburgh has been inconsistent.
Pittsburgh appeared in the playoffs for the third consecutive season but Tomlin had yet to lead the team back to the Super Bowl since falling to the Green Bay Packers in 2010 and hasn't reached the AFC title game since 2016. The 2025 postseason felt like a championship or bust year for the Steelers as well as for Tomlin.
As much as Pittsburgh may have been leaning more toward retaining its long time coach after claiming the division crown for the eighth time in Tomlin's time there, Monday's Wild Card loss was the seventh straight playoff defeat for the franchise. That's the definition of stagnation and at some point it's not just the players that can't get over the hump.
The Steelers need a reset at quarterback and on defense
42-year-old quarterback Aaron Rodgers is likely finished with his storied NFL career after this season and that means Pittsburgh will be looking for a serious successor (sorry, Mason Rudolph). This is the best opportunity to clean house and bring in a fresh face for leadership while executing a re-build or re-tooling of the offense.
Pittsburgh also had the highest-paid defense in the league this year but that unit gave up 356.9 yards per game (seventh-most) and 22.8 points per game (16th-most). The only bright spot was a plus-12 turnover differential which was a huge contributor to 10 regular season wins.
Letting Tomlin walk away under his own volition was the most respectful thing Pittsburgh could have done, allowing the franchise and fans to salute him out the door. The search for the team's fourth coach since 1969 begins now and it'll be important that the front office finds the right successor.
Had Tomlin left things up to owner Art Rooney II and general manager Omar Khan, he'd probably be returning next year and that probably would've just led to more of the same mediocrity. This was a necessary change and Tomlin should be hailed by Steelers fans for making the mutually beneficial decision.
It's not like he's going to disappear from football either. He'll likely land another coaching gig or find himself on a television network with ease. We haven't seen the last of Tomlin by a long shot.