It's hard to think of the NFL without head coach Mike Tomlin leading the Pittsburgh Steelers. The 53-year-old was hired in 2007 and has become a staple of not only the Steel City but also the league.
While Tomlin's legacy will forever be remembered for bringing home a Lombardi Trophy in 2008 and avoiding a losing campaign in each of his 19 seasons with the team, owner Art Rooney II will have to abide by his coach's own wisdom and make a tough choice. The standard is the standard, but lately the standard has been inconsistent.
Pittsburgh is back in the playoffs for the third consecutive season but Tomlin has 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 feels like a championship or bust year for the Steelers as well as for Tomlin.
Steelers need a clean slate after 2025 and that includes Mike Tomlin
Even if the Steelers find a way to defeat the Houston Texans at home in Monday's Wild Card matchup, it's highly unlikely they'll be able to vanquish either the No. 1 seed Denver Broncos or No. 2 seed New England Patriots in the Divisional Round. Houston is actually a three-point favorite and given a 54.4 percent chance of victory by ESPN.
That would mean another year without a trophy and potentially a third consecutive season getting eliminated in the first round. That's the definition of stagnation and at some point it's not just the players that can't get over the hump.
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 its unit gave up 356.9 yards per game (seventh-most) and 22.8 points per game (16th-most). The only bright spot was its plus-12 turnover differential which was a huge contributor to its 10 wins.
Tomlin, of course, deserves the utmost respect for his long service and shouldn't be dismissed by the Steelers. But Rooney knows the hard conversation has to be had if the franchise can't make progress under Tomlin anymore. Parting ways will allow Pittsburgh to turn the page and start fresh while Tomlin gets his pick of available head coaching opportunities or a well-deserved year off.
You can only tolerate no playoff wins since 2016 (0-5) for so long. He had a great run but it's time for new leadership on the shores of the Ohio River.