For just the fourth time since 1969, the Pittsburgh Steelers must look for a new coach. Longtime coach Mike Tomlin has decided to step down from his post in Pittsburgh, signaling the end of a 19-year run in Pittsburgh as the longest tenured coach in the league.
In 2024, Steelers president Art Rooney II extended Tomlin’s contract while exuding confidence that Tomlin would get the franchise back to winning playoff games. Since that extension, the Steelers have lost two more playoff games while extending their drought without a playoff win to nine seasons.
“During our meeting today, coach Tomlin informed me that he has decided to step down as our head coach,” Rooney said in a statement. “Obviously, I am extremely grateful to Mike for all the hard work, dedication and success we shared over the last 19 years. It is hard for me to put into words the level of respect and appreciate I have for coach Tomlin. He guided the franchise to our sixth Super Bowl championship and made the playoffs 13 times during his tenure, including winning the AFC North eight times in his career. His track record of never having a losing season in 19 years will likely never be duplicated.
“My family and I, and everyone connected to Steelers management, are forever grateful for the passion and dedication Mike Tomlin has devoted to Steelers football.”
Tomlin, 53, served as the Steelers’ coach from 2007-25. He won a Super Bowl during his second season (becoming the youngest head coach to do so at the time), guided the Steelers to another Super Bowl appearance during his fourth season. Tomlin then made NFL history by becoming the first coach to begin his career with 19 consecutive non-losing seasons.
“This organization has bene a huge part of my life for many years, and it has been an absolute honor to lead this team,” Tomlin said in a statement. “I am deeply grateful to Art Rooney II and the late Ambassador Rooney for their trust and support. I am also thankful to the players who gave everything they had every day, and to the coaches and staff whose commitment and dedication made this journey so meaningful.
“While this chapter comes to a close, my respect and love for the Pittsburgh Steelers will never change. I am excited for what the future holds for this organization, and I will forever be grateful for my time coaching in Pittsburgh.”
This past season, Tomlin tied former Steelers Hall of Fame coach Chuck Noll with 193 regular season wins, the ninth-highest total in league history. Including the postseason, Tomlin won 201 games during his nearly two-decade long run with the Steelers. He also led the Steelers to their eighth AFC North division titles that included this past season after Pittsburgh went 10-7.
Tomlin’s ability to consistently churn out competitive teams is unrivaled, but his teams have struggled of late in the postseason. After winning five of his first six playoff games, Tomlin went just 3-11 in his final 14 playoff games in Pittsburgh. He joined Bengals coach Marvin Lewis as the only two coaches in history to lose seven consecutive postseason games after the Steelers lost to the Texans in this year’s AFC wild card round.
Pittsburgh was largely outplayed in each of those losses. Of those seven losses, six were of double-digit variety. In the one outlier (a 45-42 loss to the Jaguars in the 2017 divisional round), the Steelers trailed 28-7 before mounting an unsuccessful rally that included a touchdown with one second remaining that made the final score closer than the game actually was.
Lack of stability at the quarterback position was one of Pittsburgh’s major issues during Tomlin’s final seasons with the team. Following Ben Roethlisberger’s retirement at the end of the 2021 season, the Steelers had six different starting quarterbacks. And while each one had pockets of success, they were unable to take the Steelers to the next level in terms of winning a playoff game and making a serious run at a Super Bowl.
As noted above, the Steelers have had just three head coaches since 1969: Noll, Tomlin and Bill Cowher, whose 15 years in Pittsburgh resulted in a Hall of Fame induction in 2021. Tomlin will likely join his predecessors in Canton, Ohio sometime down the road.
As far as the Steelers’ next coach, the Steelers have historically hired first-time coaches who had had success as assistant coaches while working alongside some of the best head coaches. Noll served on Don Shula’s staff before getting the Steelers’ job, and Cowher was mentored by Marty Schottenheimer (who is eighth on the all-time wins list) before he came to Pittsburgh in 1992.
Tomlin was a position coach under both Tony Dungy and Jon Gruden and won a Super Bowl as a member of the 2002 Buccaneers’ coaching staff. He then had a successful stint as the Vikings’ defensive coordinator before being hired by then-Steelers owner Dan Rooney in 2007.
Whoever is the Steelers’ next coach will not only have the tall task in following in those coaches’ footsteps, he will also be charged with snapping the franchise’s drought without a playoff win, which dates back to the 2016 season.