Mike Tomlin has stepped down as head coach of the Pittsburgh Steelers after nearly 20 years, following a playoff loss. He will join NBC's coverage of 'Sunday Night Football' starting in 2026.
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Mike Tomlin breaks silence on Steelers' coaching exit: 'It was a good time for me' originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
After almost two decades as the Pittsburgh Steelers head coach, Mike Tomlin stepped away from the organization in January following the team's playoff loss in the Wild Card round.
Tomlin was considered one of the best coaches in the NFL, but he and the Steelers had not won a playoff game since the 2016 season. Despite always being in playoff contention, Pittsburgh appeared to stall as an organization, leading to changes in the offseason for the first time in a long time.
However, Tomlin is still staying in the NFL, as he will join NBC's coverage of "Sunday Night Football" for the 2026 season. The network made the announcement over the weekend, as Maria Taylor spoke with Tomlin about his decision to step away from coaching.
Here's why Tomlin said he walked away from the Steelers.
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NBC's Maria Taylor introduced Mike Tomlin as an NBC analyst for the upcoming season, and the former Steelers head coach explained why he decided to step away from the team in January.
"It was probably not an overnight decision, but it's probably not something I could articulate or share with people," Tomlin said. "There’s a loneliness with leadership. I just thought it was a good time for me, personally, about that, and what I mean by that is just where I am in life."
Tomlin also thought the Steelers may have been due for a change since he and the team had not won a playoff game in a decade.
"And I thought it was a good time for the organization, to be quite honest with you," he said. "We didn't have a lot of success in the playoffs in recent years. There’s just some veteran players there, guys like and and (Chris) Boswell, that I thought were worthy of the excitement and the optimism associated with new leadership."
Mike Tomlin left the Steelers after almost two decades due to a lack of playoff success and organizational stagnation.
After leaving the Steelers, Mike Tomlin will join NBC as a commentator for 'Sunday Night Football' starting in the 2026 season.
Mike Tomlin stepped down as head coach of the Pittsburgh Steelers in January, following their playoff loss in the Wild Card round.
Mike Tomlin served as the head coach of the Pittsburgh Steelers for nearly 20 years.
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Tomlin was the Steelers' head coach from 2007-2025, winning a Super Bowl and the AFC twice. However, the second half of his head coaching career was not as successful as the first, so it appears that he recognized it was time to move on.
Taylor asked Tomlin one football question, wondering who he thought would be the Steelers quarterback for the 2026. Unsurprisingly, Tomlin named Aaron Rodgers as his answer.
"Being around him for the 12 months I was around him, he's got a love affair with the game of football," Tomlin said. "Not only the game, but the process, the informal moments, the development of younger guys, the connections with teammates. I think he's got an addiction to that and there's only one way to feed it. Certainly he is still capable and in really good shape, so I think at the end of the day, he'll play football."
The Steelers hired Mike McCarthy as their new head coach to replace Tomlin, the same coach who beat Tomlin in Super Bowl 45 with the Green Bay Packers.