Mike Tomlin opens up about difficult decision to leave Steelers

It's a question that's been on a lot of people's minds over the past few months, for better or for worse – why did Mike Tomlin decide to step down from his role as the Steelers head coach after 19 years? Now, we're finally getting some answers.

After the Steelers were eliminated from the Wild Card Round of the playoffs, extending a severe playoff win drought for the franchise, Tomlin announced he was stepping down, with the franchise replacing him with hometown native and former Super Bowl champion Mike McCarthy. Now, Tomlin is taking on a role as an analyst on NBC's Football Night in America, and during his first appearance on Sunday, he was asked when and why he decided to step down.

"It's probably not an overnight decision, but [when the decision was made is] probably not something I can articulate or share with people," Tomlin said. "It's just, there is loneliness with leadership. I just thought it was a good time for me personally, and by that I mean just where I am in life."

"And I thought it was just time for the organization to be quite honest with you. We didn't have a lot of success in the playoffs in recent years, and there are just some veteran players there, man, guys like Cam Heyward, T.J. Watt, and [Chris] Boswell, that I thought were just worthy of the excitement and optimism associated with new leadership."

In an industry where it isn't uncommon to see a coach try to overstay their welcome and tarnish their legacy or tank their team, it's seems like Tomlin was self-aware of the struggles facing him as his tenure stretched on, and made a mature and much-need decision for both himself and the franchise before things did get worse – and as many clubs can attest, it can get much worse.

Tomlin also made waves during his appearance, sharing his opinion on whether Aaron Rodgers might return to the Steelers next season.