Mike Tomlin steps down as Steelers coach, ending 19-year run

PITTSBURGH – Mike Tomlin has resigned as head coach of the Pittsburgh Steelers, ending a 19-year career in which he never had a losing season.

Tomlin, 53, is not expected to coach elsewhere in 2026, sources told ESPN’s Adam Schefter.

The Steelers announced Tomlin’s decision Tuesday afternoon, saying his track record “will likely never be duplicated.”

Tomlin said in a statement that he decided to step down “after much thought and consideration.”

“This organization has been an important part of my life for many years and it has been an absolute honor to lead this team,” he said. “I am deeply grateful to Art Rooney II and the late Ambassador Rooney for their trust and support. I am also grateful 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.

“I also want to thank Steelers Nation. Your passion, loyalty and high expectations are what make this franchise truly special. Coaching in Pittsburgh is like no other place, and I will always be very proud to have been a steward of this team.”

Tomlin, who has two years remaining on his contract, informed Steelers players of his decision to opt out during their 2 p.m. ET meeting Tuesday, a day after Pittsburgh was eliminated from the playoffs with a 30-6 loss to the Texans in the AFC wild-card round.

“During our meeting today, Coach Tomlin informed me that he has decided to step down as head coach,” Steelers President Art Rooney II said in a statement. “Obviously, I am extremely grateful to Mike for all the hard work, dedication and success we have shared over the past 19 years.”

Tomlin leaves Pittsburgh with the unprecedented feat of never having a losing season in nearly two decades at the helm of the franchise. He notched his 200th career NFL win in Week 16 against the Lions and tied Chuck Noll for ninth with 193 regular-season wins in a Week 18 win over the Ravens that clinched the AFC North title.

With Tomlin’s departure, the Steelers will begin searching for their fourth head coach since 1969. Tomlin signed an extension in 2024 that could have kept him with the team through the 2027 season, including a club option with a decision date of March 1, 2026.

Since Tomlin resigned while still under contract, the Steelers will retain his coaching rights and could negotiate compensation if he returns to the NFL bench before the end of the 2027 season.

“Even though this chapter is coming to an end, my respect and love for the Pittsburgh Steelers will never change,” Tomlin said in his statement. “I am excited about what the future holds for this organization and will always be grateful for my time coaching in Pittsburgh.”

Prior to his resignation, Tomlin was the longest-tenured head coach of a single North American professional sports franchise.

“It’s difficult for me to put into words the level of respect and appreciation I have for Coach Tomlin,” Rooney said in his statement. “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 during his career. His record of never having a losing season in 19 years will likely never be matched.

“My family and I, and everyone connected to Steelers leadership, are forever grateful for the passion and dedication Mike Tomlin has devoted to Steelers football.”

Despite all his accomplishments, Tomlin ended his historic tenure in Pittsburgh with a frustrating nine-year playoff drought. Despite winning a Super Bowl, two conference championships and seven division titles, Tomlin’s teams went a cumulative 8-12 in the postseason. His last playoff victory was an 18-16 win over the Kansas City Chiefs in 2016.

The Steelers followed up that win over the Chiefs with a 36-17 loss to the New England Patriots in the AFC Championship Game, their final appearance in a conference title game. Since then, the Steelers have been unique in six playoff appearances, and they have been outscored 131-58 in their last three wild card losses.

Tomlin’s final game in Pittsburgh ended with choruses of boos as fans resurrected chants to fire the coach as he and Aaron Rodgers left the field, walked down the stairs to field level and disappeared into the tunnel just after 11 p.m.

“When you can’t do it, words are worthless,” Tomlin said Monday night, responding to a question about his message to fans after the game. “It’s about what you do or don’t do. And so, I appreciate the question, but people talk too much in our business. You either do it or you don’t.”

In his postgame news conference Monday night, Tomlin offered little assurance that he would return to the Steelers, a departure from his message after previous season-ending losses. The players, however, supported their head coach in the aftermath of the defeat, notably Rodgers, who signed a one-year contract in May 2025.

“Mike T has had more success than anyone in the league over the last 19 or 20 years,” Rodgers said. “And more so, when you have the right person and the culture is right, you don’t think about making a change, but there is a lot of pressure that comes from outside, and obviously that influences decisions from time to time.

“But that’s not how I would do things and that’s not how the league was.”

Longtime defensive captain Cameron Heyward, drafted 31st overall by the Steelers in 2011, also stumped Tomlin over the outside noise.

“I don’t really care about that noise because they don’t know what Mike T puts in there,” an emotional Heyward said, standing in a mostly empty locker room Monday night. “They don’t know how he goes out of his way to prepare every man. They don’t know the countless nights this man spends there studying film. The coach won’t do much, the players have to play better. And in those critical moments, the players will step up.”

Marked by improbable wins and hard-to-imagine losses, Tomlin’s final season was a microcosm of his nearly two-decade tenure in Pittsburgh.

After a non-traditional Steelers offseason that saw the high-profile acquisitions of Rodgers, wide receiver DK Metcalf and cornerback Jalen Ramsey, Pittsburgh opened the 2025 season with a 4-1 start and a two-game lead in a division plagued by significant injuries. But a loss to the Cincinnati Bengals in Week 7 marked the start of a rough stretch highlighted by blowout losses to the Los Angeles Chargers and Buffalo Bills and an upset victory over the Indianapolis Colts.

Fans voiced their displeasure with Tomlin in the second half of the 26-7 loss to the Bills as chants of “Fire Tomlin” filled Acrisure Stadium and boos drowned out the Steelers anthem “Renegade” by Styx.

The Steelers bounced back from the Week 13 loss to the Bills with three straight wins over the Ravens, Dolphins and Lions to avoid a losing season and put themselves in control of the division.

An unconventional hire when he took the head coaching job in 2007 after a one-year stint as defensive coordinator for the Minnesota Vikings, Tomlin found near-instant success in Pittsburgh.

At age 36, he won Super Bowl XLIII in his second season and, at the time, was the youngest head coach to win the Lombardi Trophy. (Sean McVay was 36 years younger when his Rams won Super Bowl LVI in February 2022.) Tomlin returned to the Super Bowl a year later, but fell to Rodgers’ Green Bay Packers. Tomlin never returned in his final 15 seasons as head coach.

Known for his hard-hitting defenses and for continuing the Steelers’ organizational tradition of dominant running games, Tomlin struggled to find consistency at quarterback following Ben Roethlisberger’s retirement in 2022. The Steelers drafted Kenny Pickett with a first-round pick in 2022, but the Pitt product was traded after two seasons.

Including Roethlisberger’s final season as a starter, the Steelers have had five different starting quarterbacks in Week 1 over the past five seasons.

With the loss to the Texans, Tomlin, who went 10-7 in each of his last three seasons, became the first head coach in franchise history to go nine straight seasons without a playoff victory. Nine seasons without a playoff win also marks the team’s longest playoff winless streak in the Super Bowl era. The Steelers also became the first team in NFL history to lose five straight playoff games by double digits.