Steelers: Mike Tomlin Resigns – News & Reaction

The longest-tenured head coach with a major North American professional sports organization resigned from his post with the Steelers on Tuesday after another early exit.

This announcement came the day after the end of his 19^e season at the helm of the Steelers, who had hired him when he was rather unknown to succeed Bill Cowher, on the eve of the 2007 season.

“I am extremely grateful to Mike for all the hard work, dedication and success we have shared over the past 19 years. “It’s difficult for me to express all the respect and admiration I have for Coach Tomlin,” Steelers President Art Rooney II said in a statement.

“He brought the franchise its sixth Super Bowl title and led it to the playoffs 13 times during his tenure, including winning the Conference North Division title eight times. His 19 seasons without a deficit record will probably remain an unmatched record,” he added.

Tomlin won one Super Bowl and appeared in another during his first four seasons in Pittsburgh. The team then played efficiently, if unspectacularly, and its stay culminated with a brief appearance in the playoffs that ended in a crushing defeat for the Steelers.

The 53-year-old, who has 193 career season victories, tied with Hall of Famer Chuck Noll for the most victories in franchise history, had long been the scapegoat for fans for the team’s woes.

And their heritage is very different. While Noll won four Super Bowl titles during the 1970s, Tomlin went 8-12 in the playoffs, losing in his last seven appearances, each time by 10 points or more.

The latest occurred Monday night, when the Steelers slowed down after a strong start en route to a humiliating 30-6 loss to the Houston Texans – the worst home playoff loss in Pennsylvania franchise history.

Supporters chanted “Fire Tomlin!” » (Fire Tomlin!) as the final seconds of the game ticked away, although they weren’t as forceful as those heard towards the end of November, when the Steelers were manhandled by the Buffalo Bills, dropping their record to 6-6.

Tomlin, as usual, shrugged off the distractions and his team responded, as it seemed to do every time things got tough during his tenure. The Steelers won four of their final five games of the season, and even swept their series against the Baltimore Ravens en route to capturing their first Conference North title since 2020.

The optimism, however, quickly dissipated as the Texans rallied on Monday. The league’s best defense stifled quarterback Aaron Rodgers and the Steelers’ offense, while the NFL’s most expensive defense faltered late in the game.

It was a familiar result for a team that, as Tomlin recalled shortly after his hiring, “serves as a measuring stick” for the rest of the league.

And while that’s still a reality for the team whose players parade each player past the six Vince Lombardi Trophies en route to their livelihood, the results have begun to stagnate.

The Steelers won nine or 10 games in each of Tomlin’s last five seasons, sometimes just enough to get them into the playoffs. Except that they finally hit a wall against the Texans.

Tomlin had two years remaining on his contract ratified in 2024, and the team had an option at his discretion for 2027.

His departure means the Steelers find themselves in an awkward position, to say the least, as they will have to hire a new head coach for only the third time since Noll arrived with the team in 1969.