Mike Tomlin reveals his unexpected departure from the Pittsburgh Steelers, seeking fresh optimism for veterans and a personal new chapter.
Former Pittsburgh Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin has landed a new job.
Tomlin resigned as the coach of the Steelers after a 30–6 loss to the Houston Texans in the wild-card round in January.
NBC announced on Sunday that Tomlin will join the network as an analyst for "Football Night in America," a show that comes before "Sunday Night Football."
During an interview with NBC's Maria Taylor on Sunday night, Tomlin explained why he chose to resign. He wanted veterans in the locker room to have optimism stemming from a new voice in charge.
Tomlin noted another interesting reason for leaving. He felt lonely as a head coach. That feeling of isolation could keep from taking another gig as a head coach in the NFL.
"It's probably not an overnight decision," Tomlin said, via ESPN. "But it's probably not something that I could articulate or share with people. There's a 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 a good time for the organization, to be quite honest with you. We didn't have a lot of success in the playoffs in recent years."
Tomlin went 201–126–2 with the Steelers, including the postseason. He won Super Bowl XLIII with Pittsburgh, but did not win a postseason game after 2016.
Tomlin is going into a profession where he won't be as lonely. He wanted to become an analyst to stay connected to the NFL, even if he's no longer on the sidelines.
"I just thought it'd be a great way to stay connected to the game and the awesome people in it, players, coaches, executives, and excited about doing that on Sunday night and traveling to different venues and getting that feel for the environment," Tomlin said.
Tomlin's decision to part ways with the Steelers made since this offseason. Sometimes things can get stagnant with the same leader in place.
It'll be interesting to see how long Tomlin stays with his new gig. No doubt, his phone will be ringing during the 2027 offseason with plenty of job opportunities at head coach.
Until then, Tomlin will be sharing his football mind with fans on Sunday nights. Football audiences will be better for it.