Mike Tomlin isn’t plotting a return to the sideline right now, but he also isn’t shutting the door on it.
Speaking on a conference call with NBC correspondents ahead of the Steelers’ Week 10 road game against the Cincinnati Bengals on Sunday Night Football, Tomlin made it clear that coaching is not on his mind at the moment. He’ll be in attendance for the matchup as part of NBC’s “Football Night in America” crew, and for now he says his focus is elsewhere.
“I haven’t given one iota of thought to coaching,” Tomlin said. “I’m sure some of that is going to come up in the not-so-distant future. But I’ll cross that bridge when I get there.”
That doesn’t mean the conversation is closed forever. Tomlin acknowledged that the subject will likely resurface down the line, even if he’s not entertaining it today.
His Steelers run, which ended after the 2025 campaign, leaves behind a résumé that already looks Hall of Fame-worthy. Over 19 seasons in Pittsburgh, Tomlin never finished with a losing record and posted a 193-114-2 mark in the regular season.
The postseason finish was rough. Pittsburgh dropped seven straight playoff games under Tomlin to close out his tenure. But the bigger picture still includes a Super Bowl XLIII title in 2008, plus seven more playoff wins across 13 trips to the postseason.
That kind of track record puts him in rare company. Tomlin is tied with Chuck Noll for the ninth-most head coaching wins in NFL history, and that standing won’t change whether he ever coaches again or not.
If he does decide to jump back into the coaching carousel in 2027, 2028 or later, there’s another wrinkle to watch: whether the Steelers could trade his rights and get something back in return. The Saints did that with Sean Payton after the 2021 season, before he was hired by the Broncos in 2023, but it’s unclear whether Pittsburgh would be able to do the same.
If the Steelers still hold those contractual rights, the return could be substantial - potentially even a first-round pick or more - and that kind of haul would matter for a team trying to chase a franchise quarterback.
And even if Pittsburgh can’t make a deal, Tomlin’s next stop would still matter. If he lands with an AFC team, the Steelers would be seeing him regularly, which would add another layer to whatever comes next.
In Other News...
Pacers Already Face A Pressure Point With Haliburton Sidelined
The Pacers are already dealing with an early-season squeeze, and Tyrese Haliburtons hamstring injury has only sharpened the focus on what this roster looks like without its engine. Indiana has opened 4-8, a rough start shaped in part by injuries, and the front office is already weighing mid-tier roster moves as it tries to steady the season before the standings get away from it.
What makes the situation tricky is that the problems are not isolated to one spot. Indiana has questions in the backcourt and the frontcourt, and the team still needs more reliable offensive support around its core while getting more from center Ivica Zubac. For a group trying to get back into playoff contention, the next move may matter almost as much as Haliburtons return. [Read more 🡒]
Pacers Fans Just Got A Tough Reminder About A Recent Favorite
Doug McDermotts NBA run is over, and for Pacers fans, it brings back a familiar face from a player who seemed to keep finding his way back to Indiana. The sharpshooter, who entered the league as a first-round pick in the 2014 NBA Draft, spent 12 seasons bouncing around the league and carved out a career with the Pacers, Bulls, Thunder, Knicks, Spurs and Kings.
What makes McDermotts retirement hit a little harder in Indiana is how often he reappeared in blue and gold across multiple stints. He finished his career with Sacramento, but for Pacers followers, hell be remembered as one of those useful, reliable veterans who fit into the rotation and always seemed to remain part of the conversation, even as his career kept moving from stop to stop. [Read more 🡒]
Pacers May Have Finally Found Their Formula Without Haliburton
The Pacers finally put together a cleaner night in a 114-101 win over the Wizards, and it came at a time when they badly needed something to hang onto. With Tyrese Haliburton sidelined until at least Thanksgiving, Indiana has been searching for a way to steady itself after a 4-8 start, and this was one of the more encouraging signs that the group can survive for a while without its star point guard.
What stood out was the kind of work that does not always show up first in the box score, especially on the glass and in the collective effort department. If Indiana is going to keep from slipping further in the standings while Haliburton is out, it will need more nights like this one, where the pace is manageable, the rebounding is there and the load is shared a little more evenly across the roster. [Read more 🡒]