Mike Tomlin isn’t lining up a return to the sideline right now, but he isn’t shutting the door, either.
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 said coaching is not on his mind at the moment. He’ll be in attendance for the game as part of NBC’s “Football Night in America” crew.
“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.”
Tomlin stepped away after the 2025 campaign, ending a 19-year run in Pittsburgh that put him in rare company. He never finished a season with a losing record and went 193-114-2 in the regular season.
His Steelers tenure also included a Super Bowl XLIII title in 2008 and seven more playoff wins across 13 postseason trips. Pittsburgh did drop seven straight playoff games under Tomlin to close out his run, but his overall résumé still stacks up with the best in league history.
He is tied with Chuck Noll for the ninth-most head coaching wins in NFL history, a mark that only adds to the Hall of Fame case his body of work already makes.
If Tomlin does decide to coach again in 2027, 2028 or later, one question hanging over the situation is whether Pittsburgh could trade his rights and get something back in return. The Saints did that with Sean Payton after the 2021 season, before Payton was hired by the Broncos in 2023, but it’s not clear whether the Steelers would be able to follow the same path.
If the Steelers still control his contractual rights, the return could be significant - potentially a first-round pick or more - and that kind of asset haul would matter for a team trying to land a franchise quarterback.
And if Tomlin’s next job is in the AFC, the Steelers would have to see him regularly, which would add another layer to any future coaching comeback.
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Embiid did return, and Philadelphia steadied itself enough to pull away for a 123-112 win after a sluggish start. Tyrese Maxey and Anfernee Simons helped spark the offense with key plays when the Sixers needed them most, turning what could have been a nervous night into a much-needed result. [Read more 🡒]