Mike Tomlin isn’t lining up a comeback right now, but he also isn’t closing the book on coaching for good.
The former Pittsburgh Steelers head coach addressed the possibility during a conference call with NBC correspondents ahead of the Steelers’ Week 10 road game against the Cincinnati Bengals on Sunday Night Football. Tomlin will be on hand for the matchup as part of NBC’s “Football Night in America” crew, and he made it clear that a return to the sideline is not something he’s actively weighing at the moment.
“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’s run in Pittsburgh ended after the 2025 campaign, and his résumé already looks like the kind that belongs in Canton. Over 19 seasons with the Steelers, he never finished with a losing record, going 193-114-2 in the regular season.
The postseason finish was rough. Pittsburgh dropped seven straight playoff games under Tomlin to close out his tenure. Still, that doesn’t erase the high point of his time with the franchise: a Super Bowl XLIII win in 2008, plus seven more playoff victories across 13 trips to the postseason.
That track record leaves Tomlin tied for ninth all-time in head coaching wins, alongside another Steelers icon in Chuck Noll. Whether he coaches again or not, that place in NFL history is already secure.
If Tomlin ever does decide to get back in the game - in 2027, 2028 or later - there’s also a wrinkle involving his old team. It’s unclear whether Pittsburgh would be able to trade his rights and get draft assets back in return.
The New Orleans Saints pulled off that kind of move with Sean Payton after the 2021 season, before Payton was hired by the Denver Broncos in 2023. Whether the Steelers could do the same remains unknown.
If they still hold Tomlin’s contractual rights, Pittsburgh could potentially land a first-round pick, or even more, from the team that hires him. That kind of return would be a major boost for an organization that could be chasing a franchise quarterback.
And even if a trade isn’t possible, Tomlin’s next stop could still matter to the Steelers. If he lands in the AFC, Pittsburgh would be seeing him regularly.
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