Mike Tomlin's Future Plans Emerge After Leaving Steelers

Tomlin’s first year as the Steelers’ head coach was in 2007. He led the team to a Super Bowl title the following season. They returned to the big game two years later, but lost to Aaron Rodgers and the Green Bay Packers in Super Bowl 45.

Speaking on SportsCenter on Tuesday, Schefter reported that Tomlin is leaning more toward a television deal than toward coaching with a different team.

"Look, we'll hear from Mike Tomlin at some point time, but my sense is that he's going to go into television," Schefter said. "That there'll be any number of opportunities that await him.

"Now, he could decide to do TV, which is what Sean Payton did during the year that he was out. It keeps people involved in the game without having to work coaches hours, or he simply could just take the year off.

"That's something that's also entirely possible. His children have grown. They're out of the house. He has nothing that ties him to Pittsburgh. He has earned the right to get to do what he wants to do at this point in time."

Schefter went on to say that if Tomlin wanted to coach, there would be no shortage of interest from teams across the NFL.

"Mike Tomlin is going to be desired in any number of places,” Schefter continued. “He could have a coaching job tomorrow if that's what he wanted. I don't believe, I don't sense that that's what he's going to want at this particular time.

“It sounds like he's going to want some time to decompress after a long, hard 19-year run that included a Super Bowl title in Pittsburgh, and he'll have time to think about what he wants to do next and with the rest of his life."

Based on Schefter’s report, Tomlin will not be back in the NFL next season. The 53-year-old is expected to remain around the game, though, with the possibility of a big-money TV deal in the picture.

Either way, Tomlin is expected to remain relevant in or around the NFL in 2026, with a potential return to coaching after next season also a distinct possibility.