Mike Tomlin doesn't close the door on possibly returning to coaching as Panthers rumor surfaces

Shortly after Mike Tomlin stepped down as head coach of the Pittsburgh Steelers this past winter, multiple individuals close to the 54-year-old said that he was "done" coaching for good. 

While Tomlin is now serving as an on-air NFL analyst for NBC, it sounds like he hasn't slammed the door shut on possibly making a return to the sidelines at some point. 

Mike Tomlin on possible return to coaching: "I’ll cross that bridge when I come to it"

"I’m having a lot of fun," Tomlin said during an NBC conference call on Wednesday, per Mark Maske of Front Office Sports. "Haven’t given one iota of thought about coaching. I’m sure that, you know, some of that’s going to come up in the not-too-distant future. But I’ll cross that bridge when I come to it." 

Tomlin guided the Steelers to one Super Bowl championship while serving as their head coach from 2007 through the 2025 season, and he famously never finished a campaign with a losing record. It became clear as far back as March that he was going to make the move into a broadcasting role, but some nevertheless believe he could receive a "'Godfather' offer" or two from coach-needy teams this coming January. 

Specifically, multiple reports from late August through October mentioned that New York Jets owner Woody Johnson could hire Tomlin to replace current New York coach Aaron Glenn. More recently, it was suggested that Dallas Cowboys owner and general manager Jerry Jones could fire head coach Brian Schottenheimer after Week 18 if Jones knows at that time that Tomlin would accept that job. 

Mike Tomlin currently focused on improving "each and every week" for NBC

"Really haven’t thought a lot about it," Tomlin added about potentially getting back into coaching. "Really excited about my new role and working to get better each and every week."

Also on Wednesday, NFL insider Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk named the Philadelphia Eagles, the Indianapolis Colts and the Carolina Panthers as other teams that could possibly be interested in Tomlin this winter. 

"The one to watch most closely is the Panthers," Florio explained. "Owner David Tepper, who previously owned a piece of the Steelers, is widely believed to be very interested in Tomlin. The Jets make sense, too; with the Giants reaping the instant benefit of hiring Tomlin’s former arch rival, John Harbaugh, Jets owner Woody Johnson may become motivated to do whatever it takes to get Tomlin."

That's all well and good, but it's also possible that Tomlin could use such chatter as a way to ultimately get more money from NBC following the 2026 season.