Mike Tomlin explains stepping down as Steelers head coach after playoff loss to Texans

Multiple stories have detailed how Pittsburgh Steelers players were stunned that Mike Tomlin stepped down as the club's head coach following Pittsburgh's brutal 30-6 wild-card playoff loss to the Houston Texans this past January. 

While speaking with Steelers defensive lineman Cameron Heyward on the latest edition of the "Not Just Football" podcast, Tomlin addressed leaving the franchise after spending 19 seasons in his previous role.

Mike Tomlin did not want to "overstay my welcome"

"I never wanted to stay too long," Tomlin said, per Ross McCorkle of Steelers Depot. "As a football lover, I was always really impressed by those that moved away or had the self-awareness to move away at what they deemed the appropriate time. I just always wanted to respect the game enough to be able to do that. To not overstay my welcome. That was as big a component of me coming to the decision as anything." 

Tomlin guided the Steelers to one Super Bowl championship from 2007 through the 2025 season, and he never finished a campaign with a losing record. That said, reports from the first two months of 2026 indicated he knew ahead of time that the 2025 season would be his last with the Steelers. 

Tomlin is now serving as an on-air NFL analyst for NBC and, thus, will work this coming Sunday night's game between the 6-2 Steelers and the 6-2 Cincinnati Bengals at Cincinnati's Paycor Stadium. On Wednesday, Tomlin left the door at least somewhat cracked regarding a potential return to coaching as soon as next year. 

Mike Tomlin "rooting for" Steelers, former players

"I just thought that we had the making of a really good team that's capable of competing for winning a championship," Tomlin continued. "But when I really started thinking about it, man, my bags might slow that down. I thought that guys like [Heyward] and [pass-rusher T.J. Watt] were deserving of the optimism that comes with new regimes."

Tomlin added that he would be "okay" if players he used to coach win a title without him this coming February.

"It might be what propels them to be world champions this year, so I'm certainly rooting for them," he said. 

It remains to be seen whether Tomlin will compete against the Steelers as the coach of a different club next fall.