Mike Tomlin is moving on.
The longtime coach of the Pittsburgh Steelers is stepping down, the team announced Tuesday.
The Steelers lost 30-6 to the visiting Houston Texans in a wild-card game on Monday, Tomlin’s seventh consecutive playoff loss.
Tomlin, 53, spent the past 19 seasons leading the Steelers without ever posting a losing record.
Steelers president Art Rooney II said Tomlin informed him of the decision earlier Tuesday.
“I am extremely grateful to Mike for all the hard work, dedication and success we have shared over the last 19 years. It is hard for me to put into words the level of respect and appreciation I have for Coach Tomlin,” Rooney said in a statement.
However, the Steelers have been stuck in the middle since legendary quarterback Ben Roethlisberger’s retirement, rotating pivots and failing to find post-season success.
“Fire Tomlin” chants could be heard at Pittsburgh’s Acrisure Stadium on Monday, the second time fans have called for the longtime coach’s exit this season.
And the one constant during the franchise’s extended run in NFL purgatory has been Tomlin, whose 193 regular-season victories are tied with Hall of Famer Chuck Noll for the most in franchise history but whose playoff drought has long been a flashpoint for a fan base where seasons are defined almost solely on whether they end with a downtown parade, the Lombardi Trophy in tow.
It’s been nearly two decades since that happened, and a full 15 years and counting since Pittsburgh played in the final game of the season. Yet the reality is the Steelers seem no closer to breaking through now than they were in 2024 or 2023 or 2021 or 2020 or 2017, all of which ended with one-and-done playoff cameos.
Now, they’ll see if the breakthrough can happen with a different voice in charge.
–with files from The Associated Press
