After 19 seasons, head coach Mike Tomlin informed the Pittsburgh Steelers he is stepping away from the team. The Steelers will now look for their fourth coach since 1969. There was Chuck Noll, Bill Cowher and then Tomlin, who never had a losing season. One of the stranger aspects of Tomlin leaving is that the Cincinnati Bengals will be the lone team in the AFC North to have the same coach next season. Zac Taylor will be back while Kevin Stefanski, John Harbaugh and now Tomlin have all exited their head coaching jobs in the division.
There was plenty of reaction on social media:
Mike Tomlin leaves Steelers
Statement from Steelers President Art Rooney II on Coach Mike Tomlin: pic.twitter.com/1g5iqKi9MN
— Pittsburgh Steelers (@steelers) January 13, 2026
Mike Tomlin leaves Steelers
Mike Tomlin was a relatively unknown assistant when the Steelers hired him at 35 years old.
He leaves Pittsburgh tied with Chuck Noll at 9th all-time in NFL regular season wins
— Gregg Rosenthal (@greggrosenthal) January 13, 2026
Mike Tomlin leaves Steelers
Mike Tomlin’s resume in Pittsburgh:
🏈19 seasons
🏈Never had a losing season
🏈193-114-2 regular-season record
🏈Super Bowl XLIII Champion https://t.co/vjNJSyWIqR— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) January 13, 2026
Mike Tomlin leaves Steelers
If Tomlin wants to pursue a career in television, Fox Sports, ESPN, NBC and CBS all will have interest, according to sources briefed on their thinking. Fox Sports has not replaced Jimmy Johnson on its NFL Sunday show, while ESPN is gearing up for its Super Bowl coverage next… https://t.co/9kwkQxbSNb
— Andrew Marchand (@AndrewMarchand) January 13, 2026
Mike Tomlin leaves Steelers
Look, man. I’m gonna be a fan for a second. I was born and raised in Pittsburgh. Been a Steeler fan my whole life, even if that fandom looks different these days. Mike Tomlin brought me a lot of great memories, and I hope he crushes whatever’s next. But this was necessary.
— JJ Zachariason (@LateRoundQB) January 13, 2026
Mike Tomlin leaves Steelers
Since 1969:
Steelers 3 HCs (Chuck Noll, Bill Cowher, Mike Tomlin)
Shortest tenure: Cowher (15 seasons)#Bears 13 HCs (Dooley, Gibron, Pardee, Armstrong, Ditka, Wannstedt, Jauron, Lovie, Trestman, Fox, Nagy, Eberflus, Johnson)
Longest tenure: Ditka (11 seasons) pic.twitter.com/LKR7sI1TVL
— Aaron Leming (@AaronLemingNFL) January 13, 2026
Mike Tomlin leaves Steelers
One of the biggest misconceptions about Mike Tomlin that some can’t seem to understand. Since 2020, Tomlin is 60-40-1
His #1 QBs over that span?
37 and 38 year old Ben Roethlisberger
1st and 2nd year Kenny Pickett
36 year old Russell Wilson
42 year old Aaron Rodgers?— David Syvertsen (@Ourlads_Sy) January 13, 2026
Mike Tomlin leaves Steelers
As a @Giants fan, I’d rather have Mike Tomlin as head coach than John Harbaugh. He would finally have a QB.#MikeTomlin
— Linda Cohn (@lindacohn) January 13, 2026
Mike Tomlin leaves Steelers
“They weren’t going to fire Mike Tomlin … the Steelers making it very clear that it is Tomlin’s decision.”@jjones9 breaking down the behind-the-scenes on Mike Tomlin stepping down in Pittsburgh. pic.twitter.com/OJUj2wCtGZ
— NFL on CBS 🏈 (@NFLonCBS) January 13, 2026
Mike Tomlin leaves Steelers
It’ll probably never happen, but Mike Tomlin, and any of the other old school coaches, belong in a place where their skill set will be most effective and most appreciated. And that would be with a college team. The sophistication of the modern NFL has passed them by. Go where…
— 🇺🇸🇮🇱🇺🇦🕉Stevie Van Zandt☮️💙 (@StevieVanZandt) January 13, 2026
Mike Tomlin leaves Steelers
Chris Canty: “If you’re Pittsburgh, you should beg Mike Tomlin to want to be there. But if you’re Mike Tomlin, why would you want to stay?” #Steelers#NFLpic.twitter.com/D1WhI6UOrE
— Steelers Depot 7⃣ (@Steelersdepot) January 13, 2026
Mike Tomlin leaves Steelers
Wow, an end of an era. Thank you Mike Tomlin for all that you did for the Steelers organization. #Steelers#NFL
— Blitzburgh (@Blitz_Burgh) January 13, 2026
Mike Tomlin leaves Steelers
Since #Giants Chris Mara has obviously taken on a bigger role in ownership of late, it’s worth pointing out that he is married to a Rooney (#Steelers ownership).
Mike Tomlin interested in a similar family business model?
— Ryan Dunleavy (@rydunleavy) January 13, 2026
Mike Tomlin leaves Steelers
🧀 Aaron Rodgers defending both #Steelers HC Mike Tomlin and his former #Packers HC Matt LaFleur:
“For either of those two guys to be on the hot seat…”
“To me, that’s an absolute joke.” pic.twitter.com/IHZ0o9HHBp
— CheeseheadTV 🧀 (@cheeseheadtv) January 13, 2026
Mike Tomlin leaves Steelers
go to where your celebrated Coach T 🫡
— Le’Veon Bell (@LeVeonBell) January 13, 2026
Mike Tomlin leaves Steelers
Congratulations Coach on a fantastic career! 🚀 https://t.co/l5CiAV6d3F
— Dez Bryant (@DezBryant) January 13, 2026
This article originally appeared on The List Wire: Mike Tomlin leaves Steelers after 19 seasons
