It appears Mike Tomlin‘s resignation because the Steelers’ head coach last week will result in at the very least a one-year absence from the sidelines. It might even be a everlasting retirement from coaching.
As a guest on Wake Up Barstool on Tuesday, Fox Sports’ Jay Glazer revealed that “probably seven teams” have contacted him to inquire about Tomlin’s availability (via Alex Kozora of Steelers Depot). Tomlin isn’t interested, in keeping with Glazer, who’s friends with the coach.
Asked if Tomlin could emerge as a candidate for the newly available job in Buffalo, Glazer replied: “That’s not happening. Mike T’s done.”
Based on Glazer’s comments, we can have seen the last of Tomlin as a head coach after 19 seasons. Now 53 years old, Tomlin took over in Pittsburgh as a first-time head coach in 2007 and went on to compile a 193-114-2 regular-season record with eight division titles, including an AFC North crown in 2025, 13 playoff berths, two AFC championships and a Super Bowl title.
The Steelers didn’t post a sub-.500 season under Tomlin, adding to his impressive list of accomplishments, but playoff success was elusive within the second half of his Steel City tenure. The Steelers haven’t won a playoff game since 2017, and so they dropped their last six postseason contests under Tomlin. His Steelers stint ended with a 30-6 wild-card round blowout by the hands of the Texans.
Although his time in Pittsburgh featured loads of early January disappointment over the past several years, it’s no surprise teams would have interest in giving the potential Hall of Famer a second likelihood as a head coach. That’s especially the case when considering the unusually high variety of HC vacancies this winter.
The Bills became the tenth opening of the offseason after they fired Sean McDermott on Monday, though the number is all the way down to six after the Falcons (Kevin Stefanski), Giants (John Harbaugh), Dolphins (Jeff Hafley) and Titans (Robert Saleh) made hires. The Giants began working toward an agreement with Harbaugh late Wednesday, but a member of their ownership reached out to Tomlin before then, Tom Pelissero of NFL Network reports. Tomlin informed the Giants he doesn’t plan to teach in 2026, leading the team to pour all its efforts into reeling in Harbaugh. They officially reached a deal last Saturday.
Unlike Harbaugh, who was a free agent, the Giants would have needed to work out a trade to herald Tomlin. The Steelers still hold Tomlin’s contractual rights for one more season, per Gerry Dulac of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. If Tomlin sits out 2026 and returns to coaching after that, he’d be free to sign anywhere, but it surely’s now fair to wonder if he’ll ever roam the sidelines again.