Pittsburgh Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin during a game against the Baltimore Ravens on Jan. 4, 2025. — Ed Thompson / Steelers Now
Former Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver Nate Washington revealed on the Bullseye View podcast that he was recently part of a Zoom call with Mike Tomlin and over 70 people, where they thanked the former coach.
“We literally just had a Zoom call with Mike T. with over 70 people … just to say thank you to Mike T, all individually,” Washington said. “We stayed on that phone for two hours, almost. That’s what type of, not only culture, the Steelers have, but the man Mike T. was. He touched a lot of lives. Not just young guys, but older guys as well. He’s a very inspirational person. Very motivational.”
Washington played under Bill Cowher and Tomlin during his tenure with the Steelers. He explained some of the differences between the two.
“When Coach Cowher was there — it was really only like three, four guys who spoke to Coach Cowher. I’m not saying he was one of those ‘high in the ivory tower while we’re standing low’ type of people, but that just was his aura,” he said. “You don’t just run up to Coach Cowher and start talking to him, having a conversation with him. … Having Coach Tomlin come in, and he’s walking around station to station, drill to drill, twirling his whistle, walking up to you like, ‘What’s going on.’”
Pittsburgh Steelers head caoch Mike Tomlin during a game against the Baltimore Ravens on Dec. 7, 2025. — Ed Thompson / Steelers Now
During an appearance on The Jim Rome Show at Super Bowl radio row, Jay Glazer of FOX Sports provided some insight on Tomlin‘s future. No one in the media has a closer relationship to Tomlin than Glazer.
Glazer revealed that Tomlin is just enjoying time with his family after a 19-year run as the Steelers’ head coach. He doesn’t see Tomlin coaching anytime soon.
“I talked to him (Tuesday). He is happy being a dad. And he wants to get himself healthy,” Glazer said. “Now let’s see what happens in a year, two, three. Right now, his mindset, ‘I’m done.’”
Glazer added (during a visit to the “Nightcap” podcast) that Tomlin told him and former Tampa Bay Buccaneers cornerback Ronde Barber two years ago that he’d be done at the end of 2025 season.
“I think he’s done,” Glazer said about Tomlin’s time as a coach. “He told me and Ronde Barber two years ago. He was like, ‘Hey, this is my plan. You can’t say this. Don’t show my hand. I’m telling you, you’re my guy.’
“Last year, I thought he was gonna hang it up. He decided one more. I thought he was gonna be done, so until it happens, it happens. But this year, kind of Week 8, I’m like, ‘Hey man anybody that’s gonna change your mind?’ ‘Nope.’ Okay, I said, ‘Can I report it this week?’ ‘Nope.’
“But in fairness, he said, ‘I don’t think it’s fair if my players find out from you.’”
If he had to guess, Steelers All-Pro defensive tackle Cam Heyward thinks Tomlin stepped down because he wants to spend more time with his family.
“i don’t know. I’ve asked that question a lot (to) him and he’s been pretty straight forward. I think one, he wants to spend time with his family,” Heyward said. “I was just talking to him today about his daughter Harly, who’s killing it at UGA right now (on the women’s gymnastics team). You don’t know how much you’ve been away until you come back into the picture. That is big. Nineteen years with one team is not like an abrupt thing. But, not a lot of people can say they’ve had that kind of stability.”
Heyward is unsure if Tomlin is done for good as a coach.
“Selfishly, I would be like he’s probably coached his last game because I would be like, ‘Damn, I want to keep playing for that head coach,’” Heyward said. “You look at that glow he’s got in the offseason just supporting his family, that’s hard to pass up. And true happiness, I don’t think he has to go looking for a job. I think he’s set, but you never know, that hunger he has for the game is very apparent and you know how much he cares about his players, coaches and what he wants to do out on that field.”
Mentioned In This Article: Mike Tomlin Nate Washington Pittsburgh Steelers Steelers Steelers News