To most—including the entire locker room—Mike Tomlin abruptly called it a career with the Pittsburgh Steelers after 19 seasons. But his decision was much more premeditated than it initially appeared.
Jay Glazer briefly joined Nightcap on Super Bowl radio row and shared new information about Tomlin’s departure.
“I think he’s done,” Glazer said Wednesday when asked if Tomlin will ever return to coaching. “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.’”
Glazer is a mentor to Tomlin’s son and wasn’t going to sell out Tomlin despite it being one of the biggest head coaching news scoops of the last few years.
“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 the last week?’ ‘Nope.’
“But in fairness, he said, ‘I don’t think it’s fair if my players find out from you.’”
Speculation about Tomlin’s future became an annual tradition in Pittsburgh at the end of each season, especially with a rough end to the last few years. The 2024 season was particularly tumultuous with five straight losses to end the year, including a 28-14 blowout against the Baltimore Ravens in the Wild Card Round of the playoffs.
With Tomlin already having revealed his plan to Glazer at that time, it’s almost surprising that he returned for one more season. The Russell Wilson and Justin Fields experiment failed, and there was no obvious path toward landing a starting-caliber quarterback. I doubt he knew Aaron Rodgers was a strong possibility when he decided to return. He even signed a three-year extension later that offseason.
This roughly lines up with Ronde Barber’s account of the story, but his made it seem like the conversation was just last offseason. Glazer’s account places this conversation even further back with nearly resigning following 2024.
All of it points to the same conclusion. Tomlin’s departure wasn’t a sudden exit. It was carefully thought out and planned for at least a year and probably longer. And he went about it the right way by keeping it out of the media where it would have been a constant distraction to his team.