{"id":663361,"date":"2026-01-08T08:58:20","date_gmt":"2026-01-08T08:58:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/663361\/"},"modified":"2026-01-08T08:58:20","modified_gmt":"2026-01-08T08:58:20","slug":"mike-tomlins-steelers-future-up-in-the-air-as-nfl-playoffs-loom","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/663361\/","title":{"rendered":"Mike Tomlin&#8217;s Steelers future up in the air as NFL playoffs loom"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Could Mike Tomlin be the next head coach to depart the AFC North?<\/p>\n<p>It\u2019s a question that remains largely top of mind entering wild-card weekend, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.espn.com\/nfl\/story\/_\/id\/47515440\/2025-nfl-coach-coordinator-hiring-firing-candidates-intel-buzz-32-teams\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\">with ESPN\u2019s Jeremy Fowler reporting Wednesday<\/a> the longtime Steelers coach\u2019s future is not exactly concrete.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThere is no firm evidence as of now that Tomlin would leave Pittsburgh after 19 seasons. He\u2019s been fiercely loyal to Pittsburgh. But a source close to Tomlin believes stepping away is at least a possibility,\u201d the report stated.<\/p>\n<p>It remains to be seen what Steelers coach Mike Tomlin will do after the 2025 season concludes. Archie Carpenter\/UPI\/Shutterstock<\/p>\n<p>\u201cDoes he need a break? It\u2019s a question that hasn\u2019t quite gone away, though only Tomlin truly knows what he will do. The source believes Tomlin <a href=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/2025\/12\/31\/sports\/theres-a-chair-waiting-if-mike-tomlin-bolts-steelers-for-tv\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">would be more intrigued by doing TV<\/a> than returning to the coaching market, should he leave the Steelers. The source wonders what Tomlin has left to chase as an NFL coach.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Tomlin, a Super Bowl champion who has been at the helm in Pittsburgh since 2007, is the league\u2019s longest-tenured coach.<\/p>\n<p>John Harbaugh was a close second with the Ravens <a href=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/2026\/01\/06\/sports\/john-harbaugh-out-as-ravens-coach-in-seismic-nfl-breakup\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">before the team severed its 18-season partnership with the Super Bowl winner<\/a> on Tuesday.<\/p>\n<p>The move out of Baltimore came two days after the team fell to the Steelers in Sunday\u2019s regular-season finale, with the Ravens finishing the year at 8-9 and missing the playoffs for the first time since 2021.<\/p>\n<p>Mike Tomlin is the longest tenured coach in the NFL. John Harbaugh (l.) was second before his Ravens firing in January 2026. AP<\/p>\n<p>Although <a href=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/2025\/12\/07\/sports\/where-mike-tomlins-steelers-future-stands-as-calls-for-his-job-grow\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">there had been much speculation<\/a> about Harbaugh\u2019s and Tomlin\u2019s futures entering Week 18, a \u201csource with ties to Tomlin is confident he will stay in Pittsburgh.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Tomlin, owner of a 193-114-2 record in the regular season, is looking to improve his postseason mark of 8-11 as Pittsburgh prepares for its first-round showdown against the Houston Texans at home on Monday night.<\/p>\n<p>This is the Steelers\u2019 third consecutive playoff appearance. The team was ousted in the wild-card round by the Bills and Ravens, respectively, in back-to-back years.<\/p>\n<p>Mike Tomlin and Aaron Rodgers are preparing for the Steelers\u2019 2025 playoff run. IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect<\/p>\n<p>Unlike previous runs, the Steelers have four-time league MVP Aaron Rodgers under center this time around.<\/p>\n<p>The 42-year-old quarterback, previously with the Jets, last reached the postseason in 2021 while a member of the Packers.<\/p>\n<p>Kickoff is set for 8:15 p.m. Monday.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Could Mike Tomlin be the next head coach to depart the AFC North? It\u2019s a question that remains&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":663362,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[2055],"tags":[7,1255,6,84,520,57,2360,9,426],"class_list":{"0":"post-663361","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-pittsburgh-steelers","8":"tag-football","9":"tag-mike-tomlin","10":"tag-nfl","11":"tag-nfl-playoffs","12":"tag-pittsburgh","13":"tag-pittsburgh-steelers","14":"tag-pittsburghsteelers","15":"tag-sports","16":"tag-steelers"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nfl\/115858657166502403","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/663361","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=663361"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/663361\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/663362"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=663361"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=663361"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=663361"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}