![\"PITTSBURGH](\"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/0x0.jpg\")
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Baltimore Ravens head coach John Harbaugh (L) and Pittsburgh Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin shake hands after chatting at mid field before their game in Baltimore on Thursday, November 28, 2013. (Doug Kapustin\/Tribune News Service via Getty Images)<\/p>\n
Tribune News Service via Getty Images<\/p>\n
The NFL playoffs are underway, but head coaching news from across the league is what\u2019s currently dominating the headlines. <\/p>\n
There are currently nine NFL head coaching vacancies, with long-tenured coaches like John Harbaugh and Mike Tomlin no longer on the job. <\/p>\n
Harbaugh was the Baltimore Ravens head coach for 18 seasons before his firing on Jan. 6<\/a>, following an 8-9 season in which the team missed the playoffs for just the sixth time in his career. Mike Tomlin stepped down<\/a> after a 9-8 season and a 30-6 loss to the Houston Texans in the wild-card round of the NFL playoffs on Sunday night. Tomlin made the playoffs 13 times in 19 years and never had a losing season. <\/p>\n Both Harbaugh and Tomlin won a Super Bowl for their respective franchise, yet reaching the playoffs at a high clip wasn\u2019t perceived as enough. <\/p>\n Aaron Rodgers Comments On The State Of NFL Coaching Cycle<\/p>\n Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Aaron Rodgers just spent one year with Mike Tomlin but earned the future Hall of Famer\u2019s respect in that span. From Rodgers\u2019 view, he doesn\u2019t understand why a coach of Tomlin\u2019s caliber or Green Bay Packers head coach Matt LaFleur would be viewed on the hot seat.<\/p>\n \u201cI mean, this league has changed a lot in my 21 years. You know, when you hear a conversation about the Mike Tomlins of the world, Matt LaFleurs of the world, those are just two that I played for, and when I first got in the league, there wouldn\u2019t be conversation about whether those guys were on the hot seat,\u201d Rodgers said. “But the way that the league is covered now and the way that there’s snap decisions and the validity given to the, you know, the Twitter experts and all the, you know, experts on TV now who make it seem like they know what the hell they’re talking about, to me that’s an absolute joke.<\/p>\n Erik Spoelstra Shares Thoughts On Harbaugh, Tomlin Departures <\/p>\n Miami Heat head coach Erik Spoelstra, who\u2019s in his 18th season with the franchise, was disappointed to hear that Harbaugh and Tomlin are no longer with the Ravens and Steelers. <\/p>\n \u201cI was sad about that,\u201d Spoelstra said when speaking about Harbaugh and Tomlin. \u201cAnd I was really bummed about the John Harbaugh news as well. Because I\u2019ve been fans of both of them for years.\u201d <\/p>\n Not only was Spoelstra bummed, but he was also surprised.<\/p>\n \u201cThey\u2019re titans of the game and I just always thought that they\u2019d be there for forever,\u201d Spoelstra said.<\/p>\n Spoelstra has had similar sustained success to that of Tomlin and Harbaugh. Spoelstra has made the playoffs in 14 of 17 seasons thus far and has won two NBA championships. Spoelstra said teams can rebuild or reload, but having a proven leader in charge is essential.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s a sad day,\u201d Spoelstra stated. “We\u2019ll see if they can find leaders with somebody else that can be as consistent as they\u2019ve been, you know, for multiple decades. That\u2019s a bummer.”<\/p>\n Spoelstra said some of his greatest opportunities have been from disappointing seasons, where the team \u201creally went to work\u201d during the offseason finding ways to get better.<\/p>\n Spoelstra noted the difference between having ownership willing to stick with a coach through trials and ownership that could succumb to making change on a whim.<\/p>\n \u201cI think if you took a case study on all the leagues, when it\u2019s a time for a change, when they make the changes over and over and over, if it actually benefited the organization or not,” Spoelstra explained. \u201cI would guess not.\u201d<\/p>\n The Coaching Carousel Shows No Signs of Slowing<\/p>\n