The Pittsburgh Steelers are 3-2 so far in their first season without legendary head coach Mike Tomlin leading the charge since 2007. The team’s new head coach, Mike McCarthy, has put forth a solid body of work so far, especially when considering how big the shoes were that Tomlin left behind for him to fill.
Tomlin abruptly resigned as the team’s head coach in the wake of the 2025 campaign, and rather than immediately taking a new head coach job, he opted to dabble in the world of sports media. However, the expectation is that Tomlin will eventually return to coaching, and it sounds like an unnamed NFC team is already preparing a pitch to make him its next head coach.
Mike Tomlin Already Drawing Head Coach Interest Across the NFL
Tomlin was the Steelers head coach for 19 seasons, and he was notorious for ensuring his teams were always competitive at the very least. However, with the team leveling off in recent seasons, he decided it was best for him to step away and allow the team to find a new leader.
The move was a surprise for a couple of reasons. Seeing this sort of change after so many years of continuity is always jarring, but the fact that Tomlin wasn’t going to immediately accept another head coaching gig was always a bit of an eye-opener, simply because of the fact that he could have easily found another job.
Interest in Tomlin was high after he left Pittsburgh, and it hasn’t really died down, even with him working as an analyst for NBC’s “Football Night in America.” As teams across the league begin to get a sense of their potential head coaching needs, it sounds like an unnamed NFC team has begun to plot a move for Tomlin.
“There’s an NFC team already signaling potential interest in Mike Tomlin in private circles, per league source,” NFL insider Josina Anderson reported in a post on X.
Steelers May See Mike Tomlin in the NFL Sooner Rather Than Later
It’s unknown which team is showing interest in Tomlin, although many folks are quickly speculating that it could be the Dallas Cowboys, given that they have been linked to him in the past. Regardless, it doesn’t seem like Tomlin will return to coaching until 2027 at the earliest, so the Steelers won’t have to worry about potentially running into him this season.
For now, Pittsburgh’s main goal involves finding a way to push its record to 4-2 in Week 6. Going up against a Tampa Bay Buccaneers team that is being led by undrafted rookie quarterback Jalon Daniels should allow the Steelers a good opportunity to come out on top, but nothing is ever guaranteed in the NFL, so they can’t afford to take their opponent lightly. Kickoff for this contest is scheduled for 1 p.m. ET on Sunday afternoon.
Unnamed NFC Team Reportedly Showing Interest in Hiring Ex-Steelers HC Mike Tomlin