Mike Tomlin not ready to talk about his future with the Steelers after latest early playoff loss
Mike Tomlin isn't ready to talk about his future with the Pittsburgh Steelers just yet.
And in the immediate aftermath of his team's rough 30-6 loss to the Houston Texans in the wild-card round of the playoffs Monday night, which ended Pittsburgh's season, it's hard to blame the longtime Steelers head coach.
I'm not even in that mindset as I sit here tonight," Tomlin said when asked about his future with the team, via Yahoo Sports' Jori Epstein. I'm more in the mindset of what transpired in this stadium, and certainly what we did or didn't do. I'm not in the big-picture mindset."
There has been plenty of questions and speculation about Tomlin's future in recent weeks as the Steelers had to fight their way into the final playoff spot in the AFC. While Tomlin has accomplished a remarkable amount in his nearly two decades leading the franchise, it's easy to understand why.
Tomlin has never had a losing record in his 19 seasons running the Steelers, which marks his only head coaching job in the NFL. He helped them win a Super Bowl during the 2008 campaign, and he's been to the playoffs now 13 times.Undoubtedly, he'll retire as one of the better coaches in the history of the league whenever he chooses to do so.
But recently, especially after longtime quarterback Ben Roethlisberger retired, things have stalled in Pittsburgh. The organization has not won a playoff game since the 2017 season despite making it in five of the past six seasons.
The fact that some think Tomlin is on the hot seat," at least according to quarterback Aaron Rodgers - who may have played his last NFL game himself - is ridiculous.
Aaron Rodgers, when asked about Mike Tomlin, speaks on Tomlin and on #Packers head coach Matt LaFleur after the @Steelers' playoff loss: pic.twitter.com/gTNmgQT6Qw
- Jason Wilde (@jasonjwilde) January 13, 2026
This league has changed a lot in my 21 years. When you hear conversations about the Mike Tomlin's of the world, the Matt LaFleur's of the world ... when I first got in the league there wouldn't be conversations about whether those guys were on the hot seat," Rodgers said, also referencing the Green Bay Packers head coach.
But the way the league is covered now and the way that there's snap decisions and the validity given to the Twitter experts and all the 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."
Tomlin has two years left on his current contract with the Steelers, and there is a team option on his deal for 2027. The Steelers, according to ESPN's Adam Schefter, have to decide whether to pick up that option by March 1.
According to Schefter, nobody within the organization expects the Steelers to actually fire Tomlin. The Steelers haven't fired a head coach since 1968. When Tomlin and the Steelers fired offensive coordinator Matt Canada during the 2023 season, it was the first in-season coordinator change the franchise has had in more than 80 years.The franchise simply doesn't make these types of changes.
If that's the case, the Steelers will only have a new coach next season if Tomlin opts to walk away from the game himself.And that's certainly a possibility.
But any talk about that, Tomlin said, will take place Tuesday and beyond.
It's not time for talk," he said. We agreed we'll meet tomorrow and go from there. When you're in this single elimination tournament, there's not a whole lot to talk about. You win or you go home."