In his first media appearance since resigning as Pittsburgh Steelers head coach in January, Mike Tomlin explained his decision after 19 years, citing personal timing, the loneliness of leadership, and recent playoff failures. He also predicted Aaron Rodgers will be the team's 2026 starting quarterback.
Mike Tomlin spoke publicly for the first time since announcing his resignation on January 13, 2026—less than a day after a 30-6 wild-card playoff loss to the Houston Texans—during an interview with Maria Taylor on NBC ahead of the Philadelphia 76ers-Boston Celtics game.
Tomlin, who had led the Steelers since 2007, told Taylor his decision wasn't overnight but hard to articulate: “There’s a loneliness with leadership. I just thought it was a good time for me personally... And I thought it was a good time for the organization... We didn’t have a lot of success in the playoffs in recent years. And there’s just some veteran players there, man, guys like Cam Heyward and T.J. Watt, and [Chris] Boswell... worthy of the excitement and the optimism associated with new leadership.”
Former NFL analyst Ronde Barber had earlier revealed Tomlin signaled before the 2025 season it would be his last. The Steelers have hired Mike McCarthy as the new coach, raising hopes for veterans including Aaron Rodgers, with whom Tomlin bonded during Rodgers' time with the team last year.
On the 2026 quarterback, Tomlin said, “If you had a gun to my head, I’d say it’s AR... Aaron... had a love affair with the game of football... He’s still capable and in really good shape.” Tomlin will join NBC as a studio analyst for Football Night in America this fall.
