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Mike Tomlin revelation explains why he walked away from Steelers job
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- Mike Tomlin revelation explains why he walked away from Steelers job
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Over the past few seasons, there had been considerable debate about whether the Pittsburgh Steelers should have moved on from head coach Mike Tomlin . But after a third consecutive 10-win season and Wild Card loss, Tomlin made the decision for the Steelers by stepping down from his post .
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In the aftermath of a 30-6 playoff loss, Tomlin resigned, allowing the team to hire just their fourth head coach since the 1960s. The Steelers ultimately landed on Pittsburgh native Mike McCarthy , who, much like Tomlin, has nearly 20 years of experience as an NFL head coach.
Although it remains to be seen if McCarthy will be able to get Pittsburgh over the hump in the postseason — the Cowboys won one playoff game in five years under him — Tomlin mentioned the lack of recent January success as a reason he decided to step away from the Steelers.
“I thought it was a good time for the organization to be quite honest with you,” Tomlin told NBC’s Maria Taylor. “We didn’t have a lot of success in the playoffs in recent years, and there’s just some veteran players there — guys like Cam Heyward and TJ Watt and [Chris] Boswell — that I thought were worthy of the excitement and the optimism that’s associated with new leadership.”
Tomlin was remarkably consistent in his 19 years as the Steelers’ head coach; in that time, Pittsburgh went 193-114-2 and never had a losing season.
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However, the regular-season steadiness, especially in the later years, became a point of frustration. In Tomlin’s final nine years, despite six postseason trips, the Steelers failed to win a single playoff game.
Tomlin, who is still under contract with the Steelers , has a deal through the 2027 season, which could prevent or at least limit the 54-year-old if he chooses to return to coaching.
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