As the Saints’ Sean Payton situation reminded earlier this decade, a coach stepping away while under contract can be valuable to a team. New Orleans fetched first- and second-round picks from Denver in a 2023 trade for Payton’s rights. The Steelers will be in a similar position after Mike Tomlin‘s exit.
Teams are already seeing if a Tomlin trade is viable. Clubs have reached out to the Steelers following Tomlin’s decision to resign, NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport reports. Calls came in hours after Tomlin’s exit, and while this process should be relevant in the not-too-distant future, Rapoport indicates the interested teams were told Tomlin is not planning to coach in 2026.
One interested team was told Tuesday Tomlin was not planning to take an interview, The Exhibit’s Josina Anderson tweets. It appears that view may apply to the full 2026 market. Tomlin gave Art Rooney II no indication (via the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette’s Gerry Dulac) he plans to coach in the near future, potentially tabling any trade market for multiple offseasons.
Tomlin, 53, is believed to have drawn interest from CBS, ESPN, FOX and NBC for an analyst role. Two years remain on Tomlin’s Steelers contract, something that would need to be revisited if/when Tomlin wants to coach again.
The Steelers have seen this scenario play out before. Bill Cowher walked away after the 2006 season, heading to CBS. Cowher, however, remains with the network nearly two decades later. Cowher was 49 when he stepped down after 15 years as Steelers HC. Tomlin was believed to have having thoughts about walking away before the 2025 season began, and his quick exit following Pittsburgh’s wild-card loss to Houston all but confirmed this has been on the longtime leader’s mind for a while.
A report before the Steelers’ wild-card game indicated TV interest had emerged, with Tomlin having a standing invite from networks if he decided to leave coaching. It will be interesting to see where Tomlin lands. Payton joined FOX shortly after his Saints exit, but rumors about his 2023 destination swirled over the ensuing months. Payton became a coveted coaching commodity on the 2023 carousel, eventually ending up with the Broncos. Payton, 59 when hired in Denver, has led the Broncos to back-to-back playoff berths. His team will debut in these playoffs as the No. 1 seed Saturday.
It took less of a trade package for the Buccaneers to land one-and-done CBS game analyst Bruce Arians in 2019. Tampa Bay sent Arizona a sixth-round pick and collected a seventh in return for the then-66-year-old HC’s rights. Tomlin would fetch more in a swap. While he does not bring a play-calling acumen Payton did, the quotable ex-Steelers leader established one of the highest floors in coaching history by going 19 years without a losing season. Tomlin ventured to 13 playoff brackets, won eight AFC North titles and appeared in two Super Bowls. The Steelers won Super Bowl XLIII, giving Tomlin a strong chance at the Hall of Fame down the road.
While the Steelers could have a chance to recoup notable draft capital for Tomlin’s rights — possibly as soon as 2027 — they must conduct their first coaching search in 19 years. Brian Flores, who stopped through Pittsburgh in 2022 as Tomlin gave him a rebound opportunity as linebackers coach (with his discrimination lawsuit in its early stages), has come up as a name to monitor. The Steelers also looked into Marcus Freeman, but he is staying at Notre Dame.
Rams DC Chris Shula came up as a connected name in Pittsburgh as well, SI.com’s Albert Breer tweets. Shula, 39, has received interview requests from the Cardinals, Ravens, Raiders, Dolphins, Giants and Titans thus far. The popular candidate could be added in Pittsburgh soon, but no requests have come out. The Steelers have traditionally gone young with their HCs, hiring Tomlin and Cowher at 34.
OK, explain to me how Tomlin being a broadcast analyst while still under contract with the Steelers is not a conflict of interest but the Brady situation is a conflict of interest?
Because one guy is partially owning and running a team while commenting on games like a neutral party and being granted extra access to other teams, while one guy would just be commenting while not working for a team. Are you actually unclear on the difference?
This isn’t a serious question right…
You don’t understand the difference between a coach who stepped down and an active owner?
The Steelers are not paying Tomlin, he has a contract. If he chooses not to coach the Steelers he’s not being paid.
If this were a conflict then every coach or front office executive who is fired would not he able to work on tv if they still had term on their contract and are still being paid.
I think we’ve found Tom Brady’s burner account…
Active owner vs inactive coach. Not rocket science.
Balt, Pit, & Cleveland all fired/let go of 3 coaches all with COTY on their resumes, but the Bengals chose to stay with Zac Taylor?
This could okay out similarly to Cowher where he just never leaves the booth. He missed a lot over the years and his daughter is a gymnast at Georgia. Might enjoy watching her enough and get comfy in his new chair at (insert network) to just enjoy the fruits of his labor. He’s already going to the HoF.
As long as he’s not paired with Cowher. Two former coaches from the same team would be unbearable
Why would it be more bearable if it were two coaches from different teams?
Good idea by Tomlin, needs a year off after getting fired to rethink and modernize his approach to coaching. Could be really good reset if he embraces modern offensive focused league.
Or Tomlin could be so good at broadcasting that he never goes back to the field. If one is equally good at both, earning a living to talk is a great deal easier on the heart and stress levels than working as a head coach in the NFL.
If the Steelers hire the next Adam Gase or Nathaniel Hackett, he’ll still get 5 years before they move on.
Does anyone else find it crazy the networks pay these coaches as much as they do? Cowher, Dungy, Jimmy Johnson… all great coaches and likeable guys, but I honestly cant recall any of them saying anything remotely interesting in a pregame or halftime show.