Brooke Pryor
Multiple Authors
In his first interview since he resigned as coach of the Pittsburgh Steelers in February, Mike Tomlin instructed NBC’s Maria Taylor that he walked away, partly, due to the latest lack of playoff success and a perception that a few of his veterans have been “worthy of the excitement and the optimism associated with new leadership.”
“It’s probably not an overnight decision,” Tomlin instructed Taylor throughout an interview that aired Sunday evening. “But it’s probably not something that I could articulate or share with people. There’s a loneliness with leadership. I just thought it was a good time for me, personally. And by that, I mean just where I am in life. And I thought it was a good time for the organization, to be quite honest with you. We didn’t have a lot of success in the playoffs in recent years.”
The Steelers have not gained a playoff sport since 2016.
In the interview, NBC formally introduced that Tomlin was becoming a member of the community as an analyst on its Sunday evening pregame present, “Football Night in America.” Typically a studio present, “Football Night in America” might be on location at stadiums every week all through the approaching season, which suggests if the Steelers are within the Sunday evening prime-time slot, Tomlin nearly definitely can be available.
“I just thought it’d be a great way to stay connected to the game and the awesome people in it, players, coaches, executives, and excited about doing that on Sunday night and traveling to different venues and getting that feel for the environment,” Tomlin stated, explaining his resolution to enter broadcasting.
“And lastly, I just thought it’d be awesome to share insight with fellow football lovers. I love to talk football. And so that’s just an exciting component for me. I got to admit, though, there’s going to be some anxiety about stepping into a new space, but good anxiety. It’s good to be uncomfortable, the growth associated with that. And so man, I’m fired up about it.”
In his first piece of study for NBC, Tomlin says he believes Aaron Rodgers — who has but to announce whether or not he’ll play this season — would be the Steelers’ quarterback in 2026.
“Man, if you got a gun to my head, I’d say it’s AR,” Tomlin stated. “I just think, Aaron, I just think being around him for the 12 months that I’m around him, he’s got a love affair with the game of football and not only the game, but the process, the informal moments, the development of younger guys, the interaction with teammates. I think he has an addiction to that, and there’s only one way to feed it. And certainly he is still capable and in really good shape. And so I think at the end of the day, he’ll play football.”
Tomlin was a bystander to the just-completed NFL draft for the primary time in 20 years. Instead of sitting in a battle room, he stated he watched it from a cigar bar with some buddies.
“Supposedly watching the draft, but you start telling war stories and so forth, the draft’s watching you,” Tomlin stated with fun. “But it was fun to watch it through a different lens. And when you’re not on the clock, you can just appreciate what a significant moment that is for the young people. And so to watch those guys get drafted, man, and live out a component of their dreams. Now we all know now the work starts, but that was a big night for those guys and it’s just fun to just watch it from that perspective.”
