Mike Tomlin steps down after 19 seasons as coach of the Pittsburgh Steelers

PITTSBURGH (AP) — The Mike Tomlin era in Pittsburgh is over.

The longest-tenured head coach in major American professional sports stepped down from his job leading the Steelers on Tuesday after yet another quick playoff exit.

The announcement came a day after the end of his 19th season in Pittsburgh, where he was a relative unknown when he was hired to replace Bill Cowher in early 2007.

“Obviously, I am extremely grateful to Mike for all the hard work, dedication and success we have shared over the last 19 years. It is hard for me to put into words the level of respect and appreciation I have for Coach Tomlin,” Steelers president Art Rooney II said in a statement. “He guided the franchise to our sixth Super Bowl championship and made the playoffs 13 times during his tenure, including winning the AFC North eight times in his career. His track record of never having a losing season in 19 years will likely never be duplicated.”

Tomlin won one Super Bowl and went to another during his first four seasons in Pittsburgh before the club settled into a pattern of solid if not always spectacular play followed by a playoff cameo that ended with the Steelers on the wrong side of a blowout.

The 53-year-old Tomlin won 193 regular-season games in Pittsburgh, tied with Hall of Famer Chuck Noll for the most victories in franchise history. But their resumes diverged when it comes to the playoffs. While Noll won four Super Bowls in the 1970s, Tomlin went just 8-12 in the postseason, losing each of his last seven playoff games, all by double-digit margins.

The last came on Monday night, when the AFC North champions squandered some early momentum before getting blown out 30-6 by Houston, the most lopsided home playoff loss in team history.

There were chants of “Fire Tomlin!” as the clock kicked toward zero, though they weren’t nearly as impassioned as they were in late November while the Steelers were getting pushed around by Buffalo in a loss that dropped their record to 6-6.

Tomlin, as is his way, did his best to tune out the noise and his team responded, the way it seemingly always did during his tenure. Pittsburgh won four of its final five games, including a sweep of Baltimore that gave the club its first AFC North title since 2020.

The optimism, however, dimmed once the Texans asserted themselves. The NFL’s top-ranked defense suffocated Aaron Rodgers and Pittsburgh’s offense while the league’s highest-paid defense wilted late.

It was a familiar and frustrating pattern for a place where, as Tomlin noted not long after his introduction, “the standard is the standard.”

And while that remains the case for a team whose members walk by six Lombardi Trophies every day on its way to work, the results had plateaued. The Steelers finished with 9 or 10 wins in each of Tomlin’s final five seasons, often doing just enough to squeak into the playoffs before being exposed by a more talented opponent.

Tomlin had two years left on the contract extension he signed in 2024, with the club holding the option for 2027.

His departure leaves the Steelers looking for a head coach for just the third time since they hired Noll in 1969.

AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/nfl