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The Pittsburgh Steelers are going to be doing something this offseason that they have only done four times since 1969. They will be searching for a new head coach after HC Mike Tomlin announced that he’d be stepping down from the role. The team was already set to make a decision on Tomlin’s future this offseason.

Tomlin signed a four-year contract extension with the Steelers in 2023 and had a team option coming up. The team would have had to decide by March 1 if they’d extend that option so Tomlin would be a coach through 2027, or make 2026 his final year. Tomlin decided to save the Steelers from the stress and chose to step down.

Tomlin is expected to take a year off and do some television work. He already has multiple offers on the table, including ESPN/ABC, CBS, and FOX. Multiple reports expect this scenario to be similar to when the Saints traded HC Sean Payton to the Broncos a year after stepping away.

When Tomlin ultimately makes his return to the NFL, his resume is heavily extensive. During Tomlin’s 19-year tenure as the Steelers’ head coach, he always accomplished a winning season. Tomlin has a .628 winning percentage as the Pittsburgh head coach and won two AFC championships, including a Super Bowl in his second year as the Steelers’ HC at just 36 years old.

Tomlin was just 23 years old when he was selected as the VMI Keydets’ wide receivers coach. The Keydets are a military institution in Lexington, Virginia. From there, Tomlin went on to coach at Arkansas State, ultimately ending his college career at Cincinnati. A year after leaving Cincinnati, Tomlin got a call from Tony Dungy of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Dungy wanted Tomlin to be the defensive backs coach. This is where Mike Tomlin learned the famous Tampa 2 defense that he would later translate into the Steelers’ defense.

Tomlin spent five seasons as the Bucs’ DB coach, and during his tenure, the Bucs were never ranked worse than sixth overall. The Bucs also led the league in total defense in both 2002 and 2005. His performance in Tampa Bay raised eyebrows around the league, more specifically from Brad Childress. Childress selected Tomlin to be his defensive coordinator in 2006, and Tomlin’s age definitely showed. Two of the players on the Vikings were actually older than Tomlin. He had even played with S Darren Sharper during his time at William & Mary.

After his first season with the Vikings and the eighth-best overall defense in 2006, Tomlin started to get calls for interviews. These were not for vacant defensive coordinator positions, they were for head coach.

Two teams ended up calling Mike Tomlin and requesting interviews, the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Miami Dolphins.

Tomlin interviewed with both teams, and after Miami decided to hire Indiana HC Cam Cameron, the Steelers hired Tomlin, continuing the trend in Pittsburgh of signing young coaches. Two years later, the Pittsburgh Steelers went on to win a Super Bowl. A move that had raised eyebrows just two years prior left fans not even thinking twice. Tomlin was their guy.

As the years went on and the winning seasons rolled in, Tomlin further solidified his role in the league. He was named by multiple players as the coach they wanted to play for. He led the Steelers to the playoffs in 13 of his 19 seasons as head coach. But his .500 performances can only get you so far. We mentioned in our “Black Monday” article that Tomlin’s performance was evaluated before the season ended. The team has consistently been good enough to make the playoffs, but unfortunately has endured five wild-card exits in the last six seasons. This leads to mid-first-round draft picks and leaves Pittsburgh in an uncomfortable situation.

Ownership continued to ask themselves the same question every year. Do we overpay to move into a better pick in the draft, or continue to run it back each season and hope for the best?

Personally, I think it’s time for Pittsburgh to wipe the slate completely clean. Pittsburgh has had two full decades of enduring this mid-ceiling draft position with no real results to show for it. The winning seasons may help incentives and contract talks in the future. Unfortunately for Tomlin, most NFL fans probably won’t remember his career .628 winning percentage. They will remember the consistent seasons of taking Pittsburgh just far enough for a winning season, but with only one Super Bowl ring to show for it.

So what’s next for the Steelers now? As I mentioned, the door is wide open for them to really wipe the board clean. The quarterback position is wide open, positions will need to be filled across the roster, and a rebuild is imminent. The Steelers likely won’t start announcing their head coach interviews until tomorrow, but that doesn’t mean we can’t start linking some names.

In our “Black Monday” article, we linked Marcus Freeman to the Steelers. Now that some time has passed, and with the slew of available NFL head coaches and coordinators, I see that possibility as close to none. Freeman recently signed a deal that makes him one of the highest-paid coaches in the sport. Freeman has also mentioned publicly that he would be returning to Notre Dame in 2026.

Brian Flores is a name that I could see being requested for an interview as well. His creative mindset toward defense could help make the Steelers a serious contender with the right moves. Klint Kubiak is also a name that I’d like to see the Steelers consider. If the Steelers are seriously wiping the slate clean, they have the draft capital to trade up. The Steelers don’t really need a head coach, they need a coach who can help develop a rookie quarterback. With Kubiak’s offensive mindset, he may be the answer the Steelers are looking for. Most recently, Kubiak mentored Sam Darnold during his 2025 Pro Bowl season.

The Steelers will now move on after a 19-year tenure under Mike Tomlin. In a way, it feels like the Steelers were quietly preparing for this. They have 13 draft picks in the upcoming draft, including three in the third round, two in the fourth, three in the sixth, and two in the seventh. In 2027, the Steelers already have nine draft picks, slowly starting to stockpile assets.

They now obviously have the trade capital to make a move up far more enticing. They also have 18 contracts set to expire in 2027. Those names include Cameron Heyward, Joey Porter Jr., and Darnell Washington. I definitely wouldn’t rule out a possible scenario of Heyward being moved if it meant moving up in the draft or creating some extra cap space.

Currently, the Pittsburgh Steelers are heading into the 2026 offseason with about $65.43 million in cap space. Moving Heyward would also free up $19.15 million in cap space. If the Steelers went the route of trading Heyward, they’d likely want to get it done sooner rather than later. Heyward is set to receive a $12.95 million roster bonus due on the second league day of the year, which would only reduce by $875,000 if Heyward were to play less than 30 percent of the snaps.

Cap Space Before Heyward Trade: $65,434,982

Cap Space After Heyward Trade: $79,684,982

$4,900,000 dead cap applied due to trading Heyward before 6/1. Raises to $17,850,000 after 6/1.

Now, the only reason I see this as highly unlikely is that he’s a lifelong Steeler. Since 2011, Heyward has been a menace on the field. He has 92.0 career sacks, and I’d bet that he eclipses 100 sacks before he calls it a career. But we’ve also seen players who’ve spent their entire careers with one team be moved to create cap flexibility.

Regardless of the route that the Pittsburgh Steelers decide to take, the possibilities are endless. Will they hire another defensive-minded head coach, or switch it up with someone like Kubiak? Will the Steelers dip their toes into the idea of trading up for Fernando Mendoza? Do they explore the possibility of signing a free agent like Malik Willis, who showed promise in limited starts?

We can go on and on, but one thing is for certain: the Steelers are definitely a team you will want to watch this offseason

NOTE TO THE READER: Wanted to give a shoutout to @mrmcflurr on Real for giving us this idea for this article. There was tons of news going around today and he helped me choose one. If your on Real, make sure you send him 10,000 rax!