Mike Tomlin coached hundreds of players during his 19 seasons as head coach of the Pittsburgh Steelers. So the news of his departure from the team on Tuesday caused a stir among some of those players.

Here’s what they, and prominent media members, had to say on social media:

Former safety Ryan Clark, who played for the Steelers from 2006-13 and now serves as an NFL analyst, said watching the Steelers and Ravens next year would remind him of “Stranger Things.”

“Watching Baltimore vs Pittsburgh will feel like the upside down next year,” he wrote on X.

Former offensive lineman Trai Essex, who played for the Steelers from 2005-11, said the move didn’t surprise him, but it still left him in shock.

“Holy (expletive). It happened,” Essex wrote on X. “Not gonna lie, as much as I’m not surprised that it happened, I’m still in shock.”

On The Snap Count podcast, former Steelers quarterback Charlie Batch said he had believed Tomlin would be back next season.

“I truly didn’t feel that the Rooneys, or at least their history is that they don’t fire coaches and allow them to sit home and collect checks,” Batch said. “They just don’t do that.”

Former cornerback Bryant McFadden, who played for the Steelers from 2005-08 and 2010-11, called it a sad day and said his group chat with other former Steelers is “going crazy.”

“Clearly he felt like he needed to refresh and do something different,” McFadden said.

Former wide receiver Antonio Brown, who played for the Steelers from 2010-18, predicted a new job — within the AFC North — for Tomlin.

NFL Network’s Rich Eisen, a noted fan of Tomlin, lauded what Tomlin meant to the Steelers organization.

“You know how I feel about Mike Tomlin. The number of times that I’ve caped for this man and hearing from Pittsburgh, Pa., that he should be gone, it’s time, his time has run its course, it’s over — you’ve now gotten what you want,” Eisen said. “And same thing with Ravens fans. Unbelievably that that game between the Ravens and the Steelers, both coaches that we were wondering if they would be back, now neither of them are.”

FS1 commentator Colin Cowherd predicted former Browns coach Kevin Stefanski would be the next coach of the Steelers, but agreed with Tomlin’s decision to part way with the Steelers.

“I think it’s time,” he said. “I think Pittsburgh needs a reset as an organization.”

ESPN insider Adam Schefter doesn’t think Tomlin will be coaching anytime soon.

“My sense is that he is going to go into television, that there’ll be any number of opportunities that await him,” Schefter said on ESPN.

ESPN’s Pat McAfee, a Plum native and former Indianapolis Colts punter, called it a new era for Pittsburgh.

“In Pittsburgh, this is wild to think about,” McAfee said.