If history is any indication, the next coach of the Pittsburgh Steelers will be a rising star as an NFL assistant, a candidate who is in his mid-30s, and someone who can grow into the job and polish an unproven track record.
Those qualifications describe Chuck Noll, Bill Cowher and Mike Tomlin, the only head coaches the Steelers have employed since 1969.
The Steelers have just their fourth vacancy at the position since the first week of Richard Nixon’s presidency after Tomlin told team president Art Rooney II on Tuesday that he was stepping down after 19 seasons. The announcement came about 12 hours after the Steelers were ousted from the playoffs in the wild-card round by the Houston Texans, 30-6.
Tomlin, 53, had two years remaining on his contract. He did not indicate in a statement released by the team whether he intends to coach elsewhere immediately or take time off to analyze his opportunities. The Steelers would be entitled to receive compensation if Tomlin returns to the NFL ranks within the next two years.
“While this chapter comes to a close, my respect and love for the Pittsburgh Steelers will never change,” Tomlin said in his statement. “I am excited for what the future holds for this organization, and I will forever be grateful for my time coaching in Pittsburgh.”
Tomlin became the youngest coach to win a Super Bowl championship in his second season with the Steelers and coached in another, but his tenure ended with a seven-game postseason losing streak. He also had nine one-and-done appearances in the postseason, the most in NFL history.
Rooney used the word “grateful” in talking about Tomlin, recognizing the “hard work, dedication and success we have shared over the last 19 years.”
Tomlin never had a losing season, prompting Rooney to say that streak “will likely never be duplicated.”
Rooney will be tasked with finding Tomlin’s replacement, and he will do so without the guidance of his late father, Dan Rooney, who was instrumental in hiring Tomlin, then an unknown Minnesota Vikings defensive coordinator, in 2007. Tomlin was 34 years old when he joined the Steelers, following a trend established when Dan Rooney hired the 37-year-old Noll in 1969 and the 34-year-old Cowher in 1992.
All three coaches brought Lombardi Trophies to the organization. Cowher and Tomlin accounted for one each after Noll won a championship four times in a six-season span in the 1970s. Tomlin tied Noll for ninth on the all-time coaching wins list with 193, trailing two of his coaching contemporaries in Bill Belichick (302) and Andy Reid (279).
“A common denominator from Chuck to me to Mike is we were never that close as friends,” Cowher said in an interview Tuesday with SiriusXM. “We didn’t share information on how we did things. We did things our own way. It’s a credit to the Rooneys. They embraced a new style. They embraced a fresh voice. They embraced doing things the Pittsburgh way but doing it with a different style, a different flair with each individual who took over.”
Tomlin matched Noll’s franchise record of 193 victories in the regular season, although he accomplished the feat in four fewer seasons. Of the 309 games Tomlin coached for the Steelers, only one came with the Steelers already having been eliminated from playoff contention.
Noll never coached again after leaving the Steelers following the 1991 season, and Cowher never returned to the NFL after exiting in 2007 following a 15-year run. Cowher doesn’t think Tomlin will follow that trend.
“Whether he takes a year off or goes into TV, Mike will get back into coaching,” Cowher said. “It’s in his DNA.”
Tomlin’s resignation is part of a major changing of the guard in the AFC North. The Baltimore Ravens are looking for a new coach after John Harbaugh was let go after 18 seasons, and the Cleveland Browns fired Kevin Stefanski after six seasons.