Mike Tomlin’s breaking point in Pittsburgh, Brian Flores’ candidacy as Steelers’ next coach
“We need volunteers, not hostages.”
That was Mike Tomlin in 2018, discussing Le’Veon Bell’s holdout. Seven years and zero playoff wins later, it became fair to wonder whether Tomlin’s success was itself holding Pittsburgh hostage.
Annually among the top coaches in the NFLPA’s report cards, stories of Tomlin’s leadership are legendary. He was the coach everyone wanted to play for, and his Steelers teams were always competitive.
But did his standards become limiting? This season, they led to a playoff appearance and immediate loss. Again. After seven consecutive postseason losses, both Tomlin and Pittsburgh needed fresh starts. In my colleague Mike DeFabo’s story on the move, he explains the breaking point:
💬 “It came in Week 13 of this season. During a blowout loss to the Bills in November, fans chanted, ‘Fire Tomlin.’ The coach has heard calls for his job before, but never like this inside his own stadium.
“Several prominent Steelers also came forward, suggesting it was time for Tomlin to move on, including James Harrison, Ryan Clark and even Ben Roethlisberger.”
His exit isn’t exactly shocking, but it is startling. Tomlin is a giant in NFL history, and it’s often difficult to replace such long-tenured coaches.
An unconventional hire, Tomlin was 34 years old when, after just one year as the Vikings’ defensive coordinator, he replaced Bill Cowher. There are two chapters to Tomlin’s story in Pittsburgh.
2007-2016: He went 55-25 across his first five seasons with the Steelers. That led to two Super Bowl appearances and a title in 2008; then 36, he was the youngest coach to win a Super Bowl. Things tapered off, though in 2016, Pittsburgh was one win from reaching another Super Bowl.
2017-2025: Nada. Since that 2016 run, the Browns have more playoff wins than Pittsburgh. You read that right. The Steelers have the league’s sixth-best regular-season record (90-57-2) but the worst playoff mark (0-6).
Could the Steelers again turn to Minnesota, where defensive coordinator Brian Flores is an obvious candidate? More on that below.
Coaching cycle: Flores worth another shot?
This NFL coaching cycle has been a blitz of firings. No candidate is better versed in that chaos than Flores, the architect of a magical, terrorizing defense in Minnesota.
He actually might be the ideal candidate, too. A 2010 story outlined four characteristics of successful NFL head-coaching hires, based on findings by the league and independent researchers.
Flores checks all of that study’s boxes. He’s in his 40s (44), has at least 11 years of NFL experience (22), was an assistant on a team that won at least 50 games over five years (2000s Patriots) and had only one previous head-coaching gig (Dolphins, with two winning seasons in three years).
It makes sense! As the author of that story, Seth Wickersham, noted, “many once-over retreads will identify the external pitfalls that contributed to their firing while addressing the personal traits that caused them to fail.”
That’s exactly Flores. His tenure in Miami didn’t end well, but he’s since studied under Tomlin and Vikings coach Kevin O’Connell, both lauded for positive cultures.
Yet only one team has announced it interviewed Flores for a head-coaching role (Baltimore, though as suggested above, I’d expect Pittsburgh is interested). Here’s a tracker of just the retreads, after yesterday’s look at potential first-timers:
Flores joins several other once-overs in this hiring cycle, with only Raheem Morris and Mike McCarthy having had multiple head-coaching gigs.
As for Tomlin, he has plenty of TV options (to participate in, not necessarily to watch) while the Steelers maintain his coaching rights until the end of 2027, since they didn’t fire him. Over to Mike Sando for a quick look at Tomlin’s legacy.
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Sando’s Pick: Is Tomlin a Hall of Famer?
His resignation from the Steelers makes him eligible for the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2027, unless he returns to an NFL sideline before then.
Does he have a strong chance? He once did, but he might not now. That actually has nothing to do with anything that transpired on the field in recent seasons.
Tomlin is tied for ninth on the all-time regular-season wins list and has won a Super Bowl. That historically would put him in strong position for a gold jacket.
But the Hall raised the bar for enshrinement in August 2024, making it tougher for coaches to earn entry. Before that change, coaching candidates such as Tom Flores and Dick Vermeil made it in. Since the change, we’ve seen Mike Holmgren, Mike Shanahan, Tom Coughlin and others fall short, at least for now.
Tomlin never had a losing season, winning at a rate (.628) better than Tom Landry or Chuck Noll, among others. He was a model of consistency, by all accounts a great leader and a perfect Steeler.
But there are some warts that could complicate his chances. His postseason results were subpar. He did not call plays, innovate with scheme or produce a meaningful coaching tree to expand his impact on the game beyond the 412 area code.
Tomlin still might deserve a bust in Canton, but the current rules for enshrinement mean any candidate with drawbacks can be more vulnerable than before.
Back to you, Jacob.
Extra Points
👋 OCs fired. The Eagles moved on from Kevin Patullo yesterday, and Zach Berman shared 12 potential replacements. In L.A., the Chargers parted ways with Greg Roman and now need to modernize the offense, writes Daniel Popper.
🏈 Sam Darnold’s immediate success has been an understated part of the Seahawks’ record-setting season, which saw Seattle post the most regular-season points in franchise history.
🏆 Sean Payton is chasing history in Denver, where he could become the first coach to ever win Super Bowls with two different franchises. Nick Kosmider explores how Payton’s done it.
▶️ Yesterday’s most-clicked: I didn’t want it to end. But it’s over.
After six consecutive days of the Colts in punt formation on first down, we have a new champion: Michael Silver’s story on Aaron Rodgers’ passionate defense of Matt LaFleur, which left Green Bay’s coach speechless.
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