Steelers Now
ESPN NFL insider Adam Schefter recently floated the idea that Mike Tomlin or John Harbaugh could take a TV job if they lose Sunday night’s win-or-go-home Week 18 game. Both coaches have received significant heat this season and in recent years, as expectations have not been reached.
“They will have a big say,” Schefter said of both Tomlin and Harbaugh’s futures. “One of them may go in there and say, ‘It’s been a great run. Might be time to go try something else.’ Whether that’s TV or another job somewhere else, like, those things are possible. They’re within the realm of possibility for the wide range of outcomes after Week 18.”
Peter Schrager thinks Tomlin would be a natural on TV.
“Having worked at Fox, having worked at NFL Network, and now here at ESPN, there’s a chair waiting … for Mike Tomlin to make a lot of money talking football if he so wishes,” Schrager said on the possibility of Tomlin taking a TV job.
"Having worked at Fox, having worked at NFL Network, and now here at ESPN, there's a chair waiting … for Mike Tomlin to make a lot of money talking football if he so wishes."
– Peter Schrager on the possibility of Mike Tomlin taking a TV job pic.twitter.com/EVR86anOMj
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) December 31, 2025
The Steelers won three straight games before Sunday’s embarrassing 13-6 loss to the Cleveland Browns. The Steelers also got destroyed 26-7 by the Buffalo Bills at Acrisure Stadium in Week 13. Things were so bad that”Fire Tomlin” chants erupted from the crowed during the game. The fans also booed “Renegade.”
Tomlin got the Steelers to a another winning season, but that means very little to the fanbasse. Steelers Nation is starving for a playoff win. The Steelers are currently on a eight-year playoff win drought. The longest playoff win drought since pre-1972.
The Steelers will have to make a decision this March about the future of Tomlin.
According to a report by Schefter, Tomlin’s contract extension with the team, a three-year deal he signed in 2024, is actually a two-year deal with an option for the 2027 season.
Furthermore, the Steelers will have to make a decision about whether to pick up that option next March.
Steelers president Art Rooney II is unlikely to unilaterally move on from Tomlin this offseason — the team hasn’t fired a head coach since 1968 — but the presence of his option coming due will present a challenging inflection point this offseason.
It was expected that Rooney would stick with Tomlin, even if he misses the playoffs or suffers his first losing season as a head coach, but he not only will have to make that decision, but whether or not to add another year to Tomlin’s contract this offseason.
Tomlin could also choose to walk away if he feels like he needs a change of scenery. Or maybe even a new career path in a TV role....
