Former Steelers coach Mike Tomlin ‘having the time of my life’ in retirement
On January 13, Tomlin surprised many when decided to resign after 19 seasons as head coach of the Pittsburgh Steelers. And although he has already been linked to possible future NFL head coaching vacancies, Tomlin appears to be quite happy with his new life.
“I’m having the time of my life to be honest with you,” Tomlin said on “The Dan Patrick Show.” “I’ve never had an August, man, since I was like 8. I’ve always been on a football team and in a camp-like environment of some kind.
“August was fantastic. I can’t wait to see what September will be like.”
Tomlin, 54, has stayed busy since stepping away from coaching. Shortly after leaving the Steelers, he was seen cheering on his daughter, Harley, who is a member of the Georgia gymnastics team.
In June, Tomlin was in Cooperstown to celebrate Andruw Jones’ induction into the National Baseball Hall of Fame. This fall he will begin his first season as an NFL analyst.
Tomlin stays busy, but he also makes sure to spend time relaxing and doing things that his training schedule had previously prevented him from doing. He told Patrick that he recently attended his first family reunion in almost 30 years.
“My pulse rate is a lot lower,” Tomlin said with a smile. “It’s crazy how quickly you can get used to relaxing. I’ve enjoyed 2026, man. The time off, having the opportunity to really focus on my well-being, getting in shape and things of that nature. When you run a football team and a football organization, sometimes you put yourself last, so it’s been nice to focus on some things like that and really have time to be present with my family and friends.”
At this point, Tomlin appears to be following in the footsteps of Bill Cowher, his predecessor in Pittsburgh. After a long and successful career coaching the Steelers, Cowher retired after 2006, quickly moved into broadcasting and never returned to the sideline despite receiving interest from teams over the years.
Tomlin’s legacy as an NFL coach is quite secure. Tomlin, a Super Bowl XLIII champion, ranks 10th all-time among NFL coaches in career wins (193) and 17th in career winning percentage (.628) for coaches who coached in at least 100 games. Tomlin’s 201 total wins are tied for 10th in NFL history. He is tied with Hall of Fame coach Chuck Noll for the most regular-season wins in Steelers history.
In 2008, Tomlin (36 years old at the time) became the youngest coach to win the Super Bowl. In 2010, Tomlin led the Steelers to another Super Bowl appearance. Tomlin also led the Steelers to eight division titles, 13 playoff appearances, 16 winning seasons and zero losing seasons.
However, Pittsburgh’s lack of playoff success in recent years was part of the reason Tomlin decided to walk away. The Steelers lost their last seven playoff games under Tomlin and have not won a playoff game since January 2017. Pittsburgh’s lack of stability at the quarterback position following Ben Roethlisberger’s retirement was a major reason for their recent postseason struggles.
Recent playoff woes aside, Tomlin’s tenure in Pittsburgh will undoubtedly garner Hall of Fame consideration at some point. Given some of the former coaches who have been brought in recently, it is very likely that Tomlin will join Cowher and some of his former teammates and players in Canton, Ohio, at some point down the road.
While his coaching future is unknown, Tomlin made it clear that he will continue to cheer on the Steelers, who will be coached this season by Mike McCarthy.
“I’m not going to kid myself. I’m going to root for those guys because that’s who I am,” Tomlin said of the Steelers. “I spent 19 years there. I was involved in drafting most of those guys, so when you have those close relationships, certainly that’s going to be a viewing component for me. I don’t know how much I’ll fight for that.”
