Mike Tomlin has revealed he chose to leave the Pittsburgh Steelers after growing tired of the ‘loneliness’ that comes with being a head coach.
The 54-year-old called time on his iconic 19-year stint with Pittsburgh in January, waving goodbye to the team after their AFC Wild Card defeat to the Houston Texans.
On his way out, Tomlin paid tribute to ‘Steelers Nation’ in an emotional statement, albeit without going into any detail about why he made the decision to step down.
Now he has finally addressed his Steelers exit in his first appearance for NBC, having agreed to join the network’s flagship Sunday pregame show ‘Football Night in America’ this coming season.
‘It’s probably not an overnight decision, but it’s probably not something that I can articulate or share with people,’ Tomlin said when asked by host Maria Taylor about the moment he decided to leave Pittsburgh.
‘There is a loneliness with leadership. I just thought it was a good time for me personally, and by that I just mean where I am in life.
Mike Tomlin has finally revealed why he chose to leave the Pittsburgh Steelers in January
The 54-year-old discussed his Steelers exit during a Sunday night appearance on NBC
‘And I thought it was a good time for the organization, to be quite honest with you.’
Tomlin, who won a Super Bowl with the Steelers at the end of the 2008 season, ensured Pittsburgh never had a losing season while he was in charge. But the franchise enjoyed a frustrating lack of playoff success in recent years, last winning a postseason game in 2016.
The 30-6 defeat to the Texans meant they have now lost seven straight playoff games, the longest active streak in the league.
Tomlin went on to stress that some of his most senior players deserved to benefit from the ‘excitement and optimism’ that comes with a new coaching appointment.
‘We didn’t have a lot of success in the playoffs in recent years,’ he admitted. ‘There are some veteran players there, man, guys like Cam Heyward, TJ Watt, and [Chris] Boswell, man. I thought they were worthy of the excitement and optimism associated with new leadership.’
TV networks were scrambling to sign Tomlin when he announced his Steelers exit earlier this year.
Almost every station coveted him, but it has now been confirmed that he will be the lead analyst on NBC’s Football Night in America.
Tomlin is set to join host Taylor, former Dallas Cowboys head coach Jason Garrett and Devin McCourty in the studio before primetime ‘Sunday Night Football’ games.
Tomlin admits the ‘loneliness’ that comes with leadership contributed to his decision
The Steelers legend guided them to Super Bowl glory in 2008 but had enjoyed a frustrating lack of playoff success in recent years
Fox, who are paying Tom Brady $375million over 10 years to call games, reportedly showed interest in him as a replacement for Jimmy Johnson but NBC has been busy refreshing its roster this offseason.
The network is overhauling its pregame shows and parted ways with NFL legend Tony Dungy after 17 seasons on the air last month.
Tomlin has been replaced in Pittsburgh by Mike McCarthy, another Super Bowl-winning coach, and it still remains to be seen whether veteran quarterback Aaron Rodgers will be the team’s starting quarterback again next season.
Before leaving, Tomlin told his players he would be taking a break from coaching and, true to his word, he didn’t interview for a single opening in the NFL this offseason.
