Just a little while ago, the news that was largely unexpected finally dropped.

Mike Tomlin officially stepped down as the head coach of the Pittsburgh Steelers. He walked away from a job he held for 19 years, a place where he won a Super Bowl and made it to another. He’s leaving an organization where he has never had a losing season.

But, his legendary run ends on a miserable note. With an uninspired 30-6 loss last night, Tomlin tied the record for longest playoff losing streak at seven, and had suffered his ninth straight year without a playoff win.

It was a lack of postseason success that just simply could not continue anymore. And yet, it’s an absolute shock to the city that Tomlin actually will not coach the Steelers in 2026.

This decision is best for both sides.

For Tomlin, he got to leave on his own terms, and now he will get to explore whatever other opportunities he has an interest in. Wherever he goes, whether that’s tv (which looks more and more likely) or tries to coach somewhere else, he will be lauded as a hero.

For the Steelers, they now get a chance to finally breathe some fresh air into the organization. They now can finally unload the baggage of that non-losing streak Tomlin owned, and can overhaul their strategy that hasn’t worked for close to the decade.

Fans will largely celebrate this decision and dance in the streets at the prospect of a new coach, a new voice, and a new vision for their favorite football team. It’s a fair reaction for a team that has not seen even close to “the standard” in unacceptable amount of seasons.

It had to end.

In time, however, Tomlin’s time in Pittsburgh will be looked upon more favorably. It just needs time away to realize that. And that’s ok.

He gave the Steelers and their fans meaningful football week in and week out for almost two decades. All but one of the games he coached in the NFL mattered. He was a tremendous representative of the organization, of the city of Pittsburgh, and the sport of football.

Unfortunately for him, he had just run his course here. You could probably argue that over the last several years.

There’s a lot of unknowns for the Steelers as they head into their most important offseason in quite some time. The head coaching job in Pittsburgh instantly skyrocket to the top of the list among prospective head coaching candidates. The organization will have their pick of just about anyone they want.

But there’s only one thing I know for certain: the Steelers have to absolutely nail this next head coaching hire. You didn’t come this far, to only come this far.