On Tuesday afternoon, the Pittsburgh Steelers dropped a bombshell on the NFL when it was announced that head coach Mike Tomlin was stepping down after 19 seasons.
"After a historic 19-season run in Pittsburgh, Mike Tomlin just informed his team that he is stepping down as the Steelers head coach, sources tell Jeremy Fowler and me," Adam Schefter reports. "The Steelers now will be looking for only their fourth head coach since 1969."
It is unknown whether or not Tomlin will join fellow former AFC North head coaches Kevin Stefanski and John Harbaugh in the head coaching market to seek out a job for 2026. If he doesn't, then he will immediately become the top candidate in the 2027 pool, which is where a team like the New York Jets becomes one to circle if they move on from Aaron Glenn. However, the Washington Commanders are certainly a team to keep an eye on.
Will the Washington Commanders make a move for Mike Tomlin?
Should the Commanders have another down season, it feels very likely that they would move on from Dan Quinn. Quinn moved on from both offensive coordinator Kliff Kingsbury and defensive coordinator Joe Whitt, which was reported by Jordan Schultz may not have been of his own choosing.
"Part of the issue the Commanders have had in the building is the front office meddling with the coaching staff on personnel and which players to use — an ongoing problem dating back to 2024 when they were having success," Schultz reports on X. "With the team struggling this year, it reached new heights and there were notable disagreements. Moreover, I have not gotten the impression Dan Quinn wanted to move on from his coordinators."
If that is the case, that means the pressure is on Quinn from general manager Adam Peters, and potentially from owner Josh Harris. So should the Commanders miss out on the postseason for a second straight season, it's likely that Quinn will be let go, which would open the door for Tomlin.
Some may ask why Tomlin would have interest in the Commanders job. Well, for starters, he is from the area. He went to high school in Newport News, Virginia, and his son went to college at the University of Maryland. On top of that, the Commanders have a franchise quarterback in Jayden Daniels, something that many defenders of Tomlin have argued has been the one missing link in Pittsburgh preventing them from being true contenders since Ben Roethlisberger retired.
With those two major factors in mind, don't be surprised if a year from now we are talking about Mike Tomlin as the new head coach of the Washington Commanders.
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