Ever since he voluntarily stepped down as head coach of the Pittsburgh Steelers in January, speculation has hovered over the status of Mike Tomlin regarding whether or not he could eventually make a return to the sidelines.
Tomlin may have addressed such chatter via a significant career decision.
Mike Tomlin exploring career options away from the NFL?
On Tuesday afternoon, Ryan Glasspiegel and Michael McCarthy of Front Office Sports reported that longtime sports media agent Sandy Montag and fellow agent Alex Flanagan will represent Tomlin in talks with media outlets about potential broadcasting jobs. While this development doesn’t confirm that Tomlin is completely finished as an NFL head coach, it could indicate that he doesn’t plan to work for a single team anytime soon.
Back in January, Tampa Bay Buccaneers legend and Hall of Famer Ronde Barber revealed that he believed Tomlin “wants to be done” coaching and wasn’t simply taking a year off. In early February, NFL insider Jay Glazer of Fox Sports echoed Barber’s take.
Both Barber and Glazer are known to have close relationships with Tomlin.
Which NFL media partners could pursue Mike Tomlin?
A report from January claimed that Fox was “considered the favorite” to land Tomlin’s services if he decided to pursue a career as an NFL analyst. However, that was before it was learned that Hall of Fame Coach Tony Dungy will no longer be part of NBC’s “Football Night in America” program. Additionally, former quarterback Matt Ryan has left CBS to become the Atlanta Falcons’ president of football.
Back in February 2025, Andrew Marchand of The Athletic mentioned that Tomlin could eventually become “the next $100M NFL TV analyst.” It’s unclear exactly what he will be looking for from networks, but Glasspiegel and McCarthy shared that “Tomlin is expected to have multiple suitors.”
Tomlin and the Steelers agreed to a three-year contract extension that included a team option for 2027 in June 2024, so a different team would have to acquire his rights from Pittsburgh if he wanted to return to coaching. It now sounds like he has something else in mind for at least the 2026 season.