Mike Tomlin’s final meeting with the Steelers felt like a ‘funeral,’ per staffer

It just so happens that Mike Tomlin’s final game as the Pittsburgh Steelers’ head coach was the team’s playoff loss to the Houston Texans on Jan. 12. Not long after Pittsburgh’s 2025 season ended with a blowout loss, the team’s longtime leader from the sidelines decided to step down following 19 seasons in the role.

Tomlin had his final team meeting with the Steelers this week to announce his decision. Although the emotional meeting ended with a standing ovation, one source close to the team described the atmosphere of the meeting as extremely somber. The source, a staff member for Pittsburgh, likened the meeting to a “funeral” and admitted to shedding a tear during it.

“It felt like a funeral,” the staff member said, per The Athletic. “I teared up. It’s like finding out your dad died.”

Tomlin is arguably the most successful head coach in the history of the Steelers organization. Across his stint leading the team that lasted nearly two decades, Pittsburgh never posted a losing season and qualified for the playoffs in all but six seasons. Not only that, but he coached the Steelers to a Super Bowl title all the way back in the 2008 campaign.

In light of Tomlin’s decision to step down, the Steelers have joined several teams that are looking for new head coaches on the open market. It’s still early on in Pittsburgh’s hiring process, and a legitimate leading candidate has yet to emerge, but the franchise certainly knows that it has big shoes to fill.

While the Steelers are busy looking for Tomlin’s successor, the former Steelers head coach’s future in the league is looking pretty murky. ESPN’s Adam Schefter has reported that Tomlin isn’t expected to coach elsewhere during the 2026 season, but that doesn’t mean won’t become a head coach again later down the line.

Tomlin’s NFL future and the Steelers’ ongoing hunt for a head coach both mark two of the more notable offseason storylines for fans of the team to follow. Hopefully for folks in Pittsburgh, the Steelers will continue to be a perennial playoff squad in the AFC North even with a new face patrolling the sidelines in the future.