In the last 69 years, the Pittsburgh Steelers have had only six head coaches. It’s hard to imagine in relation to other teams in the NFL.
It’s easy when you think about the culture of the Pittsburgh Steelers and how the Rooney family’s mentality of sticking with the same coaches evolved when Chuck Noll became the head coach of the Steelers in 1969. With the turnover of NFL coaches in this recent era, the Pittsburgh Steelers have done things a little differently. From 1969 to January 2026, there have been only three head football coaches for Pittsburgh, that’s a 57-year span. Before 1969, there were three head coaches in 11 years: Buddy Parker, head coach from 1957-64; Mike Nixon, head coach 1965; Bill Austin, head coach from 1966-68; subsequently, the three coaches with the longest tenure with the Steelers are Chuck Noll, 1969-91, Bill Cowher, 1992-2007, and Mike Tomlin, 2007-26.
If you only knew the history mentioned above about the Pittsburgh Steelers, it’s reasonable to assume the organization has a unique philosophy when it comes to hiring talent to lead players on the field.
As of this writing, coach Mike Tomlin is no longer the head coach of the Pittsburgh Steelers. On January 13, 2026, Mike Tomlin stepped down after 19 seasons of coaching the Steelers. He exits Pittsburgh with 13 playoff berths and 8 AFC North wins. With the Week 18 win over Baltimore, Tomlin has tied the record with former coach Chuck Noll of 193 regular-season game wins. Tomlin’s resignation comes after a heartbreaking loss the night before on January 12, 2026. The matchup was a Monday Night Football Wild Card AFC playoff game against the Houston Texans. The Texans handily beat the Steelers 30-6.
The climate for a new coach in Pittsburgh seemed to have come to a frenzy in the weeks preceding Tomlin‘s resignation. It was common to see football fans on social media discussing Tomlin’s future at the end of the last few seasons. Tomlin’s fate has also been a subject of many conversations by broadcast sports analysts in recent weeks.
On a personal note, when you’ve lived in a city that has enjoyed the opportunity and accomplishment of gaining six Super Bowl Championships over the years, you come to expect the same level of excellence every year, whether it happens or not. Yes, we Steelers fans are a spoiled bunch. Two of the other major sports teams in the city (Penguins (hockey) and Pirates (baseball ) are no strangers to winning championships over their history. However, I’ll go out on a limb and say the Pittsburgh Steelers football organization is what makes Pittsburgh the most recognizable team in the sports world. Some will differ with my opinion.
The 2025-2026 season is not over as of this writing. There are still divisional playoff games to be played this coming weekend. The conference championships will follow those games, and finally, the big dance, the Super Bowl, on February 8th in Santa Clara, CA.
It’ll be interesting to see which two teams make it to the Super Bowl. The saying “any given Sunday” seems to hold true when it comes to football.
This piece started with news about Mike Tomlin, and I’ll end it here: “Coach Mike Tomlin, you showed us excellence in coaching, a unique way of voicing your summaries of gameplay with the interviewers (Tomlin-isms), seriousness, and a sense of humor. Coach, you leave this football fan with the feeling that your standard will be the standard wherever you land. I suspect the Pittsburgh fans will expect no less from the next coach who leads this organization.”
R.H.W. is a freelance writer and author of multi-genre publications, and a lifetime Pittsburgh Steelers fan.
R. H. W. Dorsey - Author / Novelist 
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