Why Mike Tomlin might need the Steelers to trade him if he wants to coach for another NFL team
Mike Tomlin voluntarily ended his 19-season run as Pittsburgh Steelers head coach on Tuesday. Tomlin made the decision after what he described in a statement as "much thought and reflection."
He decided to step down. The Steelers didn't fire him.
That distinction is important.
Tomlin, 53, has two years remaining on his contract, meaning that, since he resigned, the Steelers will retain his coaching rights. If Tomlin wants to coach for another NFL team before the end of the 2027 season — he reportedly does not plan to coach anywhere in 2026 — Pittsburgh has the right to seek compensation for him.
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Although Tomlin reportedly has a no-trade clause in his contract, the expectation is that he'd give the Steelers permission to send him to a team of his choice.
In exchange, the Steelers could receive compensation, similar to the way the Denver Broncos had to compensate the New Orleans Saints when they hired Sean Payton as head coach ahead of the 2023 season.
The Sean Payton tradeAt the end of January that year, the Saints dealt the rights to hire Payton and their 2024 third-round pick for the Broncos' 2023 first-round pick and 2024 second-round pick.
After the 2021 season came to an end in New Orleans, Payton stepped down from coaching the Saints. That marked the conclusion of his 16-season run with a franchise he helped revitalize. Under Payton, the Saints marched to the tune of nine playoff appearances and one Super Bowl victory.
He was 58 when he pressed pause on his coaching career. He was under contract through the 2024 season. So when the Broncos looked his way after Nathaniel Hackett's abysmal 4-11 stint, they had to get creative, especially because they were down draft picks due to the Russell Wilson trade.
Payton is now in his third season with the Broncos, who are the AFC's top seed in the playoffs. It seems like the year away from coaching did him well. He spent that time as an analyst for Fox Sports.
It's possible Tomlin also tries his hand at TV. In fact, Fox Sports, ESPN, NBC and CBS all will have interest in him, according to The Athletic's Andrew Marchand, who pointed out that Fox Sports has not replaced Jimmy Johnson on "Fox NFL Sunday," and that CBS' "NFL Today" just lost Matt Ryan to the Atlanta Falcons' president of football position.
Other times NFL coaches have been tradedThere have been six other head coaches dealt across the league since 1997.
1997: Bill Parcells traded from New England Patriots to New York Jets for a 1999 first-round pick, 1998 second-round pick and third- and fourth-round picks in the 1997 draft as well as a $300,000 donation to the Patriots' charitable foundation
1999: Mike Holmgren traded from Green Bay Packers to Seattle Seahawks for a 1999 second-round pick
2000: Bill Belichick, along with a 2001 fifth-round pick and a 2002 seventh-round pick, traded from Jets to Patriots for a 2000 first-round pick, 2001 fourth-round pick and 2001 seventh-round pick
2002: Jon Gruden traded from Oakland Raiders to Tampa Bay Buccaneers for two first-round picks (one in 2002 and one in 2003), two second-round picks (one in 2002 and 2004) and $8 million
2006: Herm Edwards traded from Jets to Kansas City Chiefs for 2006 fourth-round pick
2019: Bruce Arians, plus a 2019 seventh-round pick, traded from Arizona Cardinals to Buccaneers for 2019 sixth-round pick
These trades have fared well for the teams acquiring a new head coach. Gruden and Arians led the Bucs to Super Bowl wins. Belichick, of course, was an architect of a two-decade Patriots dynasty that featured Tom Brady and resulted in six Lombardi trophies. Holmgren's Seahawks made a Super Bowl appearance, too.
