Mike Tomlin shocked the NFL world when he stepped down as the Pittsburgh Steelers head coach following the 2025 season. While there were rumors that Tomlin and the Steelers could part ways, it didn’t seem like a split was imminent. Even the Steelers were surprised. Tomlin didn’t have a goodbye press conference, either. In fact, he hasn’t talked publicly since leaving the Steelers. However, former Steelers wide receiver Nate Washington revealed that many people recently got a chance to talk to Tomlin.
“I’ll say this about Mike [Tomlin],” Washington said on the Bullseye View podcast. “We literally just had a Zoom call with Mike T with over 70 people on the Zoom call just to say thank you to Mike T. All individually. We sat on that phone for two hours, almost.
“That’s what type of, not only culture the Steelers have, but the man Mike T was. He touched a lot of lives. Not just young guys, but older guys as well. He’s a very inspirational person.”
It’s unclear who set that call up, but it goes to show just how respected Tomlin was. Many fans were frustrated with him during his final few years in Pittsburgh, mostly due to the team’s playoff struggles. However, Tomlin never lost his players’ faith in him.
Washington didn’t play for Tomlin for that long, either. He was with the Steelers from 2005 to 2008, so he only played under Tomlin for two seasons. Still, the former head coach impacted him so much that he had to take time to thank him.
Many current Steelers have described the moment that Tomlin told them that he was stepping down, and every account paints it as an incredibly sad picture. No one in the building wanted Tomlin to leave. However, he had been with the team for almost 20 years. Nobody stays in the NFL forever.
Tomlin stepped away on his own terms, and maybe one day he’ll return to coaching. It speaks to his character that so many people took time to individually thank him, though. He earned that kind of respect. Hopefully, that call showed him just how many lives he impacted.