Long-time Steelers coach Mike Tomlin will be in Seattle on Wednesday night, for the first regular-season game of the 2026 NFL campaign. After the 272nd contest concludes, the coaching carousel will hit top gear. And Tomlin likely will be in position to take any available job he wants.<\/p>\n
Will he return to coaching?<\/p>\n
\u201cNever say never,\u201d Tomlin recently told NBC\u2019s Cris Collinsworth, via Nick Kosko of On3.com.<\/p>\n
Here\u2019s the full quote: \u201cIt\u2019s certainly not a 32-team league for me, but I\u2019ve also learned to never say never<\/a>. I love to coach. I love all the challenges of the profession. I love to be a part of growth and development of young people individually. I love the measurement of the seven-day cycle, but also have enjoyed, man, the last six months life on this other side that I had no idea about.\u201d<\/p>\n One month ago today, Tomlin and Collinsworth discussed a potential return to coaching during the Hall of Fame game. <\/p>\n \u201cI haven\u2019t thought a whole lot about it yet, because I don\u2019t feel like I\u2019m missing anything yet,\u201d Tomlin said at the time. \u201cYou know, when those regular-season balls start snapping, that\u2019s when I\u2019ll start, you know, getting a little twitch a little bit<\/a>.\u201d<\/p>\n Tomlin will be present when the first regular-season balls start snapping. He\u2019ll know whether he misses it enough to return. And he\u2019ll surely be hearing about potential 2027 opportunities through the backchannels.<\/p>\n