The Buffalo Bills’ sudden head coaching vacancy has sparked plenty of speculation, but one popular name can likely be crossed off the list: Mike Tomlin.
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Despite early buzz linking the longtime Steelers coach to Buffalo following Sean McDermott’s departure, multiple NFL insiders have poured cold water on the idea. According to Jay Glazer, Tomlin has no interest in returning to the sideline at all.
“No, that’s not happening. Mike T’s done. He’s done. He’s been done,” Glazer said Tuesday on Wake Up Barstool.
That sentiment was echoed by former Buccaneers defensive back Ronde Barber, a close friend of Tomlin’s, who revealed the coach privately indicated last year that the 2024 season would be his last.
“He told me, ‘I think this is my last year,’” Barber said. “I think he wants to be done.”
Mike Tomlin is reportedly “done” coaching and won’t come out of retirement, per @JayGlazer pic.twitter.com/p9pa5WZDDO
— Polymarket Football (@PolymarketBlitz) January 20, 2026
Even before the retirement rumors intensified, insiders questioned whether a Tomlin-to-Buffalo scenario ever made sense. Speaking on The Rich Eisen Show, Tom Pelissero laid out several major obstacles. First, the Rooney family’s willingness to trade Tomlin would be far from guaranteed. Then there’s Buffalo’s philosophical direction.
“Do the Bills want to go into the defensive-minded, 50-something-year-old coach bucket for a guy who… has not had as much success over the last nine years as Sean McDermott has?” Pelissero asked.
And even if those hurdles were somehow cleared, Pelissero noted the biggest question of all:
“The third part of it is whether Tomlin is willing to listen.” The answer, increasingly, appears to be no.
Steelers president Art Rooney II confirmed last week that Tomlin intends to spend time with his family and that coaching next season “doesn’t seem to be on his radar.”
Meanwhile, McDermott leaves behind a complicated legacy in Buffalo. While widely respected for building a consistent contender, reports have surfaced portraying a tightly controlled media environment inside the Bills’ facility. Longtime beat reporter Alex Brasky compared covering the team to “covering the Kremlin,” citing extreme restrictions, even over harmless photos.
For now, the Bills’ coaching search continues. And if insiders are to be believed, Mike Tomlin won’t be part of it. His chapter on the NFL sidelines appears closed.
