“Why Didn’t He Give a Final Press Conference?”: Fans Get Skeptical on Mike Tomlin’s Silent Exit From the Steelers

When Mike Tomlin decided to step down as the Pittsburgh Steelers head coach after the regular season, it stunned everyone inside and outside of the locker room. Even the team’s owner, Art Rooney II, was in disbelief upon hearing the news. He said at the time that he was still open to giving another year with Tomlin at the helm. But now, he and the GM are getting ready to conduct a coaching search for the first time in nearly 20 years.

The more time that goes on, though, fans are beginning to question the way Tomlin left. Most notably, he did not give a final press conference to the media which is sticking out. Especailly because it’s something that the other two great head coaches in the franchise’s history did do after departing. 

With that in mind, a Steeler faithful tweeted, “Mike Tomlin wasn’t fired. He didn’t leave on bad terms. Why didn’t he give a final press conference?? Noll did. Cohwer did.”

It was an interesting thing to point out, and one that not many others have given much thought to. Traditionally, NFL head coaches give the media a final press conference when they’re leaving a team. They answer a wide array of questions, clearing the air on what’s happening and sometimes hinting at where they might go or what they’ll do next.

Tomlin, however, did not hold a final press conference. Naturally, this has stirred up controversy and questions among the Pittsburgh fanbase. Why would their legendary coach, who never had a losing season, leave without a message to the fans?

Well, some fans on social media feel Tomlin doesn’t owe anything to a fanbase that was practically begging him to leave.

“Why would he want to give a press conference when the fan Base chanted- fire him?” one questioned.

“Probably because he feels he doesn’t owe anyone an explanation as to why now. When fans chant ‘Fire Tomlin’ and are constantly saying to replace you on social media platforms, doing a press conference to talk about stepping down is like giving all of those people satisfaction and glory,” another pointed out.

“Because the fans turned on him. Not hard to figure out,” someone else noted. Comments flooded the post in defense of Tomlin. 

There were no cameras that made their way into the locker room when Tomlin delivered his goodbye speech to the team. We know from some sources close to them that he took full responsibility for the club’s failures this season. He also said that they “deserved better” and referenced the hit series Game of Thrones to articulate the cut-throat nature of coaching in the NFL.  

At the end of the day, it’s not against the law for a coach not to give a final press conference. This was most likely an emotional decision for Tomlin, and perhaps, he didn’t want that emotion to spill over for the world to see. Now, he gets to leave on his own terms, which is how it should be. 

Just because Chuck Noll and Bill Cowher gave final press conferences doesn’t mean that Tomlin has to. Especially given the circumstances, the fanbase should know that he’s tired of sitting in front of a camera, saying something, and getting criticized heavily for everything that he says. 

Even when Tomlin doesn’t say something, he gets criticized. It’s an unfair, toxic relationship, and he was right to leave them in the dust.