Yankees' Aaron Boone in Same Hot Seat as Steelers, Ravens HCs

As the NFL regular season draws to a close, the fate of some long-standing leadership hangs in the balance. For New York Yankees fans, the story may sound familiar.

The Pittsburgh Steelers and Baltimore Ravens are preparing to face off in a winner-take-all Week 18 for the AFC North title, and their long-tenured head coaches (Mike Tomlin and John Harbaugh respectively) may be shown the door, depending on how the night shakes down. Tomlin has served as the Steelers' coach since 2007, Harbaugh has been the Ravens' since 2008.

In a comparison between the teams, The New York Post's Joel Sherman pointed out that being good enough for long enough might not, ultimately, be enough for any of these leaders, saying the same of Yankees manager Aaron Boone.

"The stability and accomplishments are stark," Sherman wrote. "Each has won a title, but for more than a decade now, the success has been limited to the regular season. The Steelers have not won a playoff game since January 2016 and the Ravens are 4-7 in the postseason with one conference championship trip since winning Super Bowl XLVII in February 2013."

"Remind you of any franchise that last won a title in 2009 and has since had terrific regular season success followed by postseason fizzles?"

But Are They Actually Going Anywhere?

Oct 3, 2025; Toronto, Ontario, Canada; New York Yankees manager Aaron Boone (17) watches his players during workouts at Rogers Centre. Mandatory Credit: Dan Hamilton-Imagn Images | Dan Hamilton-Imagn Images

Boone's tenure with the Yankees began in 2018, and he has since taken them to all but one postseason, with their first World Series appearance under his direction coming in 2024. Sherman compares the looming specter of Boone's contract ending -- in 2027 -- with the Black Monday phenomenon in football, but also insists that like the Steelers and Ravens' organizations, Hal Steinbrenner may choose the devil we know.

Despite fan speculation and hoping and wishing (not unlike the good people of New York), there has been no sign from the front offices in Baltimore or Pittsburgh that they are making any major staffing changes anytime soon.

The same mentality stands in the Bronx, where cooler heads appear to prevail, even as they get ready to field the same team they fell short with in 2025. Even as the Toronto Blue Jays pile onto their already just-short-of-championship team in their own AL East.

And maybe Sherman is right, maybe the battle for the AFC North will prove to be a kind of Groundhog Day moment in sports -- either signaling the possibility of a fresh start in the spring, or a promise that the same song will be on the radio in the morning.

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