Cam Heyward Shares Emotional Response to Mike Tomlin Stepping Down As Steelers Coach

Mike Tomlin’s lengthy tenure as head coach of the Steelers came to an end after the team’s wild-card round defeat to the Texans. Tomlin had been at the helm in Pittsburgh since 2007, but despite multiple trips to the playoffs, the Steelers haven’t won a Super Bowl since his second season in charge back in ‘08.

Star defensive lineman Cam Heyward discussed the departure of the only head coach he’s played for in his 15-year career during an appearance on the Rich Eisen Show, and he opened up about the moment Tomlin informed the team he’d be stepping down.

“He starts talking and he says, ‘I think it’s time to step down.’ And I was like, ‘Did I just hear that right? Mike T’s about to step down?’ I think we were all just in shock by it. You could hear a pin drop [in the locker room]... I got a chance to talk to him after, and I just told him, ‘This shocked me.’ It happened so abrupt, I felt like I had failed him in that moment,” said Heyward. “We never got to reach the pinnacle of success like we’d always talked about.”

"It happened so abrupt, I felt like I had failed him in that moment. […] We never got to reach the pinnacle of success we talked about."

Steelers DL Cam Heyward recalls the moment that he found out Mike Tomlin was stepping down as their head coach 🏈

(via @RichEisenShow) pic.twitter.com/HPcZILagLF
— NFL on ESPN (@ESPNNFL) February 4, 2026

During Heyward’s 15 seasons with the Steelers, the team made the playoffs 10 times. Heyward was active for nine of those postseason runs, though Pittsburgh only managed to secure just a single playoff win in those games. The Steelers haven’t won a playoff game since 2015, and their lack of postseason success played a role in Tomlin’s departure––something it seems Heyward holds himself responsible for.

Heyward figures to return to the Steelers for one, potentially final, season in 2026. He’ll be on the final year of his contract and will carry a cap hit of $19.15 million. For the first time in his career, however, it won’t be Tomlin running the show in Pittsburgh. Instead, it’ll be veteran head coach and Pittsburgh native Mike McCarthy, who took over the reins following Tomlin’s exit.

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