Ranking Steelers top coaching candidates after Mike Tomlin steps down

Mike Tomlin’s time in charge of the Pittsburgh Steelers has come to an end after 19 seasons.

Tomlin wasn’t fired. The team announced that the 53-year-old coaching veteran had decided to step down after the team’s 30-6 playoff loss to the Houston Texans.

‘Obviously, I am extremely grateful to Mike for all the hard work, dedication and success we have shared over the last 19 years,’ Steelers president Art Rooney II said in a statement. ‘It is hard for me to put into words the level of respect and appreciation I have for Coach Tomlin.’

Tomlin posted a 193-114-2 record across his 19 years with the Steelers and never had a losing season. He also led Pittsburgh to a Super Bowl 43 victory over the Arizona Cardinals, the sixth in franchise history.

However, the Steelers struggled for the better part of the decade to win playoff games. Pittsburgh’s last postseason victory came during the 2016-17 NFL playoffs and Tomlin closed his tenure losing seven consecutive postseason games with the Steelers.

Now, Pittsburgh will look to hire a new coach for just the fourth time since 1969. Who could they target? Here’s are some potential candidates for the Steelers to consider.

8 Steelers coaching replacement candidates for Mike Tomlin

Brian Flores, Minnesota Vikings defensive coordinator

The Steelers hired Tomlin after a brief defensive coordinator stint with the Vikings. Could they take a similar approach by targeting Flores?

Flores has ties to the Steelers after spending the 2022 NFL season on Tomlin’s staff as a linebackers coach. He is also coming off an impressive, three-year stint as the Vikings’ defensive coordinator, during which he turned Minnesota from a league-worst unit in 2022 into a defense that led the NFL in pressure rate (41.4%) during the 2025 season, per the NFL’s Next Gen Stats.

Flores has previous coaching experience, leading the Dolphins to a 24-25 mark during a three-year stint in Miami. That could help the 44-year-old live up to the pressure that will come with replacing Tomlin, who never had a losing season across 19 years with the Steelers.

John Harbaugh, former Baltimore Ravens head coach

Tomlin wasn’t the only long-time AFC North coach to leave his post during the offseason. Harbaugh was fired by the Ravens after 18 years, making the Super Bowl 47 champion one of the top coaching candidates of the 2026 cycle.

The Steelers are, obviously, intimately familiar with Harbaugh having faced him dozens of times while he was with the Ravens. If they are looking for a steady hand to guide the team in the post-Tomlin era, the 63-year-old would provide that, having posted a 180-113 record across his 18 years with the Ravens.

The bigger question is whether the Steelers would target a coach on the older side, like Harbaugh, or seek out a fresh, innovative offensive mind to jumpstart their stagnant offense.

Kevin Stefanski, former Cleveland Browns head coach

If the Steelers want younger, offensive minded coaches, they could turn to yet another former AFC North coach with whom they are familiar.

Stefanski posted just a 45-56 record across six seasons with the Browns, but he twice won the NFL’s Coach of the Year award. The 43-year-old led Cleveland to its first playoff win since the 1994 playoffs – which came against the Steelers in the 2020 NFL playoffs – and also led the Browns to the postseason in a 2023 campaign where the team started five different quarterbacks.

Stefanski is a respected offensive mind and could find more success in Pittsburgh, where his efforts to develop his offense wouldn’t be hamstrung by Deshaun Watson’s albatross contract.

Mike McDaniel, former Miami Dolphins head coach

McDaniel never quite got the Dolphins over the hump across his four seasons there. That said, he routinely schemed up quality offenses in Miami, sporting the league’s No. 1 passing attack with Tua Tagovailoa in 2023.

McDaniel would certainly help to modernize the Steelers’ offense, with his motion-heavy offense and creative play-calling. His reputation as a strong, run-game architect could appeal to a Pittsburgh organization that typically boasts a strong rushing attack.

Jesse Minter, Los Angeles Chargers defensive coordinator

The four retread candidates above could all interest the Steelers, but it’s worth noting their most recent hires – Bill Cowher and Mike Tomlin – were fresh faces. So, while the idea of hiring someone like Flores or Harbaugh or Stefanski could be appealing, history tells us Pittsburgh may go the coordinator route.

If they do, Minter would be a strong candidate. The 42-year-old has experience working for both John and Jim Harbaugh and has helped turn the Chargers defense into one of the league’s most consistent units.

The Chargers had the NFL’s No. 1 scoring defense in 2024, Minter’s first season with the team, and ranked eighth in defensive EPA per play this season, per the NFL’s Next Gen Stats. The Steelers could bring him aboard in the hopes he can mold Pittsburgh’s defense into a similarly elite unit.

Jeff Hafley, Green Bay Packers defensive coordinator

Hafley is another young, defensive-minded candidate the Steelers could consider. The 46-year-old has done well since taking over the Packers defense ahead of the 2024 NFL season, turning them into a rock-solid unit.

In 2025, Hafley seamlessly incorporating Micah Parsons into the team’s defense after trading for the star pass rusher on eve of the season. The Packers ranked ninth in pressure rate for the campaign, per the NFL’s Next Gen Stats, and the prospect of pairing him with T.J. Watt, Alex Highsmith and Nick Herbig could excite Pittsburgh’s brain trust.

Aden Durde, Seattle Seahawks defensive coordinator

Durde may not be a household name, but he could draw the attention of the Steelers after his two-year stint as Seattle’s defensive coordinator.

The Seahawks sported one of the NFL’s best defenses during the 2025 season. They ranked No. 2 overall in defensive EPA per play and fourth in pressure rate, per the NFL’s Next Gen Stats. The unit had three, All-Pro second-teamers under Durde’s watch – Ernest Jones IV, Leonard Williams and Devon Witherspoon – and the 46-year-old has done well to help develop and get the most out of Seattle’s talent.

Parsing out how much credit belongs to Durde and how much belongs to Mike Macdonald may be part of the process for those evaluating Durde, but he has drawn interviews this coaching cycle. The Steelers would be wise to kick the tires on the Englishman as they look for a successor to Tomlin.

Klint Kubiak, Seattle Seahawks offensive coordinator

The Steelers could also look at Kubiak, another up-and-coming coordinator for the Seahawks. The 38-year-old led Seattle to a top-three scoring offense in his first season with the team and helped Sam Darnold build upon his career-best 2024 season. Darnold became just the second quarterback in NFL history to win 14 games in back-to-back seasons, alongside Tom Brady.

Kubiak did similarly strong work with Derek Carr in 2024, so his track record developing quarterbacks is obviously impressive. He has also worked with Kyle Shanahan (2023) and is the son of Super Bowl-winning coach Gary Kubiak.