Mike Tomlin steps down as Steelers head coach, What’s next for Aaron Rodgers? | The Insiders

What this episode is about

Mike Tomlin has stepped down as head coach of the Pittsburgh Steelers after 19 successful seasons, marking a significant change for the franchise as they prepare for a new leadership era. The discussion also includes the upcoming divisional playoff matches and an analysis of Aaron Rodgers' future and potential game scenarios.

Key takeaways

• Mike Tomlin leaves after 19 seasons—proof that sometimes even legends need a fresh start.
• In a league where losing streaks get coaches fired, Tomlin's zero losing seasons remains a rare gem.
• Change is scary: Tomlin's departure might shake the Steelers out of their 'neutral' gear.
• A high-profile exit sets the stage for the Steelers' future—who will fill Tomlin's oversized shoes?
• Could Tomlin’s 'resignation' be a strategic move? Think Sean Payton's tactical time out before a comeback.

Who speaks in this episode?

• Tom Pelissero (Host) · 10 min speaking
• Judy Battista (Guest) · 6 min speaking
• Mike Garafolo (Guest) · 5 min speaking
• Cameron Wolfe (Guest) · 3 min speaking
• Adam Rank (Guest) · 3 min speaking
• Mark Ross (Guest) · 3 min speaking
• Geoffrey Chideya (Guest) · 2 min speaking

What is discussed, and when

1. 0:00 – 5:00: Steelers, Art Rooney, Denver Broncos, NFL
2. 5:00 – 10:00: Steelers, Sean Payton, Chuck Noll, Denver Broncos
3. 10:00 – 15:00: Steelers, New England Patriots, Ravens, NFL
4. 15:00 – 20:00: Denver Broncos, Captain James Cook, Steelers, New England Patriots
5. 20:00 – 25:00: Eagles, Denver Broncos, Ravens, Atlanta Falcons
6. 25:00 – 30:00: Bears, Denver Broncos, Adam Rank, Bo Nix
7. 30:00 – 32:14: Steelers, Adam Rank, Eagles

Notable quotes from "Mike Tomlin steps down as Steelers head coach, What’s next for Aaron Rodgers? | The Insiders"

• Now and what's next for everyone involved? We will tell you everything we know tonight about a momentous day in the Steel City. Divisional playoff weekend is just four days…

  about Denver Broncos · at 0:20

• Card round. Huge news today out of Pittsburgh. It was always a possibility, but that did not make it any less shocking. Mike Tomlin informing players in a team meeting this…

  about Steelers · at 1:27

• Despite their long consistency under the Rooney family, may have to branch out a little bit, at least in terms of exactly what they're looking for as a head coach. Mark Baldy…

  about NFL · at 10:02

• On the road. And so they're taking that road show theirs that we all watched last night which in every single category they just slammed the Steelers. Now it sets up. The…

  about New England Patriots · at 14:42

• And not get a little bit more from your offense in these games coming up here. They have to get more from C.J. Stroud in that offense. All right. The Buffalo Bills had a huge…

  about Captain James Cook · at 17:51

• Like him to return. But Patullo and his family been through a lot this year. We talked about everything that happened at their house and all that stuff, so Patullo is gonna…

  about Eagles · at 22:34

• Number one seed not considered the favorite in this game. And some other guys were surprised to hear that today I saw one Talanoa Hufanga was we're we're the underdog. Yeah…

  about Cameron Wolfe · at 24:54

• Rodgers going to be after Mike Tomlin took himself out of Pittsburgh earlier today? Well, you know what? Here's the thing, Tom. I'm not sitting here with a wafted hair. So I'm…

  about Adam Rank · at 30:59

Who and what is mentioned in this episode?

People

• Art Rooney — Person · Referenced decision-maker · 4 mentions · first at 1:45
  As Steelers president, he issues the official statement and is framed as facing a rare, high-stakes head-coach hire.
  Make it any less shocking. Mike Tomlin informing players in a team meeting this afternoon. He has stepped down as head coach of the Steelers after 19 seasons. 193 wins, zero…
• Bo Nix — Person · Core topic · 3 mentions · first at 0:33
  Positioned as Josh Allen’s opponent; the show questions whether he can be consistent enough for Denver’s offense to complement its defense.
  Now and what's next for everyone involved? We will tell you everything we know tonight about a momentous day in the Steel City. Divisional playoff weekend is just four days…
• Adam Rank — Person · Guest analyst · 3 mentions · first at 0:43
  Provides comedic/pointed commentary on Bears momentum, Eagles dysfunction, and Steelers quarterback/coach needs after Tomlin’s departure.
• Cameron Wolfe — Person · Referenced expert · 2 mentions · first at 0:33
  Appears as an on-site reporter/analyst for Bills-Broncos, providing injury and matchup reporting around Josh Allen and Denver’s defense.
• Captain James Cook — Person · Supporting topic · 3 mentions · first at 18:02
  Raised as a key variable for Buffalo’s offense; analysts question whether the Bills can advance without more production from him.
• Ben Roethlisberger — Person · Referenced historical figure · 2 mentions · first at 3:22
  Cited as the last stable Steelers QB; his retirement is framed as a key driver of Pittsburgh’s recent stagnation and QB search.
  And so not only do they have to be able to find that guy right now, Mark, they have been searching for Ben Roethlisberger's replacement really since his decline, which was a…
• Chuck Noll — Person · Referenced historical figure · 3 mentions · first at 3:47
  Invoked as part of the Steelers’ coaching lineage and as a model for pairing a young defensive coach with a QB to grow together.
  Its life cycle, that it was maybe just time for a change, for everybody's sake, to sort of shake things up and try something different. This, though, is an inflection point for…
• Sean Payton — Person · Referenced precedent · 3 mentions · first at 5:26
  Used as the template for a coach stepping away and later returning via trade compensation; also tied to Broncos success.
  Least interested in Sean Payton that first year out. There was a lot of different things that went on, didn't end up happening. They end up giving up a first round pick for…
• Bill Cowher — Person · Referenced historical figure · 2 mentions · first at 3:52
  Cited in Steelers coaching continuity and as a precedent for hiring a young defensive first-time head coach.
  Of shake things up and try something different. This, though, is an inflection point for the Steelers. Mike Tomlin was Ambassador Dan Rooney's last hire. He hired Chuck Noll…
• Chris Shula — Person · Referenced candidate · 1 mention · first at 9:53
  Named as one of the few coaching candidates matching the Steelers’ historical preference (young, defensive, first-time HC).
  Defensive backgrounds, all first time head coaches. And if you look at the dozens of coaches so far in this cycle that have interviewed for jobs or gotten interview requests…
• Kelvin Shepherd — Person · Referenced candidate · 1 mention · first at 9:58
  Listed alongside Chris Shula as fitting the Steelers’ historical head-coach profile.
  Coaches so far in this cycle that have interviewed for jobs or gotten interview requests, there's only two who fit that profile. Chris Shula, the Rams defensive coordinator…
• Tom Landry — Person · Referenced historical comparator · 1 mention · first at 6:40
  Used to contextualize Tomlin’s streak of non-losing seasons against an NFL historical record.
  Seed and has the Broncos in position to make a playoff run. Of course, for Mike Tomlin, one of the hallmarks of his tenure was the number of Non-losing seasons, 19 in a row.…

Companies & orgs

• Steelers — Company · Core topic · 20 mentions · first at 0:14
  Used interchangeably with 'Pittsburgh Steelers' throughout the episode in the Tomlin resignation and playoff elimination discussion.
• Denver Broncos — Company · Core topic · 6 mentions · first at 0:33
  Discussed as the AFC #1 seed hosting Buffalo, with emphasis on their sack-leading defense and Bo Nix’s inconsistency.
• New England Patriots — Company · Core topic · 3 mentions · first at 11:47
  Discussed as Houston’s divisional-round opponent, highlighted for a disruptive defense and Drake Maye’s playoff performance concerns.
• NFL — Company · Contextual frame · 2 mentions · first at 1:11
  Provides the league-wide context: coaching carousel, playoff weekend, and comparisons of historical coaching records.
• Bears — Company · Core topic (secondary) · 3 mentions · first at 0:49
  Discussed via Adam Rank’s segment focusing on Chicago’s comeback win, beating the Packers, and upcoming Rams matchup.
  Going to be at that game in Denver. But first cam will be here tonight to help us break down the battle for a spot in the AFC Championship game. We'll also get a visit from…
• Eagles — Company · Secondary topic · 4 mentions · first at 22:06
  Covered in the coaching/OC changes segment and Adam Rank’s commentary about fan frustration and offensive leadership.
• Ravens — Company · Secondary topic · 3 mentions · first at 10:16
  Mentioned as having a coaching change and as the top-ranked vacancy due to Lamar Jackson; also referenced in Greg Roman context.
  Coaching searches as well. Judy, that is over a quarter of the league currently looking for a new head coach. You've been ranking those vacancies over at NFL.com. Where's the…
• Atlanta Falcons — Company · Secondary topic · 1 mention · first at 23:31
  Mentioned in a front-office news item: Matt Ryan introduced as 'president of football' overseeing coaching/GM structure.
  None of that mattered in the end. Jim Harbaugh making a major change. Judy. This got lost in this crazy day. But Matt Ryan was introduced as the president of football for the…

Places & events

• Seattle — Place · Game setting · 3 mentions · first at 12:02
  Referenced as part of the divisional schedule (Niners at Seahawks / Seattle Seahawks).
  It again against the Patriots on Sunday? That is just part of the four games coming up on divisional playoff weekend. We got the Bills and Broncos on CBS and Paramount Plus 40…
• Los Angeles — Place · Contextual reference · 1 mention · first at 22:55
  Referenced as 'LA' in the Chargers’ wildcard loss and staff firings.
  For a new offensive coordinator. Jalen hurts is going to get another one again. Tom. The Chargers did fire their offensive coordinator Greg Roman, as well as their offensive…

Full transcript with timestamps

0:08 For the first time in 19 years, and just the fourth time since the moon landing, the Pittsburgh Steelers are about to have a new head coach. But why did Mike Tomlin step down now and what's next for everyone involved? We will tell you everything we know tonight about a momentous day in the Steel City. Divisional playoff weekend is just four days away, and it all kicks off Saturday afternoon with Josh Allen versus Bo Nix. Cameron Wolfe is going to be at that game in Denver. But first cam will be here tonight to help us break down the battle for a spot in the AFC Championship game. We'll also get a visit from Adam Rank who, wherever he is, is still flying high off that latest bears comeback win. Rank has thoughts he always does on a wild week that was, and whether Caleb Williams can keep it rolling against the Rams. Welcome inside with the insiders presented by Progressive Insurance alongside Judy Battista and Mike Garafolo. I am Tom Pelissero. We got four

1:11 divisional playoff games coming up on what many believe is the best weekend that you get in pro football all year long, all year long. We will get to all four of those games throughout the course of the next hour, but we start with the last team that was eliminated in the wild card round. Huge news today out of Pittsburgh. It was always a possibility, but that did not make it any less shocking. Mike Tomlin informing players in a team meeting this afternoon. He has stepped down as head coach of the Steelers after 19 seasons. 193 wins, zero losing seasons and one Lombardi Trophy. Art Rooney, the Steelers president, put out a statement saying in part that obviously, I'm extremely grateful to Mike for all the hard work, dedication and success we have shared over the last 19 years. It's hard for me to put into words the level of respect and appreciation I have for Coach Tomlin. Tomlin also put out a

2:06 statement in which he did not address his immediate future, which sounds like at this point it's at least somewhat undecided. But announcing formally, after much thought and reflection, I have decided to step down as head coach of the Pittsburgh Steelers. Judy, you have covered that franchise for a very long time. You know exactly how rare it is for major upheaval at the top. Put in perspective for me what a day like this means in the storied history of the Pittsburgh Steelers. It is a seismic upheaval for the Pittsburgh Steelers. Not really just the Steelers for the entire NFL. I mean, Mike Tomlin was in that job for 19 seasons and never had a losing season. Even Art Rooney, in his statement today said that is a feat that is unlikely to be duplicated. Having said that, it feels like they had been stuck in neutral the last few years. They went. They won the Super Bowl. In Tomlin's second season as the head coach in Pittsburgh. They went to

3:07 another Super Bowl in his fourth season. They've been to the playoffs a bunch. Of course, he never had a losing season, but they haven't been able to get over the hump. They went to the playoffs in five of the last six years and haven't won a playoff game. A large part of that we can get into it is the quarterback situation. Ever since Ben Roethlisberger retires, they have been sort of shifting through quarterbacks trying to find the answer. And it feels like this much like the situation in Baltimore sort of reached the natural end of its life cycle, that it was maybe just time for a change, for everybody's sake, to sort of shake things up and try something different. This, though, is an inflection point for the Steelers. Mike Tomlin was Ambassador Dan Rooney's last hire. He hired Chuck Noll, he hired Bill Cowher, he hired Mike Tomlin. So this is Art Rooney, the second first time having to hire a head coach. He's got enormous shoes to fill. Mike Tomlin is woven into the

4:04 fabric of that franchise and is the face of that franchise more than any other current coach is in the NFL with his franchise. He was loved by players. Players were very loyal to him. This is a covetable job, but a very, very difficult guy to follow in the job. We haven't heard from Mike Tomlin. There are 56 minutes remaining in the program. Mike, if you want to join us, you are more than welcome. But that is a key part of this because we need the clarification on whether he stepped down from his job with the Steelers because he's out of gas. He needs a blow. He needs a gap year. He needs to go into broadcasting, maybe see if he wants to do that or if it if this is in his mind, like the end of the road with the Steelers. Like we were just stuck in neutral and not going anywhere. And part of the problem for why they've been stuck in neutral is that Mike Tomlin is too good of a coach.

4:58 You've got to be really bad at some point to get a high draft pick, to put yourself in a position to get a quarterback. The Steelers, meanwhile, have tried the likes of Aaron Rodgers and Kenny Pickett and Mitchell Trubisky, and it just hasn't worked out. Now in the hands of others, would have worked out a lot worse. But Mike Tomlin had them in the playoff mix if not in the playoffs every single year, which makes him an attractive coach for other teams. If you want him to be your coach this year or even next year, and he takes a break a la Sean Payton, you're going to have to give the Steelers some draft pick compensation because he resigned. He was not fired. They still hold his rights in this case. So let's see where this goes the next couple of years. Tom's right. Does sound at least a little bit undecided. Like Mike Tomlin is going to take a step back here over the next couple of days and assess his situation, see where he is and whether he wants to

5:49 continue coaching this year. He's going to continue coaching in the near future. The good news in him getting hired so young as a head coach in the first place is that he's still young, and he's still got plenty of coaching ahead of him. Don't know where or when it'll be, but we know it's coming at some point. Mike Tomlin had two years left on his contract, a situation where much like Sean Payton a handful of years ago, if Mike Tomlin wanted to go someplace else, there likely would have to be a trade that gets worked out. Draft pick compensation coming to Pittsburgh. And let's also remember, the Dolphins were at least interested in Sean Payton that first year out. There was a lot of different things that went on, didn't end up happening. They end up giving up a first round pick for tampering. In that case, it was only after a year when a new coach was in place that Sean Payton ended up being traded to the Denver Broncos, where he right now has the number one

6:36 seed and has the Broncos in position to make a playoff run. Of course, for Mike Tomlin, one of the hallmarks of his tenure was the number of Non-losing seasons, 19 in a row. Tom Landry, 21 in a row from 1965 to 1985, though, let the record show Tom Landry started at the Dallas Cowboys head coach in 1960 when they had five consecutive losing seasons at the start. Mike Tomlin wire to wire all Non-losing seasons as we bring in our Mark Ross and Brian Baldinger to the conversation. Now, Mark, this is a rare occurrence. This is like Haley's comet. When the Steelers have a head coaching vacancy. What are you looking for in terms of how they approach the next era of Steelers football? Well that's really the unique situation is any other team can say, okay, we're going to hire a coach who's been here four years, five years. But the Steelers standard is, oh, we just got to hire a person that's going to be around here for 19 years. And that's really the

7:36 impossibility. And with that you have the new ownership. Yes, it's the same family, but you have a new owner there. And how will his style, how what he's looking for compared to what happened in the past? Baldy. So that's really the intriguing part is yes, it is the Steelers, but it is new ownership and a new person in command. Will they be able to identify those same traits that were identified in Chuck Noll, in Cowher and in Mike Tomlin? So that's going to be the really difficult task. And how many Mike Tomlin are really walking around because he was the unconventional hire at the time where Rooney saw something in him. Will the next generation be able to do the same thing is the tough task? Baldy I agree, Mark and I remember back in 2007, I mean, they were ready to hire Russ Grimm. I mean, he was really the leading candidate until Mike, Mike Tomlin came through the door after a year as a defensive coordinator for Brad Childress in Minnesota. And as soon as he

8:36 walked through the door and he interviewed, they found their guy and it was the right guy. And so not only do they have to be able to find that guy right now, Mark, they they have been searching for Ben Roethlisberger's replacement really since his decline, which was a couple of years before he retired. And so not only do they need to find the coach, they need to find the quarterback as well. They're in a division right now that still has Lamar Jackson, that still has, you know, in Cincinnati, one of the great quarterbacks in Joe Burrow. So they have got to be able to identify and find that guy. And then they also have to be able to find the quarterback. I mean, it was brought up that they just haven't drafted high enough because of the sex. They had to pick guy at the top of the draft. But Lamar Jackson wasn't at the top of the draft. And so they've got to do their homework on both fronts right here because you like ideally to marry that new head coach

9:30 and the quarterback together and grow together the way Chuck Noll did, the way Bill Cowher did, and ultimately the way Mike Tomlin did. Mike Tomlin was 35 years old when he coached his first game at the Steelers. Bill Cowher was 35. Chuck Noll was 37. All defensive backgrounds, all first time head coaches. And if you look at the dozens of coaches so far in this cycle that have interviewed for jobs or gotten interview requests, there's only two who fit that profile. Chris Shula, the Rams defensive coordinator, and Kelvin Shepherd, the Lions defensive coordinator. Maybe a time where the Steelers, despite their long consistency under the Rooney family, may have to branch out a little bit, at least in terms of exactly what they're looking for as a head coach. Mark Baldy stick around. A lot more to come from you guys. We got nine head coaching vacancies now across the NFL, including the Ravens, who hadn't made a change since back in 2008. Of course, the

10:22 Browns, Cardinals, Dolphins, Falcons, Giants, Raiders and Titans all in the midst of coaching searches as well. Judy, that is over a quarter of the league currently looking for a new head coach. You've been ranking those vacancies over at NFL.com. Where's the Steelers opening stack up. It's very close to the top. I have the Ravens as number one. And that's because of Lamar Jackson. And I have the Giants at number two because they have Jaxson Dart. I have the Steelers at number three, just barely behind those two teams simply because they don't have a quarterback. And there are some older players on the roster. By my count, there's 15 players who are in their 30s. And so you would think there's probably going to be a fairly significant roster reset. Now they've got to get the quarterback. But the reason it is so high, given those circumstances is because of the franchise's history, the stability of ownership, the patience of ownership. This is

11:18 one of the NFL's Blue Blood franchises. It is a very covetable job, but they do have some challenges ahead. So I've got a slotted right there near the top. Just hard to believe. 24 hours ago, Mike Tomlin is doing his usual pregame routine, walking around slapping hands with players. Now we stand here, the Steelers looking for a new head coach and Mike Tomlin facing new horizons. he chooses to do after 19 years in Pittsburgh. Steelers out of the playoffs on Monday night in a dominant defensive performance. Can the Texans do it again against the Patriots on Sunday? That is just part of the four games coming up on divisional playoff weekend. We got the Bills and Broncos on CBS and Paramount Plus 40 Niners at Seahawks prime time on Saturday on Fox, then the Texans and Patriots on ESPN and ABC. Rams and bears wrap it up 6:30 p.m. Eastern Time on Sunday on NBC and Peacock.

12:15 We'll talk about all those games during the course of this show, including a closer look at a Patriots defense that literally got the Chargers offensive coordinator fired. We'll talk about that game and much more. And we will also certainly continue to break down the big news out of Pittsburgh earlier today. Mike Tomlin stepping down as the Steelers head coach who potentially could be interested in Tomlin if he wants to be back on the sidelines sooner than later. We'll discuss it right here on The Insiders, presented by Progressive Insurance. The insiders is presented by progressive. Get free and supportive adult education centers near you. In case you are just joining us and paid attention to no electronics today, good for you. It's good for your brain. Mike Tomlin though. Yeah, how about this one. Stepping down after 19 seasons as the Steelers head coach. Resigning his position the future TBD. We will let you know. We will track that. I

13:10 don't know if Mike Tomlin fully knows at this point, but we shall see what happens in the coming days. Speaking of the coming days, how about this game on Sunday? You like defense, you like discipline. Play. This is the game for you right there. CJ Stroud up there needs a little bit more discipline when it comes to the quarterback play. We're going to talk about that right now as we bring in Mark Ross and Mark I'm going to start with CJ Stroud. It's been kind of sort of like an up and down year for him. And if they're going to continue to advance here in the postseason, they got to get some better ball from him.

13:43 Right. Well better ball. But really all he has to do is just don't turn the ball over. Because you saw last night what he did where he had the five fumbles and the turnovers. And they still absolutely dominated. That was because the defense not only shut the Steelers down, but then they went and scored 14 points on their own. So moving forward CJ Stroud that was the first game of quarterback. Had that many fumbles since Eli Manning in 2007 against the Buffalo Bills. Up there when we clinched a playoff spot up in Buffalo. And then our defense got on a tear going through the playoffs, and Eli stopped turning the ball over and made huge plays. That's really the standard for CJ Stroud. I joked about you know the team just needs to get to 17. And then against the Steelers get to 14. Well the defense does that on our own now. So CJ Stroud don't turn it over. Make a couple key plays and the defense will take you home. You know Mark it's it's cliche but you know defense

14:38 travels well. The Texans they've won nine in a row but they've won seven in a row now on the road. And so they're taking that that road show theirs that we all watched last night which in every single category they just slammed the Steelers. Now it sets up. The Patriots are the number two scoring offense in football. And they put up a good number the other night. And then the Texans have been the number two scoring defense. And so does defense continue to win these big games in these championships. The one thing I love, Mark honestly as an analyst is when you break down the Texans defense, there isn't one single thing where they try to disguise anything. They just line up. Troy talked about it last night. They just line up in play. They let Danielle Hunter and Will Anderson and Sheldon Rankins just go hunt along with Denico Autry. They hit everybody tackles. Whether it's Lassiter right here coming up and making his play out there. On Kenneth Gainwell.

15:32 They tackle. They cover. All four players in the secondary have at least four interceptions. Bullock now with five. After last night. This is the ultimate test of Ken defense. Continue to travel well and win these and really play a huge part in winning these big games. Can't wait to see Drake Maye going up against this secondary. Can he get the protection to keep those defensive linemen? I mean it's not just like they're hitting you from the edges. They can rush you up the middle as well. That Texans defense really gets after you. So looking forward to seeing that one this weekend Judy. All right. Here is our AFC playoff bracket. Of course we finally get to see the Denver Broncos. They are the one seed. They had the weekend off last week. So we will see them against the bills. And you were just discussing Texans versus Patriots. And on the NFC side of course the Seattle Seahawks join the show as well. Let's bring in our Geoffrey Chideya. His first read column

16:32 this week was about lingering questions for the remaining playoff teams. We're going to do the AFC this go around. We'll get to the NFC in a few minutes. Let's start with the New England Patriots Geoffrey. Well Derek may you know it. Should they be worried about how he performed in his first playoff game. Because that first half was shaky Judy. He was six for 15 threw an interception that came off a deflection. He got together in the second half. But again you don't want to see your star quarterback your MVP candidate having these kind of struggles. Now. The Chargers had their own issues that helped Drake Drake Maye out. But I have to imagine when you start seeing the Houston Texans come in the way they can rush the passer, it's going to be a much difficult a much harder challenge for Drake Maye in that contest. All right. Next up is the Patriots opponent on Sunday afternoon.

17:20 There's no questions about the Houston Texans defense. So what lingering question is there. Well how much offense do they really need. Because you watch that game against Pittsburgh. They didn't need a whole lot of offense to win that game. They got two defensive touchdowns from their own team. But C.J. Stroud was really struggling in his own right for some reason, couldn't handle the football, had five fumbles and lost two and had threw an interception. They got some big plays from Woody Kirk and and from Christian, from Christian Kirk and Woody Marks. But again, I don't know if you can keep playing this kind of defense and not get a little bit more from your offense in these games coming up here. They have to get more from C.J. Stroud in that offense. All right. The Buffalo Bills had a huge win last weekend. What is the question that remains for them? Well, I'm wondering how far they can go without getting more out of James Cook. And I realize that Jacksonville had a

18:12 great run defense and really bottled him up in that game. He only had 46 yards on 15 carries, but he's just been such a big part of this offense. And Josh Allen's success over the last 2 or 3 years. He's the league's leading rusher. And they lost Ray Davis in this game. Judy Ty Johnson didn't play because he had an injury. And so you're talking about going into Denver and playing a really good defense with Josh Allen having to be Superman again. I don't like those odds. So I really think James Cook coming to life, I think he will come back to life is a big factor for the bills. I like the odds of Josh Allen being Superman again, all right, but their opponent is the Denver Broncos. This game is on Saturday. What is the question for the Denver Broncos. Well again their defense is great. But I'm wondering is their offense going to show up and do its part because we know it's been up and down. We know

19:01 Bo Nix has been inconsistent. He had the 26th best passer rating this season. He threw a lot of passes. He led the league in pass attempts. But he needs to be he needs to be consistent in this game. He has to make plays throughout the game, not just in the fourth quarter. Their run game hasn't been the same without J.K. Dobbins, so they have to get that going. This defense can play. They're going to do big things. But that Jacksonville game showed they are vulnerable at home. And so he's got to get it done. This offense has got to get it done. Jeffrey thank you very much. You're going to be back in a little bit. We'll talk about the NFC questions. In the meantime everybody go read NFL.com read. And when we return on the insiders of course we are going to continue to talk about Mike Tomlin stepping away from the Pittsburgh Steelers. We're going to hear reaction from Steelers fans, some of whom probably have wanted this result. That's all coming up

19:52 next on the insiders. Old trapper beefs camp cravings. There you go buddy. Have fun. Football for all. Our top story tonight, Mike Tomlin has stepped down as head coach of the Steelers after 19 seasons, 193 games, won a Lombardi Trophy nationally. Few coaches commanded more respect than Tomlin, who has never had a losing season in Pittsburgh, are a little different story. I can't believe it. Wow wow wow is all I have to say. This is huge. Is it a happy day or what? I jumped up and down. I think I might have pulled a hammy. I'm so happy. I was making gravy and it was boiling and I'm yelling at my husband, come in here, come in. This was the time. To be honest. I feel for him. I'm actually happy for him because the baggage that he was calling this, all the criticism, all that was bad that he had to carry for so many years. Oh, how I have waited. This is like the best birthday present I could ever get, unless you enjoy, you know, going nine and eight, ten and seven, eight and

20:54 eight and one, whatever. This is the biggest victory in ten years. Man. Be careful what you wish for, folks. In the meantime, John Harbaugh continues to talk to teams with job openings in preparation for doing some more formal interviews later this week. Basically, every team that has an opening wants to talk to Harbaugh, and for the first time since he fired him last week, Ravens owner Steve Bisciotti spoke publicly about Harbaugh. We led the league in giving up big leads in the fourth quarter. It's not something that winning organizations do. We have underperformed based on our seeding in the playoffs. Very disappointing. A lot of players involved, a lot of our great players involved making mistakes that they don't make during the regular season very often, but I just thought it was something that in the last ten years, we've won the third most games in the NFL, and yet people were saying we were underachievers. Tough

22:01 businessman Kevin Patullo learned that I'm gonna take a red pen to that lower third there, which is what we call the bottom of the screen. The Eagles did not fire Kevin Patullo. Eagles informed Kevin Patullo that they are making a change at offensive coordinator. He has not been fired. Sources tell me and Ian Rapoport that he could be back on staff. Ken Patullo took a lot of heat for this year on offense and the play calls, but he's been an integral part of the success under Nick Sirianni. He was assistant head coach last year, part of the offensive process, part of the head coaching process. So the Eagles would like him to return. But Patullo and his family been through a lot this year. We talked about everything that happened at their house and all that stuff, so Patullo is gonna have to make a decision as well. More conversations that need to be had. But the Eagles are looking for a new offensive coordinator. Jalen hurts is going to get another one again. Tom. The

22:51 Chargers did fire their offensive coordinator Greg Roman, as well as their offensive line coach Mike Devlin, following a touchdown list performance in LA's wildcard playoff loss. Roman, of course, goes back. He was Jim Harbaugh's offensive coordinator during great days with the 40 Niners. He was Lamar Jackson's offensive coordinator for a time in Baltimore, but L.A. needing to shake things up. They use 30 something different offensive line combinations this season. Injuries all over the place. None of that mattered in the end. Jim Harbaugh making a major change. Judy. This got lost in this crazy day. But Matt Ryan was introduced as the president of football for the Atlanta Falcons, which, by the way, is an awesome title. President of football. Ryan's already been part of interviews with head coaching candidates, Ryan said. There is a sense of unfinished business there. The new coach and the general manager will report to him, and

23:44 team owner Arthur Blank said today, Ryan is in charge of and this is how he put it. Everything between football and grass. So that covers a whole lot of territory for Matt Ryan. He'll see if he can deliver a Super Bowl finally to the Falcons. Here is our divisional round schedule. You are going to want to make all your plans this weekend around the schedule. It will kick off with the bills at the Broncos on Saturday afternoon. And then we get Niners Seattle. And then you see the Sunday slate Texans Patriots and then Rams Bears to close it out. This might be the best weekend of football all year. One of the best. And now it is time for good coverage presented by Progressive Insurance. The Patriots sacked Justin Herbert six times, tied for the second most sacks in a playoff game in New England history, and they held the Chargers to just 207 total yards. That's the second fewest total yards in a playoff game in franchise history. Mike. Yep I don't disrespect that New

24:49 England secondary. You'll pay for it. Don't disrespect the Denver Broncos as well. The number one seed not considered the favorite in this game. And some other guys were surprised to hear that today I saw one Talanoa Hufanga was like, we're we're the underdog. Yeah, we're the underdog. Yeah. You know who's never an underdog? Cam Wolfe he's always our favorite to come in here on the show going to be covering this game. Let's talk about Josh Allen who you just saw in that poster there. He's a little sore. He's got like four injuries actually.

25:16 They listed three finger foot and knee. Yes. Knee from the other day. Josh Allen against this Broncos defense. What a matchup. Wow I can't wait I'll be there this Saturday. And the bills story is battered bruised beaten. But we have Josh Allen and that seems to be the card. They can always play. They played it against the Jags where the Jags arguably outplayed them for most of the game until it came late in the fourth quarter. And I'll tell you this, the toughness word from Josh Allen is everything that people are talking about.

25:50 I was in the locker room after the game talking to Dion Dawkins and he said Josh Allen will never let you know what he's going through. And today he gets to the podium and says I feel pretty good. I actually feel the best I've felt in a few weeks. I don't know whether I believe that, but it doesn't really matter because they need Josh Allen to be every bit of the version he's been so far. Connor McGovern, one of their offensive linemen, said you'll have to kill him to get him out of the game. I'm not sure if he was joking or not, but he did not smile and it would not surprise me. Look, this bills team has dealt with injuries after injuries. Today. Tyrell Shavers they announced towards ACL. He played most of the second half on that torn ACL. Gabe Davis also tore his ACL. So they're banged up with wide receivers. But they're playing a really, really good Broncos team. LED the NFL in sacks with

26:38 68. That matchup is going to be key part. Certain told me today the one thing they want to focus on outside of Josh Allen stopping James Cook in the run game, he said last year in the playoff game, they went off on us. We think we want to make Josh Allen one dimensional, and we don't think that he himself can beat us as a group, so we're going to wait to see what happens there. Will Josh Allen be ready for his close up, just like Cam's picture right over his right shoulder? Or will it be Bo Nix saying, hey Cam Wolfe, where's my picture? Let's take this one right now. There it is. Yeah that's your guy Josh Allen. We'll see who the winning quarterback is. Whoever it is is definitely going to want an interview with Cam Wolfe.

27:16 Appreciate you pal Geoffrey Chideya coming back on the program after the break to talk about the NFC. Are we disrespecting this number one seed. Not really. They're heavy favorites in this game. But we're going to be talking NFC with Geoffrey Chideya. The NFL loved one. Add two eggs. Learn the early warning signs at ten signs. Time now to take a look at the week that was with our friend Adam Rank, a title that made me go, wait, what day is it? Tuesday? Tuesday is the day we still have more week to go, but for rank, it's already felt like it's been a whole year of bears goodness. Rank your favorite team. Moving on. Your thoughts sir. Can you imagine a world where the bears would win on a walk off touchdown in overtime against the Packers, and that wouldn't even be the greatest win of the season against the Packers. Times are changing in Chicago. And I'm not just talking about the bears consistently beating the Packers, which they've done three out of the last four

28:12 times they've played. Should have been four. But I'm talking about this because here was Ben Johnson after the big win. Hell yeah. The profanity once forbidden in Halas Hall, as I myself was once scolded for saying the word stinker, isn't the biggest shocker here. No, the biggest shocker is the pearl clutching from the Packers fans, who for years enjoyed Aaron Rodgers saying things like I own you to a nice elderly grandmother sitting there at Soldier Field, or Clay Matthews yelling The bears still suck! of the 2024 NFL Draft in Green Bay, the biggest event that town has ever seen. But listen now the Packer fans want to cry for decorum. Why? Because the bully doesn't like being punched. It's like when Ralphie goes up and swung on Scott Farkas in A Christmas Story.

29:15 And by the way, Ralphie's dad could, of course, string together profanity with the best of them. But listen, it's a new world, and the bears beating the Packers is something they're going to have to deal with. And I love it. Packers go home wild card weekend. So do the Eagles rank whose fans just what, less than a year ago were celebrating a blowout Super Bowl victory dynasty in the making? Now they're going through it a little bit. They are having troubles. And it's not just the fans, it's the youth. You're losing the kids. We saw this young man after the Eagles were eliminated in the playoffs from the 49 ers. Give his assessment right here I'm feeling two of two things A I want AJ Brown packing his bags and I want him somewhere else. That is not here I love you AJ. But like you can't you can't make those drops in that game. And I also want Kevin Patullo flipping burgers at like the local McDonald's or something. I don't care whenever he's an

30:13 offensive coordinator. It's like he's flipping burgers. One side he's cooking, one half he's cooking, and the other half is completely raw and he does absolutely nothing. So yeah, it was this a huge letdown because they were winning, right? Yes. This was a huge letdown. This was my Christmas present and I got a loss. Oh speaking of cooking, that young man was serving up some heavy analysis right there. He spoke with poise. He was funny. He made a great analogy. Wait, is he coming after my gig? What are you doing, kid? You should be out there doing six. Seven means instead you're going out there and you're making a great point. Nick Sirianni needs to be the play caller for the Philadelphia Eagles here. Tom, speeding coming after my gig. You appear to be doing an impression of me dressed like me, sitting on a set like me. We'll address that momentarily. Where's Aaron Rodgers going to be after Mike Tomlin took himself out of Pittsburgh earlier today? Well,

31:05 you know what? Here's the thing, Tom. I'm not sitting here with a wafted hair. So I'm not completely leaning into the bit. But here's the thing. Mike Tomlin is a good coach. The Steelers needed to move on. It's like when you have a driver and you like it, you're getting 215 down the fairway. But at some point you want to take a swing for 250. Nothing wrong with that. And similarly they got to go out there and find a head coach who calls his own plays. So you don't have to deal with the change at offensive coordinator. And you also need a new quarterback, Aaron Rodgers. That can't be his final. You would have to be a terrible player, a terrible person. Excuse me to watch what Aaron Rodgers was going through last night with that horrific pick six, this horrible effort trying to tackle him. You would have to be a horrible person to enjoy that. Well, the good news is I'm a horrible person because I love it. And in the words of my coach, Ben Johnson, I hate that team and their

31:57 former quarterback. Tom, back to you rank. Breaking down a week. That was while also doing a tribute to a show that was fairly outdated. Graphics in the background there NFL now, which was replaced by some other show I don't even remember rank. Thank you very much for being here. You go to NFL.com rookies right now voting the Pepsi Zero Sugar

Questions about this episode

Who speaks in "Mike Tomlin steps down as Steelers head coach, What’s next for Aaron Rodgers? | The Insiders"?

Tom Pelissero (Host), Judy Battista (Guest), Mike Garafolo (Guest), Cameron Wolfe (Guest), Adam Rank (Guest), Mark Ross (Guest), Geoffrey Chideya (Guest).

What is "Mike Tomlin steps down as Steelers head coach, What’s next for Aaron Rodgers? | The Insiders" about?

Mike Tomlin has stepped down as head coach of the Pittsburgh Steelers after 19 successful seasons, marking a significant change for the franchise as they prepare for a new leadership era. The discussion also includes the upcoming divisional playoff matches and an analysis of Aaron Rodgers' future and potential game scenarios.

What is mentioned in this NFL episode?

22 people, works and ideas are mentioned, including Steelers, Denver Broncos, New England Patriots, NFL, Art Rooney, Bo Nix. Each one on this page links to its own page with every episode that mentions it.

How long is "Mike Tomlin steps down as Steelers head coach, What’s next for Aaron Rodgers? | The Insiders"?

The episode runs 32 min; the transcript is about 6,138 words in 37 timestamped sections.

More from NFL

• All analyzed episodes
• People mentioned on NFL
• Topics mentioned on NFL