Mike Tomlin Rumors on 'Favorite' for Potential TV Opportunity Amid Steelers Hot-Seat Buzz

The Pittsburgh Steelers' season is over after a 30-6 loss to the Houston Texans in the AFC Wild Card round on Monday, and now speculation has ramped up about head coach Mike Tomlin's coaching future.

If he and the Steelers part ways, though, then Fox is reportedly the leader in the clubhouse should he decide on a career in television, per Andrew Marchand of The Athletic.

Marchand added that Tomlin can "pick his TV studio job" if he leaves the Steelers.

Tomlin has been with Pittsburgh since 2007. The Steelers have never had a losing season under his watch. Pittsburgh has won two AFC titles and one Super Bowl under Tomlin alongside 13 playoff appearances and eight AFC North titles.

The knock on Tomlin of late has been his team's standard above-average performance, with nine or 10 wins and a one-and-done playoff appearance being the usual norm. This year's team went 10-7 and won the AFC North before the Texans rolled into town and destroyed Pittsburgh thanks to a suffocating defense.

Tomlin was asked about his approach to the future Monday after the loss, per ESPN's Brooke Pryor, and said he didn't have a "big-picture mentality" in the moment.

"I'm not even in that mindset as I sit here tonight," Tomlin told reporters. "I'm more in the mindset of what transpired in this stadium, and certainly what we did and didn't do. Not a big-picture mentality as I sit here tonight."

Tomlin is under contract through 2026, and the Steelers has a team option on his contract for 2027, per Pryor. If this is it in Pittsburgh, one can guess that NFL teams with current openings might be lining up to speak with him. However, if Tomlin wants to move to an analyst role, it appears he'll be the hottest TV free agent out there.