New Details on Mike Tomlin's Reported 'Game of Thrones' Speech to Steelers Players Revealing Exit

More details about Mike Tomlin's final speech to players before stepping down as Pittsburgh Steelers head coach have come to light.

Per ESPN's Brooke Pryor and Jeremy Fowler, one person described Tomlin's message as something that would have fit in Game of Thrones about the "cutthroat nature" of the NFL.

"The faces of coaches and players said one word—'What?!'" a team source said about observing the moment.

"It was dead silent," the report stated.

Other elements of Tomlin's speech that stood out was him shouldering the blame for their playoff shortcomings.

"You deserve better, and right now I can't deliver, one high-ranking team source recalled Tomlin saying," per Pryor and Fowler. "Someone else has to move the franchise forward, another team source remembered."

One Steelers source told Pryor and Fowler that Tomlin's message was fairly straightforward: "It's best that I step down."

Steelers president Art Rooney II announced on Tuesday that Tomlin informed him he was stepping down after 19 seasons as head coach. The move came less than 24 hours after Pittsburgh's season ended with a 30-6 loss to the Houston Texans in the AFC Wild Card game.

It was a down note for Tomlin to end a storied run in Pittsburgh, one that included no losing seasons, 12 playoff appearances, two AFC championships and one Super Bowl title.

If we want to stick with Game of Thrones analogies, Tomlin's fate was similar to Arya Stark in that he is setting off into uncharted territory to see what's out in the great big world.

Considering that most characters on the show had a fate closer to Ned Stark, who lost his head early on, this is about the best way Tomlin could have gone out because he is leaving on his own terms.