Mike Tomlin’s decision to step away after a blowout AFC wild-card loss pushed the Steelers into an uncharacteristic coaching search.

Tomlin did not specify a reason for stepping away in a statement released Tuesday, but he thanked owner Art Rooney II and the late Ambassador Dan Rooney for their trust over nearly two decades. 

“While this chapter comes to a close, my respect and love for the Pittsburgh Steelers will never change. I am excited for what the future holds for this organization, and I will forever be grateful for my time coaching in Pittsburgh,” Tomlin said in the statement.

Rooney II and Omar Khan will oversee the coaching search. Rooney called Tomlin’s decision unexpected but not surprising.

“It was his decision, and I will say that I wasn’t shocked, but I wasn’t expecting that conversation yesterday either,” Rooney said. “I was certainly willing to take another run at it next year with Mike, and that was what I was expecting to talk about yesterday, but it went in another direction.”

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Tomlin has two years left on his Steelers contract, and any team seeking to hire him before 2027 would need to compensate Pittsburgh. Rooney acknowledged the slim prospects of Tomlin coaching later this year and provided additional context on his departure, saying it was centered on his personal life.

“Mike indicated that he did not anticipate coaching in the near future,” Rooney said. “I think he wants to spend time with his family and do the things he hasn’t been able to do for the last many years. So, if something like that comes up, we’ll deal with it when it comes up, but it doesn’t seem like something on his radar.”

Rooney said he, Khan and other key decision-makers will take an open-minded approach to the rare coaching search.

“I’ve been involved in a number of searches going back to coach [Bill] Cowher and GM searches,” Rooney said as he recalled past coaching search experiences. “I think if I’ve learned anything about searches it’s to have an open mind. We had Mike in for his first interview, certainly wasn’t expecting him to be our head coach. I think you go through the process and be diligent and hopefully come out with the right guy.” 

When asked about the qualities he will look for in candidates, Rooney said leadership is at the top of the list.

“I think there are a lot of things that go into being a successful head coach,” Rooney said. “No. 1 in my mind is leadership and trusting this person can step up in front of the team day in and day out and hold their attention and have them motivated to do what they do. That’s the most important.”

After defeating the Baltimore Ravens in Week 18 to clinch the AFC North and the final spot in the NFL playoffs, the Steelers scored just six points in Monday’s loss to the Houston Texans.

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“Extra pass.”

Cleveland High coach Dagem Asfaw was yelling to his players at the end of the first half during a timeout to stop playing selfish basketball and start making the “extra pass.”

They listened in the second half Wednesday, and the Cavaliers took off, blowing out Granada Hills 72-47. The first three baskets in the third quarter were threes off passes. It’s clear that Cleveland (11-6, 1-0) has the most talented team in the West Valley League and the only question is will the players decide to find the open man. When they do, it’s doubtful any team will beat them.

Sophomore Sho Evans finished with 17 points and made four threes. Serigne Deme had 11 of his 13 points in the first quarter and finished with four dunks. TJ Wansa scored 13 points, all in the second half. Cleveland led by nine points at halftime.

Birmingham 75, Taft 57: Tekeio Phillips had 19 points and Charles Eleri 16 for the Patriots (10-4, 1-0) in their West Valley opener.

El Camino Real 55, Chatsworth 53: The Royals pulled out the win. Aarsh Singh, Aaron Krueger and Chris Rutherford each scored 11 points for Chatsworth.

Fairfax 66, Westchester 64: The Western League rivalry game goes to the Lions. Domonick Bowie Jr. had 16 points and Chris Stokes 15.

Palisades 87, Hamilton 48: The Dolphins had four players reach double figures. Jack Levey and EJ Popoola each had 22 points, Phillip Reed 19 and OJ Popoola 16.

San Pedro 74, Carson 50: Elias Redlew finished with 18 points, seven rebounds and five assists for the 16-4 Pirates. AJ Bobich added 16 points.

Los Alamitos 57, Newport Harbor 40: Isaiah Williamson contributed 15 points for the Griffins.

Calabasas 64, Oaks Christian 62: The Coyotes handed Oaks Christian its first Marmonte League defeat in double overtime. Noah Simon made a three-point shot at the buzzer of the second overtime, his only points of the night. Tristan Cardoso and Johnny Thyfault each scored 16 points.

Verbum Dei 80, Bosco Tech 64: Sophomore Chase Coleman scored 20 points for Verbum Dei.

Girls basketball

Harvard-Westlake 42, Louisville 23: Valentina Guerrero, back from injury, scored 13 points for the Wolverines.

Sierra Canyon 79, Marlborough 31: Jerzy Robinson contributed 29 points and 10 rebounds for Sierra Canyon.

Birmingham 65, Taft 28: Kayla Tanijiri led the way for the Patriots with 15 points and Laecy Wilkins had 14 points.

The Philadelphia Eagles fired offensive coordinator Kevin Patullo after a disappointing 23-19 loss in the Wild Card round against the San Francisco 49ers.

However, former Eagles star center Jason Kelce said that while Patullo bears responsibility for the offensive struggles, he thought the players could have performed better.

“The bottom line is this offense didn’t live up to what it should have, right? And Patullo, as the offensive coordinator, bears responsibility and so do the players. That’s my thing. I don’t think the players played as good as they could have,” Kelce said during a recent episode of the “New Heights” podcast.

“I love all those guys and that’s just the way it is sometimes. I had my seasons. I damn sure did. And you know, how do they rebound from this? Where do they go from here? There’ll be new faces in. There’ll be faces that are familiar that are out.”

The 38-year-old said he doesn’t think it’s fair for all the blame to be placed on Patullo. Kelce referenced the offensive line’s inability to stay healthy and a running game that regressed as causes for the downturn.

“The main reason (for the regression) and I’ve been saying this from the beginning was the run game. The offensive line’s inability to stay healthy altogether to open up holes. Saquon Barkley almost set the NFL record for rushing last year. They were incredible in the run game,” Kelce said.

The seven-time Pro Bowler pointed out that while the Eagles won the Super Bowl last season, the passing game struggled. With the running game not nearly as dynamic as it was last season, the issues with the passing game became more prominent.

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“The passing game, they struggled last year. I mean, there were all sorts of things happening last season that we like to forget because we won the Super Bowl, but the passing game has been an issue for multiple seasons now. Now, the running game isn’t there. Why isn’t it there? The offensive line is in and out. They’re hurt. Guys are overcoming injuries. They’re not playing the same way they’ve played in the past,” Kelce said.

“You have a quarterback that’s not running as much. Jalen Hurts, the threat of him running the ball, opens up so much for the running back when they have to truly respect it, and it also opens up things downfield.”

Kelce did lament the lack of creativity within the Eagles offense and said it would “behoove” them to bring in someone from outside the building as their new offensive coordinator.

“I would love to see more motions. I would love to see all that stuff,” Kelce said. “It would probably behoove the Eagles to bring in somebody with a fresh perspective on where it’s at currently, because when you’re in it, you’re thinking about what you’ve done well in the past. You’re thinking about how you’ve had success.”

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“It’s like, man, I know this guy can do this. I know this can happen here. Yeah. When you bring in somebody else, it’s like, man, this is where we’re at now. And now we can bring in some fresh ideas. we can figure out a way to maximize things while keeping that nucleus together.”

Last season, during the team’s Super Bowl-winning season, they were tied for fourth in the NFL, averaging 29 points per game. This season, they scored a touchdown fewer, averaging 22.1 points per game, which ranked 19th in the NFL.

The Eagles hope their next offensive coordinator can turn things around quickly.

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