Mike Tomlin shocked the NFL world back in January when he stepped down as head coach of the Pittsburgh Steelers following 19 years on the team’s sidelines. Other than a brief statement released through the team, he has been silent in the months since.
That changed on Thursday night when he made his first public appearance and comments since stepping down.
Mike Tomlin makes first public comments since stepping down from Steelers
Tomlin and his wife, Kiya, were being honored in Pittsburgh at the Ireland Funds Pittsburgh gala, receiving the Community Impact Award.
While Tomlin did not take any questions, he did speak about his time in Pittsburgh and how appreciative he was to be able to coach the team for so many years and call the city his home.
“It’s often said that we’re not here for a long time, we’re here for a good time. Like you have to choose. I think our experience here in Pittsburgh, with the great Steelers organization, exemplifies that. We’ve been here for a long and really good time.”
“It’s been an honor to serve the greatest organization in sports. It’s been an honor to be a part of this great community, to call it home, and for our kids to call it home. We’re in somewhat of a nomadic business, and we don’t take that for granted that our kids get an opportunity to call Pittsburgh home.
“It’s been an honor to serve the community in which we live, it’s values that we hold, and it will continue.
“We appreciate the recognition, but as my wife said, we certainly don’t do it for that. We’ve been extremely blessed and we’d just like to share those blessings. Thank you.”
Here is the video of his statements, from ESPN’s Brooke Pryor.