Mike Tomlin stepped down from the Pittsburgh Steelers head coach position after 19 years. However, no specific reason was given in the farewell statement and Tomlin has not appeared for interviews in the aftermath, either.
On Wednesday, Steelers president Art Rooney II said that the departure might have more to do with family than football. “I think that, in my mind and the discussion we had, it was probably more of a family-related decision than a football-related decision,” Rooney said.
The lack of a proper reason, however, has led to plenty of speculations. One rumor that has emerged is that Tomlin was having an affair with someone by the name of Nina Pagley. However, these rumors have not been substantiated. They were amplified by various social media profiles, but no mainstream coverage has indicated at any such thing. HT.com could not independently verify these claims.
Amid the rumors surrounding Tomlin, his wife Kiya has issued an unrelated statement addressing her husband's time with the Steelers and what her career holds.
Kiya Tomlin's statement
In her statement, Tomlin said “As many of you are aware, my husband has stepped down from his position as Head Coach of the Pittsburgh Steelers. I want to take a moment to share this from my heart. I am incredibly proud of what he has accomplished both on and off the field. Over the past days, the testimonies shared by his current and former players– the men who knew him best– have been deeply moving. They validate what I have always known about his mission, one that began long before the titles and headlines, when we first met in college.”
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{{/usCountry}}In her statement, Tomlin said “As many of you are aware, my husband has stepped down from his position as Head Coach of the Pittsburgh Steelers. I want to take a moment to share this from my heart. I am incredibly proud of what he has accomplished both on and off the field. Over the past days, the testimonies shared by his current and former players– the men who knew him best– have been deeply moving. They validate what I have always known about his mission, one that began long before the titles and headlines, when we first met in college.”
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{{/usCountry}}“From the beginning, his purpose was clear: to mentor young men to become great individuals. Coaching and fatherhood became the avenues through which he lived that calling. To me, the men who passed through his locker rooms over more than 30 years of coaching, our own children, and the hundreds of young people across the region he personally poured into– they are his true legacy. They are his Coaching Tree. And that is the achievement we are most proud of”, she added.
The wife of the former Steelers' HC continued, “The Coach T Collection was my way of sharing that mentorship with the world– capturing some of the lessons, discipline and mindset that shaped so many lives. I don’t yet know what our next chapter looks like. What I do know is that I am grateful for the journey the Coach T Collection represented," as per Steelers Now.