Steelers lineman Alex Highsmith details team meeting in which Mike Tomlin stepped down: 'We were all in shock'

Mike Tomlin’s decision to resign as head coach of the Pittsburgh Steelers took many by surprise. Given both his excellence and longevity, it seemed possible that Tomlin would continue coaching the team for decades to come. His exit left many in shock.

But no group was more surprised about Tomlin’s resignation than Steelers players. One of those players, defensive lineman Alex Highsmith detailed how the team felt upon hearing the news, saying players were “in shock.”

Highsmith’s comments read:

“He told us during a team meeting and I think we were all in shock, because Coach Tomlin is truly 1-of-1. And just to be coached by him for six years was a blessing.

“[Tomlin is] truly a players’ coach. Everyone loved to be coached by him, I feel like. It definitely hurt when he told us. We were all just in shock.”

Highsmith said the day of the meeting was “tough.” It came just after the Steelers lost to the Houston Texans in the wild-card round of the playoffs. Highsmith said the locker room was already quiet due to that loss, and Tomlin’s news made things both tough and emotional for the players.

Tomlin leaves behind quite the legacy in Pittsburgh. In 19 seasons with the team, Tomlin never turned in a losing record. He also led the franchise to a Super Bowl, winning it all during the 2008 NFL season.

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With Tomlin gone, the Steelers turned to former Dallas Cowboys and Green Bay Packers coach Mike McCarthy to lead the team forward. McCarthy does have a few losing seasons on his record, but has compiled a .608 winning percentage in 18 seasons as an NFL head coach.

It will be up to McCarthy to prove he’s the right person to push the Steelers on a deep playoff run, sometimes Tomlin failed to do in his final seasons with the franchise.

While Tomlin’s resignation doesn’t mean he’s completely done with coaching, it sounds like he’s going to take a short break from the job. Tomlin reportedly signed with a sports-media agency, potentially paving the way for the former coach to take a broadcasting role in the near future.