Before new New York Giants head coach John Harbaugh was coaching against the likes of Nick Sirianni, Brian Schottenheimer, and Dan Quinn, the 63-year-old spent 18 years in the AFC North battling the likes of Mike Tomlin, Marvin Lewis, and whoever the Cleveland Browns threw out there with a headset.
While the NFC East isn’t the AFC North, the two divisions are similarly rooted in a deep disgust for one another. And if things break a certain way over the next few months, Harbaugh could eventually find himself sharing his new division with a very familiar face.
Mike Tomlin joined Cris and Jac Collinsworth on Pro Football Focus to preview the 2026 season and discuss life after 19 years as head coach of the Pittsburgh Steelers. Naturally, the question of whether he’ll ever coach again came up, to which he responded:
“It’s certainly not a 32-team league for me, but I’ve also learned to never say never. I love to coach. I love all the challenges of the profession.”
Commanders could reunite Mike Tomlin and John Harbaugh in the NFC East
Nobody should start fitting Tomlin for a burgundy and gold quarter-zip just yet. Dan Quinn is still very much the head coach of the Commies, and the 2026 season has truly only just begun. However, life comes at you fast in the NFL, and Quinn already has one cheek firmly planted in the Toasty Buns Club.
Washington followed up a 12-5 record and NFC Championship Game appearance in the 55-year-old's first season with a 5-12 dumpster fire in 2025. Star quarterback Jayden Daniels missing 10 games didn’t necessarily help (even though Washington went just 2-5 in his seven starts), but another ugly season with no postseason play could leave Washington searching for a new head coach.
And Tomlin would make an almost annoyingly logical amount of sense.
The 54-year-old grew up in Newport News, Va., played college football at William & Mary (in Virginia), and would inherit a pretty good situation with Daniels leading the charge. He went 193-114-2 across 19 seasons in the Steel City without ever having a losing record.
Pitt still controls Tomlin’s coaching rights through 2027, so Washington couldn’t just offer him the role and call it a day. It would likely take draft compensation and a trade to get him back on an NFL sideline before his contract runs out.
Still, just entertain me for a second.
Harbs and Tomlin have faced each other 44 times while battling it out in the AFC North over the past 18 years. Pitt went 23-17 in their 40 regular-season meetings, and the two teams split four playoff matchups (2-2). After nearly two decades of dueling against each other, Harbs was fired by Baltimore, while Tomlin “stepped away” from Pittsburgh before the Steelers could make that decision for him.
They went their separate ways -- Harby eventually landed in a different conference, and Tomlin headed for television. And somehow, there’s already a realistic path that could put them right back in the same division, coaching against each other twice a year.
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