Kiya Tomlin, wife of former Pittsburgh Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin, is speaking out after her husband resigned from his position on Tuesday, January 13.
“As many of you are aware, my husband has stepped down from his position as head coach of the Pittsburgh Steelers,” she wrote via her Instagram Story on Friday, January 16. “I want to take a moment to share something from my heart.”
Kiya continued, “I am incredibly proud of all he has accomplished, both on and off the field. Over the past few days, the messages and testimonies shared by current and former players — the men who knew him best — have been deeply moving. They’ve affirmed what I’ve always known to be true about his purpose and character.”
Mike, 53, coached the Steelers for 19 seasons, winning the Super Bowl in his second year and never finishing with a losing record. He resigned amid calls for his firing from frustrated Pittsburgh fans who have not seen their team win a playoff game since 2016.
Kiya has been by his side through his entire tenure and before. The two met when they were student-athletes at the College of William & Mary, where he played football and she was on the gymnastics team. They married in 1996 and share three kids, all of whom went on to be collegiate athletes themselves.
Their sons Dino and Mason played football at Boston College and Columbia University, respectively, while their daughter, Harley, is currently on the gymnastics team at the University of Georgia.
“His mission began long before the titles and headlines, back when we first met in college, and it has never wavered,” Kiya wrote. “From the very beginning, his purpose was clear; to help young men become great individuals. Coaching and fatherhood became the avenues through which he lived out that calling.”
She added, “To me, the men who passed through his locker rooms over more than 30 years of coaching our own children, and the hundred of young people across the region he personally poured into — that is his true legacy.”
“They are his coaching tree and that is the achievement we are most proud of.”
The feeling seems to be mutual. The Athletic reported on Thursday, January 15 that a Steelers staff member said the atmosphere “felt like a funeral” when Mike told the team he was stepping down. Quarterback Aaron Rodgers reportedly sobbed.
While Mike has made his career in coaching, Kiya is an accomplished designer and runs her own fashion brand. Her Coach T Collection, which she launched in 2025, was designed to embody “confidence, on and off the field,” according to her Instagram.
“The Coach T Collection was my way of sharing that mentorship with the world — capturing the lessons, discipline, and mindset that shaped so many lives,” her statement continued. “While I don’t yet know what our next chapter looks like, what I do know is that I am deeply grateful for the journey the Coach T Collection represented.”
Kiya concluded her statement with a thank you to the city of Pittsburgh.
“Thank you for your support, your words of kindness, and the warm reception our family has received over the last 19 years,” she said.
