The Baltimore Ravens turned over a new page in their franchise’s history last week when they fired their longtime head coach, John Harbaugh. After an underwhelming 2025 campaign, Baltimore’s season-ending loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers in Week 18 was the last straw. Now, the Steelers find themselves in a similar situation.
After losing their Wild Card matchup against the Houston Texans in blowout fashion on Monday night, the NFL’s longest-tenured head coach, Mike Tomlin, chose to step away from coaching on Tuesday.
Breaking: After a historic 19-season run in Pittsburgh, Mike Tomlin just informed his team that he is stepping down as the Steelers head coach, sources tell @JFowlerESPN and me.
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) January 13, 2026
The Steelers now will be looking for only their fourth head coach since 1969. pic.twitter.com/KvkPv3lA1W
Tomlin coached the Steelers for 19 seasons, and Harbaugh coached the Ravens for 18 seasons. They were the two longest-tenured head coaches, which built one of the best rivalries in football between Baltimore and Pittsburgh. It was a storied rivalry with countless all-time classics and postseason clashes, and now, it will enter a full reboot this offseason.
A new chapter begins in the Ravens-Steelers rivalry
In recent years, the rivalry kind of died down. Obviously, Ravens and Steelers fans will tell you it’s always one of their most anticipated matchups of the year, but ever since the likes of Ray Lewis, Ed Reed, Terrell Suggs, Troy Polamalu, James Harrison, and others retired, it lost a bit of its primetime glamor. However, that Week 18 finale ended in nail biting fashion, and it was the perfect ending to the Harbaugh/Tomlin rivalry.
In those 18 years going against each other, Tomlin got the slight edge over Harbaugh in the regular season, as Tomlin’s squad won 23 of those contests to Harbaugh’s 17. In the postseason, they split their four games with two wins each.
Both fanbases seem content with their Hall of Fame-caliber head coaches departing. A lack of postseason success has strained each former coach’s relationship with their fans. Tomlin’s loss on Monday extended his playoff losing streak to seven games. For Harbaugh, he’s found a bit more success come postseason time, but it was more about falling short of Super Bowl expectations and losing games in the most heartbreaking ways imaginable.
It feels fitting that both teams hit the reset button this offseason. It was simply time for both sides to move on and get new voices in the building. Now, the next time the Ravens and Steelers face off, it will pit two fresh new faces against each other. It’s a long shot, but maybe there’s another 18-year rivalry in store.