PITTSBURGH -- There has been lots of speculation surrounding former Pittsburgh Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin. After 19 seasons as the man in charge, he stepped down following their Wild Card loss to the Houston Texans.

In the months since, the Steelers have moved in a new direction under head coach Mike McCarthy, while Tomlin has adjusted seamlessly to life as a television analyst on Sunday Night Football.

Still, there has never been an answer as to why he stepped down when he did. Now, we may finally have an answer after Tomlin appeared on Cam Heyward's Not Just Football podcast. Speaking on his decision to depart the organization, Tomlin shared that he made his mind up about leaving around the time he entered his driveway after that loss, citing an acceptance that he reached the end of his time in Pittsburgh.

"I did probably by the time I pulled in my driveway," Tomlin said when Heyward asked if he knew after the loss that he was retiring.

"I never wanted to stay too long," he admitted. "Also, there's a cumulative component to coaching. I had 19 years of baggage. And sometimes your teams have to carry your bags. And I just thought we had the making of a really good team. A team that is capable of competing for and winning a championship. But when I really started thinking about it, man, my bags might have slowed it down."

How Tomlin's Bags Slowed Steelers Down

This entire conversation between Tomlin and Heyward was illuminating, but this specific clip stands out due to the former head coach's admission. Over the final years of his tenure in Pittsburgh, terms like "stale" were frequently used to describe his approach.

The defense was unrelenting in trying to do the same things, regardless of how often opposing offenses figured them out.

The offense couldn't find steady footing either. Despite Tomlin switching offensive coordinators multiple times over his time in Pittsburgh, the offense was no better than average after the end of the "Killer B's" Era of Steelers football.

Tomlin is acknowledging that in this conversation, and it's incredibly refreshing to hear it from him as he reflects on a Hall of Fame run with the Steelers.

Is Tomlin Actually Done?

It's easy to speculate about Tomlin truly being done as an NFL head coach, and he even admits that. Speaking with the media before the Steelers versus Cincinnati Bengals Sunday Night Football matchup, Tomlin said he has yet to think about his future as a coach, but that he hasn't thought he will never return.

It's a situation he'll address when it reveals itself to him.

"I haven’t given one iota of thought to coaching," Tomlin said. "I’m sure some of that is going to come up in the not-so-distant future. But I’ll cross that bridge when I get there."