ANDREW GRIMM

Sometimes in life, it’s simply time for something different.

Tuesday morning was such a time for the Pittsburgh Steelers and Mike Tomlin.

After 19 years, it was time for the veteran coach to do something else. And, regardless of which party initiated it, it was just time for the Steelers, too. Time for a new coach.

Now, I’ve written columns after past playoff one-and-dones that were critical of Mike T — there has been plenty of ammunition there to do so, but that’s not what this one is.

As a lifelong Steelers fan, who has been among those hoping the time for him to move on would come for several years, its happening does not come without some mixed emotions.

You see, 19 years is a long time, and a lot has changed in football and the world around it during that period.

Yes, the barely above .500 seasons and crushing defeat in the wild card got old. Yes, I thought they should have probably made a move a couple of seasons ago, but Tomlin has been the Steelers coach since I was 12.

Outside some fond memories of watching Bill Cowher’s teams, Mike T has been my era of Steeler football.

And, as much as it has become the butt of a joke, us Steelers fans have never endured a losing season under him.

While the recent memories have been not so great, especially this time of the year, there were plenty of good ones in the last 19 years, too.

Two things can be true at the same time. We can recognize that it was indeed time for a change, while we acknowledge and appreciate the last 19 years.

We can also acknowledge that, no matter what you think of his job as a coach, coach Tomlin always seemed like a good man. A man of faith and family in an era when the NFL gets too many headlines that point in the other direction.

The players genuinely liked playing for him, he genuinely seemed to care about them, too. Just look at the comments Aaron Rodgers has made during just one season with him.

None of that does not mean it’s time to move on, though. That time always comes, whether it’s Bill Belichick in New England, or any other number of legendary coaches who’ve been let go or pushed aside, or one of us at our jobs — how many people stay in the same role and place for 19 years in the real world? I’d venture to say not many — the time to go always comes.

And it’s here now.

So, thanks Coach T for 19 years that, outside of one game, always at least had us talking about the playoffs and had us on the edge of our seats, even in games that probably should not have been exciting.

Now we’ll see what the next era of Steeler football brings.

(Grimm is the sports editor of the Herald-Star and The Weirton Daily Times)