Mike Tomlin had the opportunity on Wednesday to quiet speculation about his return to coaching.
The coach who stepped down in January after 19 years at the Pittsburgh Steelers helm chose not to.
Tomlin, now a member of NBC’s “Sunday Night Football” broadcast, was asked on a conference call how he would handle NFL interest in his return to coaching next season.
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“Haven’t given one iota of thought about coaching,” Tomlin said. “I’m sure that some of that’s going to come up in the not-too-distant future, but I’ll cross that bridge when I come to it. Really hadn’t thought a lot about it, really excited about my new role and working to get better each and every week.”
In his studio analyst role, Tomlin has offered insight on Sunday night games and teams across the league during pregame and halftime each week. He hasn’t been afraid to speak honestly about teams, including calling the Dallas Cowboys’ late-game defense against the Baltimore Ravens “somewhat negligent” after their Week 3 loss and saying the Cowboys have “blinkers” who need to “cut your eyelids” off after their Week 8 loss to the Arizona Cardinals.
Tomlin said he’s appreciated the perspective the new role has provided.
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“It’s awesome to be as close to the game as I am and be able to observe the game from a global perspective,” Tomlin said. “I think when you’re coaching, you block out a lot of the peripheral things that go on during the course of the NFL season. It’s been fun to really enjoy observing it, absorbing it from a football lover’s perspective. And so I’m thoroughly enjoying it, but it’s also fun to be challenged. I’m somewhat of a novice obviously, and so I’ve just been hyperfocused on getting better each and every week in terms of delivering information and delivering it in an educational and entertaining way.
“I’m having a lot of fun.”
Tomlin is expected to draw significant interest from teams with head-coach openings after the season, though it’s unclear whether he would leave NBC to return to a team.
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In 19 seasons with the Steelers, Tomlin won 62.8% of games (193-114-2), advancing to the playoffs in 13 seasons. He led the Steelers to two Super Bowl appearances, including a win after the 2008 season, in his first four seasons. But the Steelers did not win a playoff game in his last nine campaigns, despite advancing to the postseason six of those years.
The Steelers fielded a top-10 scoring defense in 11 of Tomlin’s 19 years.
In the Steelers’ first season without Tomlin, they’ve started 6-2 under head coach Mike McCarthy. The Steelers, currently sit atop the AFC North, facing the 6-2 Cincinnati Bengals on Sunday Night Football with the division lead on the line.
