Terry Bradshaw and Jimmy Johnson on Fox NFL Sunday Credit: Fox NFL Sunday
By Brendon Kleen on

After the Pittsburgh Steelers laid an egg in Baltimore during Wild Card Weekend once again, Fox NFL Sunday panelists Terry Bradshaw and Jimmy Johnson ripped the franchise to open their show, even suggesting that the franchise part with respected head coach Mike Tomlin after 18 seasons.

Reacting to Pittsburgh’s ugly 28-14 loss on Saturday, a fourth straight two-score playoff loss that extended their playoff winless streak to eight years, Bradshaw was far more critical than usual.

“The defense was horrible, couldn’t stop the run, couldn’t stop the pass, couldn’t do anything right last night,” Bradshaw said. “This doesn’t look anything like the Steeler teams we’ve seen.”

To hear a franchise icon like Bradshaw rip the storied organization is one thing, but Johnson went so far as to suggest a “coaching swap” with another head coach on the outs with a high-profile franchise.

“I’ve got no inside information, but things are stale in Pittsburgh,” Johnson said. “Things are stale in Dallas. Just food for thought, how about a coaching swap? Mike McCarthy’s a Pittsburgh guy. Let him go to Pittsburgh, let Mike Tomlin go to Dallas. Both franchises would be excited.”

McCarthy is a free agent in Dallas after coaching the Cowboys since 2020 and was born and raised in Pittsburgh.

On the other hand, the noise around Tomlin is louder than ever. The Steelers are notorious for loyalty in their football leadership, but Tomlin has not won a playoff game since Ben Roethlisberger retired. Fans in Pittsburgh are seemingly not as sold on the Super Bowl-winning coach as they once were. And whether it’s the likes of Al Michaels suggesting Tomlin would be great as an analyst in the media or any number of hungry teams who could look to hire him, Tomlin would be in demand elsewhere.

Could that be Dallas?

Johnson seems to think it makes sense, though that could be his allegiance to the Cowboys coming through. However, retired quarterback and FS1 analyst Chase Daniel speculated Dallas could be chasing Tomlin earlier Sunday as well.

The one who opened the door for the conversation on Fox NFL Sunday, though, was Bradshaw. The former Pittsburgh quarterback who led the team to four championships appears to be out on Tomlin.

Considering Bill Cowher, Tomlin’s predecessor and a panelist on CBS’ The NFL Today, is unlikely to pan his fellow Steeler, Bradshaw’s words will likely ring as loudly in Pittsburgh as anyone’s.

About Brendon Kleen

Brendon is a Media Commentary staff writer at Awful Announcing. He has also covered basketball and sports business at Front Office Sports, SB Nation, Uproxx and more.

View all posts by Brendon Kleen