Pittsburgh Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin has been spuriously tied to college coaching jobs in the past. He’s laughed them off at every step. But that didn’t stop his former star quarterback Ben Roethlisberger from suggesting this time is different.
On a recent episode of his Footbahlin podcast, Big Ben addressed the recent criticism of Tomlin among some of the Steelers’ fanbase, something that manifested in audible “Fire Tomlin” chants during a blowout home loss to the Buffalo Bills on Sunday. And surprisingly, despite being a steady defender of Tomlin in the past, Roethlisberger said it might be “clean-house time” when it comes to the veteran coach.
“It’s being talked about around here a lot: Maybe it’s a clean-house time. Maybe it’s time,” Roethlisberger said. “I like Coach Tomlin. I have a lot of respect for Coach Tomlin. But maybe it’s best for him, too. Maybe a fresh start for him is what’s best.”
That’s been a pretty common refrain among NFL media types about the Tomlin-Steelers relationship for years. Perhaps, just like when Andy Reid left Philadelphia for Kansas City, moving on can benefit both sides. But what Big Ben said next came as a surprise to everybody.
“Whether that’s in the pros, maybe go be Penn State’s head coach. You know what he would do in Penn State? He would probably go win national championships. Because he’s a great recruiter.”
Let’s just say, unless Tomlin has changed his mind in the last four years, taking a college job is a non-starter.
“That’s a joke to me,” the Steelers head coach said in 2021 when asked about his interest in the USC job. “I got one of the best jobs in all of professional sport. Why would I have any interest in coaching college football? That’ll be the last time that I address it. And not only today, but moving forward. Never say never, but never. Okay? Anybody else got any questions about any college jobs? There’s not a booster with a big enough blank check… Anybody asking Sean Payton about that? Anybody asking Andy Reid about stuff like that?”
Tomlin was right then and he’s right now. His pedigree speaks for itself. He’s a pro coach through and through with a proven track record at the NFL level. It’d be difficult to imagine a no-nonsense coach like Tomlin subjecting himself to the soap opera that is modern college football.
Does that mean him and the Steelers shouldn’t consider other options? Of course not. But Roethlisberger was entirely off base floating Tomlin for the Penn State opening. If both sides decide to go in different directions, there are probably 20 NFL teams that would be making a phone call to Tomlin’s agent to gauge interest. And if the veteran head coach wasn’t clear in 2021, he’d probably take all 20 of those jobs before going to Penn State.
About Drew Lerner
Drew Lerner is a staff writer for Awful Announcing and an aspiring cable subscriber. He previously covered sports media for Sports Media Watch. Future beat writer for the Oasis reunion tour.