Just minutes before the Baltimore Ravens and Pittsburgh Steelers kicked off to battle for the AFC North division title on Sunday Night Football, NBC Sports NFL insider and Pro Football Talk founder Mike Florio spoke about the future of Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin.
“19 years for Mike Tomlin here in Pittsburgh,” Florio said on Football Night in America, while standing on the sideline in Pittsburgh. “He’s never had a losing record. And it wasn’t that long ago that these same folks were chanting ‘Fire Tomlin.'”
“Nobody expects the Steelers to fire Mike Tomlin,” Florio continued. “But, but, could this be the time that he makes a detour to a different industry? There’s a lot of steam about Tomlin maybe heading to TV. That’s going to be something to watch whenever the dust settles on this season, win or lose tonight.”
Mike Florio: “Nobody expects the Steelers to fire Mike Tomlin. But, but, could this be the time that he makes a detour to a different industry? There’s a lot of steam about Tomlin maybe heading to TV…” 🏈📺🎙️ #SNF #NFL pic.twitter.com/fldpwjah42
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) January 5, 2026
Florio is certainly not the first insider to suggest that Tomlin could leave coaching to be a television analyst. In fact, ESPN’s Adam Schefter and Peter Schrager each floated the possibility over the last week. Schefter even named Ravens head coach John Harbaugh as a possibility to do the same.
Tomlin has been viewed as a top target for television networks over the last few years. Long lauded for his leadership and communication skills, the Super Bowl-winning head coach seems like a natural fit for television.
And if Tomlin truly wants to go that route at some point, the timing makes sense now. He would be entering Year 20 as Steelers head coach next season, and in what’s sure to be a challenging transition period for an organization that is currently starting 42-year-old Aaron Rodgers at quarterback. While the Steelers have annually been in postseason contention, they last won at least 11 games in 2020, and they last won a playoff game in 2016. It hasn’t exactly been an ascending situation.
If Tomlin is looking for a fresh career start, television networks would pounce at the opportunity to pay him big dollars to talk football. NBC, fittingly, is a network that could use that sort of splash for its NFL coverage.
About Matt Clapp
Matt is an editor/writer at The Comeback and Awful Announcing.
He can be reached by email at mclapp@thecomeback.com.