Mike Tomlin will soon start a new chapter of his life. Maybe that chapter will still be on an NFL sideline, just not in Pittsburgh. However, there is a very vocal contingent that believes the former Steelers coach is destined for television.
For a number of years now, we have heard that Tomlin was a star in the making. The minute his coaching days were done, the thinking goes, networks would be falling over themselves to sign him as an analyst.
Plenty of Steelers fans will tell you he lost his fastball, but Mike Tomlin would bring star power and gravitas to any set he is on. 193 wins, two Super Bowl appearances, and one win, all with one of the league’s marquee franchises, will do that. I can see why the networks would line up just to pitch him on joining their company.
I don’t know that I believe this is a “just add water” situation, though. It may not look like it, but broadcasting is more than just talking. There’s a reason conversation is called an art.
The NFL needs new blood in its top broadcasting roles. That’s why even if Tom Brady wasn’t awesome out of the gate, I still found myself invested in his success. Same with JJ Watt in the studio and broadcast booth. I think a lot of us are over guys that haven’t taken a snap or called a play since the year bega,n with 19 telling us about modern football.
If Mike Tomlin chooses TV, I hope he is awesome at it. I just don’t think he will be, not right away at least. Here are my three concerns.
Letting go isn’t easy
For years, I have been saying that if a network really thinks a current coach can be a huge TV star, then it should make the money worth his while. Surely Amazon and Disney have more money to spend than even the richest owners in sports.
The problem is that TV probably cannot scratch the competitive itch that drives so many of these guys. Mike Tomlin won’t be good on TV unless he’s 100% dedicated to it. No one is.
I know a lot of people liked Jon Gruden on Monday Night Football, but what always stood out to me was that he claimed to love every player and every general manager. He wasn’t done with coaching, and so his analysis was tainted by not wanting to burn any bridges with the teams he may be interested in coaching in the future.
Will Tomlin be loyal to his audience or to the league? That’s a struggle for so many new analysts. A good analyst doesn’t always come out guns blazing, ready to tear down every single decision, but he or she does accept the responsibilities of the job. That means being honest, sometimes brutally so, about everyone, even the guys you coached or your closest friends.
In so many ways, Tomlin would do well to model his post-coaching life after fellow former Steelers coach Bill Cowher. Cowher has said many times that he is fully dedicated to being great on TV, regardless of the opportunities presented to him. He still has reverence for the Steelers, but knows he is no longer an active member of the team. He can still show reverence to the history and organization, but he is still honest about lingering problems that are holding the team back.
Does he know this is a job?
Why do so many dudes think they should start a podcast? Because in a lot of people’s minds, this isn’t a job. It’s just people talking, and talking is easy. Then they crack a microphone and realize, “Oh, I probably should have prepared.”
The trap is the same for former athletes and coaches as it is for college dudes and conspiracy theorists. It takes a lot of work to look like you aren’t working at all.
Is Mike Tomlin ready for that? I doubt that a guy who has spent his whole life coaching football would be turned off by the amount of prep that goes into a broadcast, but can he accept the prep being directed by someone else? Can he take homework seriously?
Every worker in every profession has goals, but different fields come with different goals. Will Mike Tomlin be motivated by the goals of a broadcaster the way he was motivated to build a championship team? I don’t know. I don’t think he could know until he’s in that situation. Tony Romo was a superstar out of the gates for CBS, calling plays before they even happened. But he now faces regular criticism for his work, with one of the chief complaints being that it appears he doesn’t do his homework.
This is why I would need to know that Tomlin could live with never coaching again before I signed off on the idea that he is a star just waiting for a time to shine. It’s hard to fully dedicate yourself to a new career while keeping an eye on opportunities in your old field.
Is he being set up to disappoint?
We have been told over and over again that there may be no ceiling on what Mike Tomlin can achieve in the broadcast business. That might be true, but I always think about Les Miles on Fox. He was great with the media and awful IN THE MEDIA.
Now, don’t get me wrong. I am not saying this is a reason you shouldn’t hire Tomlin, but if I work for a network that is ready to hire him, I’m telling my current talent to relax on the oversell. Yes, the coach is always good for a quote. Yes, there are plenty of stories about who he is one-on-one. All of that is good, but they’re evidence of what could be, not what is. There’s a huge difference between being a great interviewee or fun at press conferences and being a great broadcaster.
So, reframe the significance of Tomlin joining your network. The value is not that he is a star. It’s that he’s a Super Bowl-winning coach in the current NFL landscape. He doesn’t have to be the next big thing. Tomlin can simply be “the new guy” as he grows into whatever he will become.
All of this could be irrelevant. We’re assuming that Mike Tomlin will be working for a network and not a team next season, but maybe there’s a situation or an offer that blows him away, and he immediately joins a new team.
Tomlin is at a place not many people get to experience – he’s in high demand from everyone. That’s gotta be a good feeling, even if it comes with the weight of expectation.
About Demetri Ravanos