Troy Aikman questions why anyone would want to be an NFL coach

As Troy Aikman helps the Miami Dolphins find their next head coach, he’s not sure why it’s a position that even appeals to anyone.

During Aikman’s weekly appearance with The Musers on The Ticket in Dallas, he discussed Mike Tomlin taking a break from coaching after 19 years with the Pittsburgh Steelers, and John Harbaugh leaving the Baltimore Ravens after 18 seasons. While Tomlin appears destined to trade coaching for a TV gig, Harbaugh will be back on the sideline next season, most likely with the New York Giants. And Aikman is left to wonder why anyone would want to endure the job of a head coach.

“Sean McVay, he flirted with it a few years ago after they had won their Super Bowl and he had given a lot of consideration to going into television. We’re seeing that from coaches, we’ve seen it from officials who have left the field to go into television,” Aikman said. “It’s a tough, tough job right now. I’ve often said, I’m not sure why anyone would want to go into coaching, people still are.”

Not only are people still getting into the coaching profession, but you have coaches like Harbaugh getting fired after 18 seasons with one team, and immediately jumping into searching for his next job. Harbaugh could have taken a two-week or two-year vacation and teams would be waiting for him to get back on the sideline whenever he’s ready. Instead, he went directly from Baltimore to talking about his next job.

But if the money is similar, why wouldn’t you want a weekly TV job instead of the hours and pressure that comes with being a head coach? Although that probably shouldn’t be Aikman’s first comment when recruiting candidates for the Dolphins head coaching vacancy.

Aikman has expressed an interest in running an NFL team throughout his post-playing career, but he’s never expressed an interest in coaching at the pro level. And the Monday Night Football analyst is currently scratching that itch in an advisor role with the Dolphins. Lucky for Aikman and the Dolphins, there are enough candidates who don’t share is opinion of being a coach.