For the first time in his adult life, Mike Tomlin is preparing for a fall in which he will not be playing or coaching football. And for the first time since his decision to step down after 31 seasons in coaching, and 19 seasons leading the Steelers, Tomlin talked about why.
“There’s a loneliness with leadership,” Tomlin said. “I just thought it was a good time for me, personally, and by that I mean just where I am in life. And I thought it was a good time for the organization to be quite honest with you. We didn’t have a lot of success in the playoffs in recent years, and there’s just some veteran players there, man. Guys like Cam Heyward and T.J. Watt and [Chris] Boswell that I thought just that were worthy of the excitement and the optimism associated with new leadership.”
Tomlin made those comments Sunday night on NBC's NBA studio show. It's no coincidence why gave that interview there: because, as has long been rumored, NBC formally announced Sunday that Tomlin will join the crew as an analyst on its pregame show, Football Night in America. He'll replace Tony Dungy.
The stay is supposed to be a short one. Tomlin is only 54, still prime coaching years; for example, he's eight years younger than his replacement, Mike McCarthy. He would have his pick of jobs next cycle, should he simply say the word.
Then again, you never know. The obvious parallel to Tomlin is his own predecessor, Bill Cowher, who was just 35 when he coached his first Steelers game and 48 when he left Pittsburgh for CBS. The assumption then was that Cowher was simply making a pit stop before rejoining the NFL. Instead, Cowher will celebrate 20 years on the CBS NFL desk this fall.
It will be interesting to see how the Steelers do this fall in Tomlin's absence, particularly if Aaron Rodgers returns. That's not to say Tomlin's reputation is on the line in any way, but his tenure can be argued in either direction. At 193-114-2, Tomlin won a Super Bowl, two AFC championships, eight AFC North championships, made the playoffs 13 times, and set an NFL record with 19 consecutive non-losing seasons. But the last AFC title came in 2010, and Tomlin ended his run on a 7-game playoff losing streak, with the last playoff win coming more than a decade ago now. The non-losing season streak lost its luster with Steeler Nation when season after season ended by Wild Card weekend. Tomlin's critics argued that he lost his fastball, his supporters countered that he was winning nine and 10 games with rosters that would've won six or seven without him.
Either way, change was appropriate for both parties, and Tomlin acknowledged that in his debut with his new employer.