Former Pittsburgh Steelers coach Mike Tomlin isn’t afraid to go against the grain when it comes to being a broadcaster.
Usually, former coaches refrain from insulting NFL teams’ coaching staffs when they join the TV industry. Through the first three weeks of his stint with NBC, that hasn’t been the case for Tomlin at all.
During NBC’s halftime coverage for “Sunday Night Football,” Tomlin questioned the Dallas Cowboys’ coverage on the second-to-last play of the game against the Baltimore Ravens. They allowed the Ravens to get down the field in six seconds to set up a game-winning field goal from Tyler Loop.
“I thought the sequence play by the Dallas Cowboys at the end of the game was somewhat negligent, to be quite honest with you,” Tomlin said. “There were seven seconds left to go in regulation. They kick a touchback, Baltimore gets the ball at the 35-yard line and they had this really significant play down the middle of the field to their No. 1 receiver in Zay Flowers. … Certainly, strategically, I thought Dallas helped them in that circumstance.”
Even though Tomlin didn’t mention Cowboys coach Brian Schottenheimer and defensive coordinator Christian Parker by name, it was pretty evident he disagreed with their late-game decisions.
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This past Sunday’s remarks from Tomlin are being praised by the NFL world.
“Mike Tomlin has always had a unique ability to break down what’s happening in a way that connects with every level of football fan,” former NFL Network executive Eric Weinberger told Front Office Sports. “And it’s rare for a coach or player to move into television and be the exact same person viewers saw when they were active. What we’re seeing and hearing from Mike on TV is the same person he was before and after games with the Steelers. It’s refreshing.”
It’s not a one-time thing for Tomlin.
After the Cleveland Browns lost their season opener to the Jacksonville Jaguars, Tomlin mocked them by saying, “In the words of my friend JuJu Smith-Schuster, the Browns is the Browns.”
Browns coach Todd Monken fired back at Tomlin after picking up a Week 2 win over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
“Browns are gonna Browns— F— that!” Monken said at the microphone. “The guys took that to heart.”
The Browns will face the Steelers this Thursday night. This game won’t be televised on NBC, but we’d have to imagine Tomlin will say something about it later this week.
