Mike Tomlin reportedly gave Steelers notice on final decision about return to coaching

Credit: Barry Reeger-Imagn Images

Mike Tomlin spent 19 seasons as the head coach of the Pittsburgh Steelers before stepping away after last year’s Wild Card round loss to the Houston Texans in the playoffs. Tomlin has since joined NBC’s Football Night in America show as a studio analyst, and the Steelers have replaced him with Mike McCarty.

Both parties seem to be doing extraordinarily well following the shakeup. The Steelers are 6-2 heading into their bye week and are alone in first place in the AFC North. Tomlin, meanwhile, has earned rave reviews for his role as an analyst all season long.

Steelers defensive tackle Cam Heyward speculated this week that Tomlin would not be back on an NFL sideline, despite speculation that he’d be one of the most in-demand names during next offseason’s coaching carousel.

“Guys, he’s not coming back. He’s way too comfortable. He told me as soon as he walked in, ‘I win every week now.’ And I’m like, ‘I get that.’ I get that. And I’m not gonna fight against that because that’s a pretty sweet job he’s got going on over there,” Heyward said, via Gerry Dulac, on Tuesday.

Then on Wednesday, Dulac followed up with more reporting on the matter, and it would appear that Heyward was correct, as Tomlin has already let the Steelers organization know.

“My understanding is the Steelers are free of any compensation after this season if Tomlin returns to coaching. I will tell you, though, I have been told that he has told the Steelers he doesn’t intend to coach anymore. We’ll see,” Dulac said.

If Dulac is right, it’s hard to blame Tomlin. And as he recently told Travis and Jason Kelce on New Heights, his job with NBC is “part-time work, full-time pay.” There’s also his contract situation with NBC, with the network reportedly backloading his contract to try to incentivize him to stay for the long term.

After 19 seasons without a losing record and a Super Bowl ring to boot, if there’s anyone who deserves to put their feet up, it’s Mike Tomlin.

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Source: sports.yahoo.com — article syndicated from the publisher’s feed; all rights remain with the original publisher.