One leading suitor has apparently surfaced for Mike Tomlin … one leading television suitor, that is.
NBC appears to have moved ahead of FOX in the race for Tomlin’s services, Andrew Marchand of The Athletic reported this week on his “Everybody Loves Sports Media” podcast. Marchand had previously tabbed FOX as the potential frontunner for Tomlin but is now updating his prediction.
“Mike Tomlin, I would say NBC may have moved ahead of FOX,” Marchand said, per Awful Announcing. “I’m not saying that’s definite, that anything’s definitely going to happen. But I think NBC might have, might might might, have the inside track over FOX if he does it.”
Awful Announcing also notes that Tomlin recently made a high-profile hire to represent him — sports media mega-agent Sandy Montag. Notably, Montag has represented Jim Nantz, Mike Tirico, Scott Van Pelt, and the late John Madden, among others.
The longtime former Pittsburgh Steelers head coach Tomlin parted ways with the team in January after 19 seasons as their head coach (since 2007). That span included eight AFC North division titles, zero losing seasons, and a victory in Super Bowl XLIII during the 2008 season.
But Tomlin’s coaching had ultimately grown stale in Pittsburgh, especially after nine seasons without a single playoff win. Now the rumor is that Tomlin, who is still only 54 years old, may never return to coaching again.
Tomlin was recently in the news again after offering his first public comments about leaving the Steelers. But he might soon be back on a television set near you as a commentator for NBC, who own the broadcast rights to “Sunday Night Football.”
