If Mike Tomlin decides he no longer wants to be an NFL head coach, he can pick his TV studio job.
Fox, ESPN, NBC, CBS and Amazon Prime Video would all be better with Tomlin if he wants to take a break from coaching and impart his Tomlin-isms via the small screen. He can likely receive multi-million dollar offers from all of them.
Fox is considered the favorite, as it has not filled Jimmy Johnson’s seat on Fox’s NFL studio show following Johnson’s retirement. “Fox NFL Sunday,” featuring Michael Strahan, Terry Bradshaw, Howie Long and Rob Gronkowski, has a top-line resume requirement:
Must be a Hall of Famer or future Hall of Famer.
While we are not here to argue if Tomlin belongs in Canton or not, he qualifies for what Fox seeks, and the network would have interest, according to sources.
Fox won’t be alone, as Tomlin has been eyed by broadcasters for a decade. From former CBS Sports chairman Sean McManus to the legendary Al Michaels, they have all pointed to Tomlin as a future NFL TV analyst, if he so chooses.
Tomlin could be a media free agent at an ideal time. ESPN is in “add” mode as it gears up for its first Super Bowl in February 2027 and very likely will try to goose up its star power on Monday Nights so the pregame show has the star level of its broadcasts, featuring Joe Buck, Troy Aikman and the Mannings.
NBC may very well make changes to its studio teams following its Super Bowl broadcast next month, as it gears up its four-year cycle until its next big game in 2029.
CBS hasn’t been the place for the biggest off-the-field stars on its NFL studio show, but, with David Ellison’s money, it could have the wherewithal to think bigger, though with Bill Cowher, two ex-Steelers coaches might be one too many.
Prime Video does not have an obvious spot, but Tomlin is someone programming executives make room to add. Plus, Amazon can cover an eight-figure-a-year contract just on the deliveries that they made around the globe as you read this paragraph.
While Tomlin may be good as a game analyst, his timing and potential career aspirations do not line up as neatly. There are no No. 1 openings at the moment, which would allow him to command a Tony Romo- or Troy Aikman-like near-$20 million a year salary.
(Forget Tom Brady’s $37.5 million per year, because, outside of Peyton Manning’s deal with ESPN, it is unlikely anyone is going to get to that number in the near future to be an NFL TV analyst.)
For media executives, the only drawback with Tomlin is that he might just be waiting for his next coaching job. That is a big difference between ex-players and ex-coaches. In general, there is a much better chance that ex-coaches return to the grind; ex-players tend to stay retired.
But maybe Tomlin wants to take a break after all these winning seasons that have had disappointing endings.
His best years as a coach came with Ben Roethlisberger in his prime. Without a top quarterback, the Steelers have been very competitive — but not for the Super Bowl.
Tomlin could sit back and wait for the right job with the right QB. Or maybe he ends up like Johnson at Fox.
Johnson was a coaching lifer before seeing there was another world out there, being on TV and enjoying family and friends. After nearly two decades as the head coach of the Steelers, Tomlin may want to see the world from a new point of view.
Fox will be knocking at his door and are the favorite. But they won’t be alone.
