With Mike Tomlin’s decision to step down as Steelers coach, there’s growing speculation he will jump into a lucrative career in sports media.
As previously reported by Front Office Sports, Tomlin has long been the No. 1 draft pick of billion-dollar NFL media partners looking for the next great football analyst.
Of course, Tomlin could be eyeing one of the open NFL head coaching jobs with the Giants, Falcons, etc. But if he does want media after 19 years in Pittsburgh, there will be a seismic reaction, says one TV source.
“Tomlin probably will have five media offers. Every network will offer him a job,” predicts the source. “He could be the one guy every network makes an offer to. You have a successful coach, number one, a good communicator, number two.”
That is if Tomlin doesn’t have a destination in mind already. ProFootballTalk wrote the 53-year-old may have a media offer in hand. “Every network will want him,” writes PFT.
Tomlin was pulling down roughly $16 million a year as Steelers coach. The question now is whether he’d want to be a game analyst like Tom Brady of Fox, Troy Aikman of ESPN, and Tony Romo of CBS. That’s where the big money lies. Brady pockets an eye-popping $37.5 million a year, while Aikman and Romo earn $18 million annually from ESPN and CBS.
Or Tomlin could look for a soft landing in sports media with a once-a-week studio analyst gig. In that case, the bidding would likely start at $5 million to $8 million, according to longtime football writer Gary Myers. That’s what his Steelers predecessor Bill Cowher did after leaving coaching. He’s been a mainstay on the frequently changing cast of The NFL Today since 2007.
Here are some possible landing spots if Tomlin wants media:
- CBS: A seat just opened up next to Cowher on The NFL Today with the departure of Matt Ryan to the Falcons. After moving J.J. Watt to game analyst, the granddaddy of all NFL studio shows is down two cast members. But does new CBS Sports chief David Berson want to have two former Steelers coaches on the same show?
- Fox: Tomlin could slide perfectly into former Cowboys coach Jimmy Johnson’s seat on Fox NFL Sunday. He’s got the Super Bowl pedigree and the experience to chop it up with Terry Bradshaw & Co. But Fox has been giving more on-air reps to Rob Gronkowski this season. Does it want to upset the show’s chemistry?
- ESPN: As a rule, big bosses Jimmy Pitaro and Burke Magnus look into every potential star who comes on the market. There have been growing rumors Rex Ryan has the itch to return to coaching. Tomlin would be the perfect replacement for the former Jets coach on Sunday NFL Countdown and Monday’s Get Up with Mike Greenberg. Did we mention Scott Van Pelt’s Monday Night Countdown doesn’t have a coach in its cast? Tomlin could be another Nick Saban–like coup for the worldwide leader.
- Amazon Prime Video: The real wild card here. Tomlin would add some needed coaching gravitas to Prime’s freewheeling pregame and postgame shows. Prime boss Jay Marine told FOS he wants a Super Bowl. Who better than a Super Bowl–winning coach to call the first streamer-only Big Game?
- Netflix: Don’t forget about them. Netflix just hired Elle Duncan away from ESPN for a wide-ranging sports hosting role. Both Fox and ESPN have shut the door on streamers borrowing their on-air talent. So look for Netflix to hire more full-time sports media talents.
- NBC: The network also likes to tinker with the cast of Football Night in America. Tomlin could be a breakout new star on the pregame show hosted by Maria Taylor.
Over the decades, many NFL coaches have left for TV before returning to the sidelines. Tomlin could follow in the path of Bruce Arians and Sean Payton, who took a TV break before returning to the league.
After retiring from the Cardinals, Arians called games for CBS for one season before un-retiring and leading Brady’s Buccaneers to a Super Bowl championship. Payton served as a Fox studio analyst in 2022 before returning to the NFL. His 14–3 Broncos just ended the Chiefs’ nine-year reign atop the AFC West.
The Broncos had to trade for Payton, who was still under contract with the Saints when he returned to coaching. When he quit on Tuesday, Tomlin had two years left on his Steelers deal, including a team option for 2027.
