Former Steelers coach Mike Tomlin has made the pivot to media. One question won’t go away.
Will he coach again?
“I’m having a lot of fun,” Tomlin said Wednesday on an NBC conference call, via Mark Maske of Front Office Sports. “Haven’t given one iota of thought about coaching. I’m sure that, you know, some of that’s going to come up in the not-too-distant future. But I’ll cross that bridge when I come to it. Really haven’t thought a lot about it. Really excited about my new role and working to get better each and every week.”
He’s excellent in his new role. Which serves as a reminder to all NFL owners that he’s excellent as a coach.
Here’s the reality. Owners and/or their proxies will be reaching out through the backchannels, sooner rather than later. Some teams may not even be thinking about changing coaches unless they believe they can get Tomlin.
Despite the league’s procedures when it comes to coaches, it would be naive to think some jobs aren’t unofficially filled before the interview process ends.
Ultimately, the manner in which any pursuit of Tomlin unfolds will be dictated by him. If he says, “I’ll entertain nothing until the regular season ends,” interested teams will have to factor that into their planning. If they really want Tomlin, they’ll have to wait.
Tomlin can also wait for the right opportunity. He’d still be at the top of the “A” list after the 2027 season, and possibly (if not likely) beyond. He’d surely want to pick a team that has everything he needs to be successful right away. With the key factors (as they would be for any coaching candidate with options) being ownership support and quality of quarterback.
This year, teams to potentially watch (and this is my own list, pulled out of thin air and/or my butt) include the Jets, the Colts, the Eagles, and the Panthers.
The Cowboys would make the list, if owner and G.M. Jerry Jones was truly willing to write the check. He made it clear last week that he’s not.
And it surely will require the shattering of the piggy bank to get Tomlin. With the top of the coaching market in the range of $25 million annually, it’ll likely take $30 million (or more) annually to even get his attention.
The one to watch most closely is the Panthers. Owner David Tepper, who previously owned a piece of the Steelers, is widely believed to be very interested in Tomlin. The Jets make sense, too; with the Giants reaping the instant benefit of hiring Tomlin’s former arch rival, John Harbaugh, Jets owner Woody Johnson may become motivated to do whatever it takes to get Tomlin.
Steelers Clips
If the Steelers beat the Bengals on Monday night, Aaron Rodgers will move into a tie for fourth place on the NFL’s all-time wins list.
Rodgers’ teams have won 180 games he has started, counting the playoffs. His next win will give him No. 181, the same number Drew Brees retired with, and the fourth most of all time.
The only quarterbacks in NFL history who have won more starts are Tom Brady with a preposterous 286 wins, Peyton Manning with 200 and Brett Favre with 199. Rodgers has said this will be his last NFL season, so he won’t catch Favre for third place.
Rodgers won 158 games as starting quarterback for the Packers, six with the Jets and has now won 16 with the Steelers.
Vikings receiver Justin Jefferson is the ultimate team player. And he’d ultimately never say publicly if he wanted to be traded to a new team.
Teams looking for a receiver should make the call.
Few players are untouchable, when it comes to a trade. And even if the Vikings would hang up the phone and not listen, teams that need a high-end pass-catcher should try.
The Rams currently are in a pickle, thanks to the placement of Puka Nacua on injured reserve, where he joins Davante Adams. The Chiefs could use help at the position, too.
Ditto for the Steelers, who (like the Chiefs and Commanders) have interest in Jaguars receiver Brian Thomas Jr.
Then there are the 49ers, who are always lurking when it comes to possibly making a big move.
Regardless, it makes sense to make the call. If the Vikings aren’t going to make a move for a functional quarterback, they should stockpile picks and give Jefferson a chance to chase the championship that won’t happen in Minnesota — especially if they waste his seventh season by not upgrading at the quarterback position.
Yes, a trade would come with a 2027 cap charge. The Vikings also would avoid the $30 million he’s due to make in 2027, and the upgrade to meet the increased market that he surely already wants.
At the end of the day, it’s one or the other. Trade for a better quarterback, or trade Jefferson to another team. Of the available options, doing neither makes the least sense.
The NFL announced a couple of changes to kickoff times for Week 11 of the 2026 season.
The Jaguars and Giants were originally scheduled to start their game at MetLife Stadium at 1 p.m. ET on November 22, but the game will now get underway at 4:25 p.m. ET. The Steelers’ visit to Philadelphia to face the Eagles was set for that time and it will now take over the 1 p.m. slot.
Both games will still be broadcast by CBS and the Jaguars-Giants contest is now set to be the network’s national game during that window. It’s a sensible change as both teams are leading their divisions while the Eagles, who have a bye in Week 10, will carry a seven-game losing streak into their matchup with the Steelers.
A Raiders-Broncos game in Denver will also start at 4:25 p.m. ET and the Jets-Chargers game in Los Angeles will be the lone 4:05 p.m. ET start that weekend.
Hall of Fame linebacker Jack Ham, who now serves as a radio analyst for Penn State football, was hospitalized in Seattle on Saturday after experiencing a medical emergency.
Penn State coach Matt Campbell said after the 28-25 win over Washington that Ham was assisted by play-by-play announcer Steve Jones.
“If it’s not for Steve, what he did, I don’t know if we have as good a news as we do right now,” Campbell said, via Adam Rittenberg of ESPN. Campbell added that Jones’s efforts to save Ham were “heroic.”
Ham is in stable condition.
Ham, 77, has served as the Penn State radio analyst since 2000. He won four Super Bowls, made eight straight Pro Bowls, and was named first-team All-Pro six consecutive times in a 12-year career with the Steelers.
Ham was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1988, after retiring from football in 1982.
Browns defensive end Jared Verse is getting upset.
Well, even more upset.
Verse, who was miffed at being dumped on his head by Steelers guard Mason McCormick on an extra-point try last Sunday — and at his teammates for not rushing to his defense, will surely be unhappy to learn that the NFL didn’t fine McCormick for his WWE move.
McCormick was flagged for unnecessary roughness on the play.
It’s unclear why the league didn’t fine McCormick. The league never explains the basis for not imposing a financial penalty on a given player.
Regardless, the league was as unbothered by the play as the other Browns players were. And it’s likely that Verse will have something to say about it after Sunday’s game at the Saints.
The NFL Players Association announced on Friday that they have named Steelers long snapper Christian Kuntz their Community MVP for Week 9 of the 2026 season.
Kuntz recently donated $10,000 to Pittsburgh Morrow school to help open a resource room that will benefit more than 200 students every month. Kuntz also helped stock that room with clothing and food while his foundation hosted its inaugural Kuntz 4 Ki6s Halloween Bash for 80 children from nine local nonprofit organizations.
“I am incredibly honored to be named this week’s NFLPA Community MVP,” Kuntz said. “Pittsburgh is home to me, and being able to make a positive impact in the community that I grew up in is extra special. Football has given us this platform, and I believe it’s important to use that to make a difference beyond the field.”
The NFLPA will donate $10,000 to Kuntz’s foundation and he will join the other weekly MVPs in being eligible for the Alan Page Award at the end of the season.
The Ravens haven’t had much to celebrate Thursday night, but Derrick Henry gave the home fans something to cheer.
Henry had 51 first-half rushing yards, which was enough to move him into seventh on the all-time rushing list. He passed Jerome Bettis (13,662) and LaDainian Tomlinson (13,684) in moving from ninth to seventh.
Curtis Martin is next on the list, with his 14,101 career rushing yards ranking sixth all time.
Henry entered the night with 632 yards for the season and 13,650 in his career.
Over the past four seasons, Henry has averaged 1,578 yards. He has averaged 85 yards per game in his career.
Henry will need to play another three to four years to break Emmitt Smith’s record of 18,355 yards.
Smith was 35 years old in his final season of 2004. Henry turns 33 in January.
Smith said earlier this year that he believes Henry has a chance to break his record.
Browns defensive end Jared Verse was picked up and thrown to the ground by Steelers guard Mason McCormick on Sunday, and McCormick wasn’t the only person Verse was upset with afterward.
Verse told reporters in Cleveland today that he was upset both by McCormick’s cheap shot and by his teammates’ reaction, or lack thereof. Verse thought the rest of the Browns’ players should have had his back, and didn’t.
“To be quite honest with you, that was the play that made me really angry,” Verse said. “I was already upset about the game, the way things were moving, but at that point it became deep. You’re doing dirty shit, you’re trying to sweep my legs out. That honestly could have put me in a position to not be able to finish the season, put me in a position to change my life in a very bad aspect, so that upset me. The lack of reaction by those around me had upset me a lot. They were focused on the game and everything like that, but a similar play happened to Derek Barnett on the next field goal, and I spazzed, I lost it. Because those are my brothers, those are my teammates, and when you do something like that to them, it upsets me deeply. We have to get better, we have to be aware. These are my teammates, these are my brothers, and we’re not fighting for each other.”
Verse said he addressed his feelings with his teammates. Verse did acknowledge that he brought some of it on himself by the trash talk he was directing at the Steelers, but he still felt that his teammates should have protected him when it escalated from verbal to physical.
“That’s a conversation that we’ve had, we’ve spoken about,” Verse said. “I made my concerns known, I’ve made my issues known about the situation, but also, I didn’t put them in a position to let them know that, I didn’t let them know beforehand I was going to talk to the Steelers and Steeler Nation. I’ve got to be better.”
Verse, the 2024 NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year who arrived in Cleveland in the trade that sent Myles Garrett to the Rams, has been a disappointment this season. His teammates may be wishing he’d focus a little less on talking trash and getting into altercations on the field, and a little more on sacking the opposing quarterback — something he hasn’t done yet this season.
Let Russ coach.
Former NFL quarterback Russell Wilson, who’s in his first year as a member of The NFL Today on CBS, is exploring a possible Saturday gig.
Via Adam Schefter of ESPN, Wilson interviewed on Tuesday for the head-coaching vacancy at NC State.
Wilson spent four years at NC State, from 2007 through 2010, before transferring to Wisconsin after the Wolfpack opted to go with Mike Glennon for 2011.
The 10-time Pro Bowler has no coaching experience. The reported favorite for the job, former NFL and NC State quarterback Philip Rivers, has high-school coaching experience only.
If nothing else, the interview puts Wilson on the radar screen for other coaching jobs, at the college and pro level. His potential aspirations to coach were not, before now, widely known.
