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Former Pittsburgh Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin may be back in the league sooner than expected.
The AFC North had a ton of coaching turnover this offseason as it saw the departures of Pittsburgh Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin, Baltimore Ravens head coach John Harbaugh and Cleveland Browns head coach Kevin Stefanski.
It didn’t take long for Harbaugh and Stefanski to find new jobs, either, as they joined the New York Giants and Atlanta Falcons, respectively. However, Tomlin decided to take his talents on the sidelines in a different way, signing on as an analyst on NBC’s Football Night in America.
Tomlin seems to be settling in to his new gig quite well at this point, but Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk thinks the early success of his counterparts could have teams trying to convince him to return to coaching sooner rather than later.
“Although former Steelers coach Mike Tomlin has given no indication that he intends to coach again, the league’s perennial also-rans should be plotting a run at luring him to town,” Florio wrote. “Whatever it takes. Money, roster control, anything else he’d want. With the going rate for the best coaches in the range of $25 million per year, offer Tomlin $30 million. Or $35 million. Or $40 million.”
It’s say to assume there would be many teams interested in pulling Tomlin out of retirement. He finished his 19-year tenure in Pittsburgh as a Super Bowl champion and with the most consecutive non-losing seasons to begin a coaching career.
However, only time will tell if money would be enough to lure Tomlin out of retirement. It would certainly have to be the right opportunity, too, but Florio doesn’t necessarily think Tomlin would be adopting a team ready to win right away.
“It’s not hard to come up with a list of teams that should be making a full-court press for Tomlin. The Jets, who share a stadium with the Giants, have been lost in the NFL wilderness for years. And the Jets now have to witness the impact that Tomlin’s former arch rival is having on the other team in town,” Florio continued. “If the owners who see what Harbaugh has done believe Tomlin can do it for their teams, there will be a very real financial component that will be difficult to ignore.”
That could make it a difficult sell for several teams, but never say never as crazier things have happened.