Terry Bradshaw raised eyebrows on Sunday with a surprising on-air revelation: he’s never met Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin. Yes, you read that right-Bradshaw, the Hall of Fame quarterback who led Pittsburgh to four Super Bowl titles, has never crossed paths with the man who's been steering the Steelers for the past 18 seasons.
The moment came during Fox's NFL coverage, as Bradshaw sat alongside Curt Menefee, Howie Long, and Michael Strahan. In the wake of Pittsburgh’s gritty win over the Ravens, Bradshaw casually dropped the nugget that he's never met Tomlin. And naturally, the internet lit up.
For context, Tomlin isn’t just a long-tenured coach-he’s a Super Bowl champion, a consistent leader, and one of the most respected minds in the game. Since taking over in 2007, he’s never posted a losing season.
So the idea that one of the franchise’s most iconic players has never even shaken hands with the team’s modern-era architect? That’s tough for fans to wrap their heads around.
Social media lit up with disbelief. Reactions ranged from confusion to curiosity, with fans asking the same question in different ways: How is that even possible?
But this unexpected moment is just the latest in a string of head-scratchers involving Bradshaw on Fox’s NFL coverage this season. His broadcast presence has come under renewed scrutiny, not necessarily for a lack of football knowledge-his résumé speaks for itself-but for a series of awkward on-air moments that have left viewers puzzled.
Take last week, for instance. When asked for his thoughts on the Bills-Steelers matchup, Bradshaw launched into an impromptu monologue about airport security. Yes, airport security.
“I panic, I will panic, when I go through the airport later tonight,” Bradshaw said, veering off-topic before eventually tying it-somehow-back to Pittsburgh’s defense. “If I’m Josh Allen, there’s panic written all over this,” he added, referencing the Bills quarterback’s rough outing the previous week, which included eight sacks and a barrage of pressure.
To his credit, Bradshaw did circle back to the actual football analysis, highlighting Pittsburgh’s pass rush as a major problem for Buffalo. But the winding road he took to get there had his colleagues-and viewers-doing double takes.
Long tried to smooth things over with a chuckle: “I see what you did there. Took a long while to get there.”
Strahan followed with a jab of his own: “Every time you start your comments like that, I panic.”
Then there was the misstep with Seahawks rookie wideout Jaxon Smith-Njigba. After the former Ohio State star ripped off a 63-yard touchdown against the Titans, Bradshaw struggled with the name on-air, referring to him as “Njigboo.”
Strahan quickly corrected him-“It’s Njigba”-to which Bradshaw responded, “That’s what I said. Something like that.”
It’s moments like these that spark conversation-not just about Bradshaw’s current role on the broadcast team, but about how the game, and the way we talk about it, continues to evolve. Bradshaw is a legend, no doubt. But live TV is a different kind of pressure, and it’s clear that not every segment is going according to script.
Still, the most jarring detail from Sunday remains that disconnect between past and present in Pittsburgh. Bradshaw and Tomlin-two pillars of the same storied franchise, separated by decades but united by black and gold-have somehow never crossed paths.
It’s not scandalous, just surprising. And in a league that thrives on storylines, it’s one that fans will be talking about for a while.