Mike Tomlin isn’t exactly lowering the bar for his old team.
Now working as an analyst for NBC Sports and set to join the Football Night in America broadcast team, Tomlin was asked Thursday on The Rich Eisen Show whether he thinks the Steelers can win the Super Bowl in their first season without him on the sideline.
“I certainly do,” Tomlin said. “I think that’s the only reason Aaron [Rodgers] comes back.
He believes it, I believe it. I don’t think he comes back if he doesn’t believe that.
I think they got the bones of having a good unit at all three phases. Certainly, they’re probably not being talked about in the ways that some others are being talked about, but that can be a good motivator and a catalyst for them as well.
I think they got high expectations, and I think they should have high expectations.”
It’s a notable stance from the man who spent 20 years as Pittsburgh’s head coach before resigning in January after the Steelers’ 30-6 wild card loss to the Houston Texans. That departure ended his run as the longest-reigning head coach in all of major American sports, and it set the stage for the team to hire Mike McCarthy.
For the first time in two decades, the Steelers will open a season with someone else calling the shots. Tomlin, though, clearly still sees a roster with enough pieces to make a real run.
He’ll get a close-up look at them again in Week 13, when the Steelers host the Texans on Sunday Night Football in Pittsburgh.
In Other News...
Steelers Cut Just Drew Immediate Interest From Another Team
D'Shawn Jamison did not stay on the market long after the Steelers moved on from him during final roster cuts. The cornerback, who has also spent time with the Panthers and 49ers, drew a workout from the Arizona Cardinals and quickly landed a practice-squad spot as teams continue sorting out depth in the secondary.
Arizonas interest makes sense with Will Johnson sidelined by a lower-body injury and five cornerbacks already on the active roster. For Pittsburgh, Jamisons quick landing is another reminder of how fluid the back end of the roster can be once cutdown day passes and teams start looking for experienced cover help. [Read more 🡒]
Steelers Quietly Added An Intriguing Edge Rusher To Watch
The Steelers quietly added three players to the practice squad, and one of the more interesting names is Bradyn Swinson, a young edge rusher with some real developmental appeal. Pittsburgh also brought in defensive back Car'Lin Vigers and wide receiver Brandon Johnson, but Swinson stands out because of where he was drafted and the kind of role the Steelers believe he can grow into.
A 2025 fifth-round pick by the Patriots, Swinson spent most of his rookie year on New Englands practice squad and got into three games. For a Steelers team that has long valued pass-rush depth and coaching up athletic defenders, he is the kind of low-risk addition worth monitoring as the season moves along. [Read more 🡒]
Tomlin Finally Revealed What Really Pushed Steelers To Trade Pickens
The Steelers did not move on from George Pickens just because they had a chance to reshuffle the wide receiver room. Mike Tomlin laid out the thinking behind the decision, saying Pittsburgh no longer saw Pickens as a fit for its long-term plans, especially when it came to the leadership expectations that come with a second contract. In that same explanation, Tomlin pointed to DK Metcalf as the kind of player the organization felt more comfortable building around after giving him a major extension.
Pickens time in Pittsburgh had plenty of talent but also enough friction to make the choice easier to understand in hindsight. The fines and on-field incidents that followed him through his Steelers tenure were part of the backdrop, and Tomlins comments made clear those issues mattered when the team weighed what it wanted next at the position. The larger question now is how far Pittsburgh was willing to go to draw that line, and what it says about the standard the front office wants to keep enforcing. [Read more 🡒]