Carson Palmer is one of the best players in the history of USC football, and the former quarterback says he has been consulted on the school’s search for a new head coach. He also may have inadvertently leaked some big information about a coach the Trojans are targeting.
Palmer discussed the USC coaching search during a Monday appearance on “The Dan Patrick Show.” He said he has shared input about candidates and was asked if Penn State head coach James Franklin is the frontrunner for the job. Palmer responded that there are “a lot of frontrunners,” which led to Patrick pressing him further. The former first overall pick then brought up Pittsburgh Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin.
“You’ve got a wild card like Mike Tomlin, if Mike Tomlin wants out. … That’s what’s so great about the job,” Palmer said. “It can lure an NFL guy who’s tired of his current situation and worried about, ‘Is Ben Roethlisberger gone. Who are we gonna draft?’ Does Mike Tomlin have to start over with a first-round young rookie quarterback? Everybody is on the table given that job is so big and so coveted.”
The interview took a funny turn from there, as Palmer was clearly unaware that Tomlin’s name hadn’t really been floated as a possible candidate for the USC job. You can see the clip below:
Tomlin has been the head coach in Pittsburgh for nearly 15 years. The Steelers are one of the most storied franchises in the NFL and sports in general, so it seems highly unlikely that Tomlin would voluntarily leave that job for an underachieving college program. Palmer and other USC alumni can dream, however.
USC seems to have one top candidate in mind, but they could be competing with LSU to hire him. They’ll likely make plenty of calls to the NFL, but we’d be shocked if Tomlin has any interest.
More must-reads: