Reported favorite TV landing spot for Steelers' Mike Tomlin revealed

Even before Pittsburgh Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin declined to make a declarative statement about his future following the club's 30-6 wild-card playoff loss to the Houston Texans on Monday night, whispers surfaced suggesting Tomlin could soon step away from the Steelers. 

Specifically, Pro Football Talk's Mike Florio has noted on multiple occasions that Tomlin may have an offer to work as an analyst for one of the NFL's main media partners "in his back pocket." On Tuesday, media insider Andrew Marchand of The Athletic offered more information regarding Tomlin's options. 

Does Mike Tomlin have an offer from Fox "in his back pocket?"

"Fox is considered the favorite, as it has not filled Jimmy Johnson’s seat on Fox’s NFL studio show following Johnson’s retirement," Marchand wrote about which network could win the potential Tomlin sweepstakes. "...He qualifies for what Fox seeks, and the network would have interest, according to sources."

Tomlin seemed to pour cold water over such chatter when he recently insisted that he still enjoys "the challenges week in and week out that" are associated with serving as an NFL head coach. That said, Pittsburgh fans chanted for the team to fire Tomlin during a Week 13 loss to the Buffalo Bills and again on Monday night. 

While Tomlin guided the Steelers to a Super Bowl title back in February 2009, Pittsburgh has now lost seven consecutive postseason games under his watch. His last playoff victory occurred in January 2017. Additionally, current Pittsburgh starting quarterback Aaron Rodgers may soon retire. 

Fox, other networks may have one big concern about Mike Tomlin

Before Marchand's piece went public, Florio mentioned that "it’s hard to imagine Tomlin not coaching" for too long. It appears other noteworthy members of the NFL community share Florio's opinion.

"For media executives, the only drawback with Tomlin is that he might just be waiting for his next coaching job," Marchand added. "That is a big difference between ex-players and ex-coaches. In general, there is a much better chance that ex-coaches return to the grind; ex-players tend to stay retired." 

The three-year contract extension that Tomlin signed with the Steelers in June 2024 features a team option for 2027, which must be exercised by March 1 of this year. There's no indication the Steelers will fire Tomlin this winter, but it's also clear he won't need to search long for work if he decides he wants to take a break from coaching until further notice.