Why Mike Tomlin will ace new role following career pivot

Mike Tomlin is trading in the sideline for a studio desk.

On Tuesday, the longtime Pittsburgh Steelers head coach revealed his next career move after stepping down from his Steelers role in January. The Super Bowl XLIII champion is joining NBC Sports as an NFL studio analyst for NBC's Sunday primetime "Football Night in America" broadcast, a major win for the network.

Below are three reasons why.

Bill Cowher laid the groundwork

Cowher, another former Steelers champion-winning coach, retired following the 2006 season and was promptly hired as a studio analyst by CBS for its weekly pregame show, "The NFL Today," a role he's held ever since.

Both he and Tomlin have similar resumes, each winning one Lombardi Trophy and two AFC titles. Tomlin averaged 10.1 wins per season, while Cowher averaged 9.9. The recently hired NBC analyst could likewise carve out a long broadcasting career, leaving the sidelines for good.

Excellent communicator

When Tomlin talks, people listen. 

In 2023, Jim Trotter discussed Tomlin's vernacular for The Athletic, writing, "People love to highlight what a good communicator Tomlin is." He later pointed to an article from The Free Press of Tampa on the league's "brainiest" players and coaches, a list determined by Betting.com using "over 3,000 minutes of pre and post-game press conferences of NFL team YouTube channels," which found Tomlin used 138 unique words per 1,000, far and away the most among NFL coaches.

With his dictionary, Tomlin is sure to be one of the more entertaining figures in NFL broadcasting this upcoming season.

Tomlinisms

Tomlin has developed a greatest hits package over the years, offering turns of phrase that, to be quite frank, double as excellent messages for embroidered pillows and possibly other home decor. Below is a sampling of some of our favorites:

• "There's a fine line between drinking wine and squashing grapes. Last week we were squashing grapes."

• "We need volunteers, not hostages."

• "We're still squirreling those nuts."

• "If you're a blinker cut your eyelids off."

• "I am fundamentally against comfort."