There will be a few prestigious college football programs with head-coaching vacancies this winter and spring, including at USC and LSU.
Mike Tomlin will not be in the mix for either of those jobs or any other position in the college ranks. The Pittsburgh Steelers head coach couldn’t have made that any clearer Tuesday morning.
“Guys, I don’t have time for that speculation,” Tomlin told reporters, per a clip shared by ESPN’s Field Yates. “I mean, that’s a joke to me. I got one of the best jobs in all of professional sport. Why would I have any interest in coaching college football? That will be the last time I address it. Not only today, but moving forward. Never say never, but never. OK? Anybody else got any questions about any college jobs? There’s not a booster with a big enough blank check.”
After a few seconds of silence, Tomlin issued a mic drop before leaving the podium.
“Thank you. Anybody asking Sean Payton about that, you know? Anybody asking Andy Reid about stuff like that?”
Tomlin certainly has the grounds to be perturbed by college-related questions. The Steelers reached the playoffs in nine of his 14 full seasons at the helm, over which span Pittsburgh made three AFC Championship Game appearances, reached two Super Bowls and won the Lombardi Trophy in the 2008 campaign. The Steelers also never have posted a losing record since Tomlin took over in 2007.
Pittsburgh will try to improve to 4-3 on Sunday when it visits the AFC North rival Cleveland Browns.
