Former Pittsburgh Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin is the hottest NFL media free agent currently on the market.
Earlier this week, it was reported that Tomlin has hired sports media superagent Sandy Montag for representation. Montag, reps prominent broadcasters including Jim Nantz, Scott Van Pelt, and Mike Tirico, and formerly represented John Madden during his broadcasting career.
While Tomlin has made no public remarks about whether he will seek a broadcasting job for the upcoming NFL season, it appears things are moving in that direction with the hiring of Montag.
Previously, sports media insider Andrew Marchand of The Athletic reported that Fox was the “favorite” to win the Mike Tomlin sweepstakes. However, it appears as if Marchand is now revising his prediction.
On a recent episode of his Everybody Loves Sports Media podcast, Marchand named NBC as the new front-runner for Tomlin’s services.
“Mike Tomlin, I would say NBC may have moved ahead of Fox,” Marchand said. “I’m not saying that’s definite, that anything’s definitely going to happen. But I think NBC might have, might might might, have the inside track over Fox if he does it.”
With the changes being made over at NBC’s NFL studio show Football Night in America, Tomlin would make sense as a centerpiece for the new-look program. Longtime analyst Tony Dungy has already announced his departure from the show, and Awful Announcing reported last month that Rodney Harrison’s and Jac Collinsworth’s roles are also in serious doubt. If NBC intends to hit the reset button on Football Night in America, hiring Tomlin would be a surefire way to immediately change the entire dynamic of the show.
That said, there will certainly be other suitors for Tomlin. Fox still hasn’t formally replaced Jimmy Johnson on Fox NFL Sunday. CBS needs to find a replacement for Matt Ryan on The NFL Today, though adding Tomlin to that show would see two former Steelers head coaches comprise the majority of the panel, with Bill Cowher already an entrenched member of the CBS crew. Then there are wild cards like ESPN or Prime Video, both of whom don’t have clearly defined roles to fill but would certainly welcome Tomlin into the fold if the opportunity presented itself.
About Drew Lerner
Drew Lerner is a staff writer for Awful Announcing and an aspiring cable subscriber. He previously covered sports media for Sports Media Watch. Future beat writer for the Oasis reunion tour.