Mike Tomlin has been the head coach of the Pittsburgh Steelers since 2007, leading the team to led the team to seven division titles, three AFC championship games, two Super Bowl appearances, and a Super Bowl XLIII victory. He’s done just about everything you could want to do as an NFL head coach. So would he want to give that up to take a highly sought-after college football job?
That might sound unbelievable but, according to one former Steelers executive, it’s possible. Former Bills GM and Steelers executive Doug Whaley stopped by 93.7’s “The Fan Morning Show” and said that he thinks Tomlin may be interested in the soon-to-be-available LSU Tigers head coaching job.
“Six letters for Steelers fans to be very concerned about…LSU, USC,” Whaley said. “Think about that. Both institutions can out-pay the Rooney’s. Their alumni base has enough money to give Mike Tomlin whatever he wants.
“Two, Mike Tomlin would be GM, president, CEO of that football program. Three, LSU, (athletic director) Scott Woodward is known for going big game hunting. In LSU, you have such a fertile recruiting ground, you’re going to put a barricade, a fence around it.”
Whaley was quick to say he was merely speculating and had no inside knowledge of Tomlin’s interest. Indeed it does seem implausible that Tomlin would want to leave a longtime NFL gig to take on a college job with everything that entails. That said, Whaley isn’t the only person speculating about Tomlin to LSU. Former Steelers safety and LSU grad Ryan Clark also hoped that LSU would make “an offer to [Tomlin] that would truly make him disrespectful to Lord Jesus Christ to turn down.”
The LSU job will be available after this year now that current coach Ed Orgeron and the school have come to a separation agreement following the 2021 season.
