Former Pittsburgh Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin will be gracing our televisions with his “Tomlin-isms” when football season rolls around. With what network he’ll be doing it for remains a mystery.

On Tuesday it was reported the 54-year-old signed with sports media agent Sandy Montag, signaling a bidding war for his on-camera insights could be incoming.

Of the major networks Tomlin could land with, there are two that immediately come to mind considering they have high-profile openings.

NBC let the legendary former Indianapolis Colts head coach Tony Dungy go at the conclusion of the 2025 season, meaning its flagship pre-game program Football Night in America needs a companion for host Maria Taylor and analyst Rodney Harrison. Tomlin’s Steelers frequented Sunday Night Football during his 19 seasons in Pittsburgh so it would be a homecoming of sorts.

Alternately, former Atlanta Falcons QB Matt Ryan departed CBS to take a front office job with his old team this offseason. Tomlin would be the second former Steelers bench boss to grace The NFL Today set, joining Bill Cowher, if he were to land there.

One personal factor may decide which TV network Mike Tomlin signs with

The news of Tomlin’s stepping down after such an accomplished career with Pittsburgh came from FOX insider Jay Glazer. According to him, he and former RB Ronde Barber were told by Tomlin in 2023 that the plan was always to hang up his headset after the 2025 season.

“He told me an Ronde Barber two years ago. He was like, ‘This is my plan. You can’t say this. Don’t show my hand. I’m telling you, you’re my guy,” Glazer recounted on the Nightcap with Unc and Ocho podcast during Super Bowl media days in February.

Glazer is a well-known close friend of Tomlin and his family. That was clearly demonstrated in the amount of trust Tomlin put in him with his retirement plans so far in advance. Though he wouldn’t let Glazer report anything until he and the locker room had a chance to breath after a first-round playoff exit.

“In fairness he said, ‘I don’t think it’s fair if my players find out from you,'” Glazer added.

While there isn’t an opening on the FOX set for Tomlin considering Rob Gronkowski just took Jimmy Johnson’s seat at the FOX NFL Sunday desk, there’s nothing stopping network executives from just making it longer and adding a chair for the Super Bowl XLIII champion.

It would be an opportunity to work with his buddy Glazer more closely and he may be a natural fit to banter with guys like Michael Strahan, Howie Long and Curt Menefee.

Tomlin, who tied Hall of Fame Steelers head coach Chuck Noll for the franchise record in wins (193) and never suffered a losing season, will surely have his pick of network for his next job and we just have to quit speculating and wait until he makes a decision.

Or as Tomlin would put it, “I don’t send messages. I just make moves.”

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