Bryan M. Bennett/Getty Images Head coach Mike Tomlin of the Pittsburgh Steelers looks on against the Buffalo Bills on Oct. 9, 2022.
Carolina Panthers owner David Tepper figures to be in the market for a new head coach in early 2023. And with Tepper a former minority owner of the Steelers and the two teams set to play on Dec. 18, it’s no surprise that the following question was posed to Pro Football Talk’s Mike Florio during a recent interview with Andrew Fillipponi and Chris Mueller on 93.7 The Fan in Pittsburgh.
“Do you think David Tepper would at least inquire about Mike Tomlin this offseason?”
“It wouldn’t surprise me if Tepper does it,” responded Florio, who believes that longtime New England Patriots head coach Bill Belichick might also be available via trade in 2023.
“Tomlin to Carolina? It wouldn’t surprise me if it happens. Belichick to somewhere else, it wouldn’t surprise me if it happens. I’m surprised that vehicle is not used more often for teams to acquire highly accomplished Super Bowl winning coaches,” concluded Florio.
In the case of Tomlin and Belichick, both are trying to move on from longtime franchise quarterbacks in Ben Roethlisberger and Tom Brady. Belichick’s Patriots have a 24-22 regular-season record since Brady left New England after the 2019 season and the Pats have yet to win a post-season game since Brady took his talents to Tampa Bay.
Meanwhile, Tomlin is working through his first season without Roethlisberger — and it has been a big disappointment. The Steelers are 5-8 and in last place in the AFC North. It’s highly likely that the Steelers will finish with losing record, which would be the first in Tomlin’s 16-year head coaching career, as per Pro Football Reference.
Mike Tomlin: ‘Never Say Never—But Never, Okay?’
Yet there’s no indication that Steelers ownership wants to move on from Tomlin. Or that Tomlin wants to start over with another football team. In April 2021, the Steelers signed Tomlin to a three-year extension that binds him to the team through the 2024 season. And in October 2021, Tomlin reacted angrily when asked about rumors linking him to college coaching vacancies.
“Hey guys, I don’t have time for that speculation,” Tomlin said. “That’s a joke to me. I have one of the best jobs in all professional sports. Why would I have any interest in coaching college football? That will be the last time I address that and not only today but moving forward. Never say never — but never, okay?”
Jon Gruden Was Traded in 2002
That said, there’s a big difference between the likes of USC and LSU and a pro team like the Carolina Panthers (5-8), who are finishing out the 2022 season with interim head coach Steve Wilks, who has a 4-4 record since replacing Rhule.
And, it’s not unprecedented for an NFL head coach to be traded from one team to another. For example, in 2002 the Oakland Raiders traded Jon Gruden to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers for a pair of first-round picks, a pair of second-round picks and $8 million. The teams faced each other in the very next Super Bowl (XXXVII), with Gruden’s Buccaneers coming out on top 48-21.
So who knows? Perhaps Tomlin would be interested in moving closer to his ‘757’ roots. And perhaps the Panthers offer an eye-popping trade package that is difficult to turn down.
But there is one other detail worth noting. In early 2018 there were reports that some of the Steelers’ “limited partners” wanted Art Rooney II to fire Tomlin. As far as I know, no individual names were ever linked to the reports, though David Tepper was one of Pittsburgh’s minority owners at the time.