If there was any question regarding Mike Tomlin's desire to remain the head coach of the Steelers, he quashed it emphatically at his press conference on Tuesday.
Asked about speculation in recent weeks that he might be interested in becoming the head coach at LSU or USC, two high-profile college football jobs that recently became open, Tomlin, who had been in a good mood earlier in the press conference, immediately went with a far harsher tone.
"Hey guys, I don't have time for that speculation. That's a joke to me," said Tomlin, whose team is off to a 3-3 start heading into Sunday's game against the Browns in Cleveland. "I have one of the best jobs in all of professional sports. I don't have any interest in coaching college football. That will be the last time that I address it, not only today, but moving forward. Never say never, but never. OK? Anybody else have any questions about college jobs? There's not a booster with a big enough blank check.
Steelers PR spokesman Burt Lauten then asked if there were anymore questions and Tomlin continued.
"Thank you. Anybody asking Sean Payton about that? Anybody asking Andy Reid about stuff like that?" Tomlin said before getting up and walking away.
The speculation began a week ago when former Steelers' scout and Bills GM Doug Whaley went on a local radio show and said that if he were Tomlin, he might be interested in the jobs at LSU and USC. It continued with former Steelers and LSU alumni Ryan Clark saying he'd love for his former school to go after Tomlin.
Finally, earlier this week, former USC star and Bengals quarterback Carson Palmer said on a national radio show that he's been in touch with people on the search committee there and that Tomlin was a "wild card" in the search if he wants out of Pittsburgh.
Tomlin emphatically put that to rest with his statement Tuesday.
Tomlin, 49, has been the Steelers' head coach since 2007 and owns a 146-79-1 record, winning one Super Bowl and guiding the team to another.
He also signed a three-year contract extension earlier this year that runs through the 2024 season.
To his point regarding speculation surrounding other NFL coaches, he's 100 percent correct. Much of the speculation surrounding Tomlin is because Ben Roethlisberger, who has been the team's quarterback since 2004, is likely to retire at the end of this season.
To Tomlin's point, Payton, in particular, is in a similar spot to Tomlin, having had future Hall of Fame quarterback Drew Brees retire at the end of the 2020 season. Brees had been the only quarterback with which Payton had worked as a head coach.
