Tomlin having 'time of my life' post-coaching
Mike Tomlin joins Dan Patrick to discuss life post-coaching, working with Aaron Rodgers, why Aaron Donald is among the "elite of the elite," and his regular-season debut with FNIA.
Video Transcript
Nfl kickoff next Wednesday, September 9th.
It'll be the Seahawks hosting the Patriots.
That'll be 8:20 Eastern.
Coverage begins with a special edition of Football Night in America, 7:00 Eastern on NBC and Peacock.
The newest member of Football Night in America, former Steeler head coach Mike Tomlin joining us on the program.
What's it like to have all this free time now?
Man, I am having the time of my life, to be quite honest with you.
I never had an August, man, since I was, like, eight years old.
You know what I mean?
I've always been on a football team and in a camp-like setting of some description.
And so, man, August was great.
I, I can't wait to see what September is like.
Okay, but your, your body reacts to certain times of the year.
Like, you know, gotta get ready for this, this is the middle of the season, end of the season.
So what's it like when you know you're supposed to be, you know, somewhere in Pennsylvania, two days, it's hot, getting ready for the season.
Meanwhile, you're sitting at home, whatever you're doing.
Hey, hey, my, my pulse rate's a lot lower, you know?
Man, it, it, it's, it's, it's crazy how, how quickly you can get used to, to chilling.
You know what I mean?
I've enjoyed 2026, man.
The free time.
Had an opportunity to really just focus on my wellness, man, getting into shape and things of that nature.
Man, when you lead a football team, a football organization, sometimes, man, you, you put yourself last.
And so it's been good, man, to kind of focus on some things like that and, and really just have time to be present with my family and friends.
I went to a family reunion a couple weeks ago.
Man, I hadn't been to a family reunion- since 1997.
You know, the family reunion's always the third week in July, okay?
Where, where have I been all of my adult life- the third week in July?
In a football camp.
And so, like, my family was laughing that I was there, you know.
It's been a good summer.
I haven't seen you this animated before.
Like, you're smiling.
I, I, I- I mean- I, I, I hear I'm pretty pleasant to be around these days.
How often did you break camp and know exactly what you had with your team?
You know, I always had a pretty good idea.
I, I think that's what camp's about.
Like, you know, you go there to ready yourself for the tea- for the season individually and collectively.
But from a, from a coach's perspective and through a coach's lens, I think you wanna be able to anticipate what you have in all three phases, how you're built, how you engineer victory, and things of that nature.
And so I always left with a pretty good understanding.
But you really don't know, until the bullets start flying.
That's just a component of it.
But I think you certainly understand what neighborhood you're in, when you leave a camp setting.
I wonder if Aaron Rodgers would've come back if you were still the head coach.
Did you have conversations?
You know, Mike comes in, but I, I wonder, you know, what would have happened.
I, I believe he would have.
Just spending 12 months with, with Aaron, man, this guy has a love affair with football and all components of it.
The process, you know, meetings, team development.
He loved training camp last year, you know what I mean?
Not a lot of guys, man, enjoy training camp settings the way I watched him enjoy it.
And so I just think, man, he's built for it.
He, he's healthy.
He's certainly capable.
And so I think that, that he would've strongly considered it regardless of circumstance.
That's just my gut feeling.
Yeah, and he's credited you with helping him fall back in love with football.
Are you gonna be able to watch the Steelers without saying we?
No.
You know what I mean?
Like, I'm not gonna kid myself.
Like, you know, I'ma root for those guys, man, because, you know, that's just who I am.
I spent 19 years there.
I had a hand in selecting most of those guys.
And so when you have those intimate relationships, certainly, that's gonna be a component of, of viewing for me.
You know, I don't know how much I'll even fight it.
Talking to Mike Tomlin.
You'll, you can see him on Football Night in America starting next Wednesday.
It'll be the Seahawks and the Patriots.
What advice would you give Mike McDonald as the head coach of the defending Super Bowl champs with that following season?
You know, I, I think the number one thing is, is the journey.
I think sometimes when you've been to the destination, and particularly when you've been to the destination recently, you wanna hurry up and cut to the chase, and you absolutely can't.
And so, he's gotta take his team through the process again.
A lot of them have been a component of it in the past.
Some of them will be new.
But I think he's gotta do the best that he can to wipe the slate clean and make sure they appreciate the present and, and, and the journey that they're on right now.
And I think that, you know, I think there's a lot of outside forces, to be quite honest with you, that's gonna be helpful in that regard.
And I think the, the Rams are getting so much positive attention, I think it's gonna be an asset to him in terms of, getting his group's attention in that regard.
Where would you put Aaron Donald all time?
Oh, my gosh.
He's in that elite group.
I mean- Is he Reggie White?
Is he Lawrence Taylor?
Is he m- is he in that- I, I- Mean Joe Green?
I think about, I think about those first ballot interior guys, man.
That elite group, I think it's about five of them, probably Sapp being the most recent.
He, he's, he's in that elite class.
He'll be a first ballot Hall of Famer.
He's one of the legendary guys of the game at his position, regardless of generation.
I just think he belongs in, in, in, in that discussion with the elite of the elite.
I've talked to Bill Cowher about when Ben Roethlisberger was his quarterback, and he said there were times Ben would act like he couldn't hear a play, where- where Bill would call in something and, you know, Ben would Did, you know, what kind of interac- how did you handle your quarterback?
You know, more than anything, man, I, it's my job to make sure his talents show up, and to, and to bring the game to him.
And I think different players digest the game in different ways and play with different styles.
Ben didn't like constraints, and so I always wanted to accommodate that when, when, when, when I was capable.
Some guys approach the game like an engineer, you know?
He approaches the game like a pickup basketball point guard.
You know what I mean?
There's a fluidity and a organic component to his game, and I just never wanted to stifle that.
Did you hate the Patriots or the, the Ravens more?
Oh, certainly the Ravens.
Okay.
And, and just because of the intimacy of it.
It starts in your division.
Before you can dominate the AFC in the NFL, you gotta dominate the division, and certainly, we've been in close quarters with those guys a lot over the years.
But no problems with the Patriots.
You're, you're okay, you were okay with Belichick and Brady?
Oh yeah, man.
Like, you know, I, I respect certainly what they were able to do and, loved competing aga- against them, for sure.
Good luck on Wednesday.
Man, I need it, man.
Thank you.
Has anybody given you advice though, uh- Man, everyone, you know?
Are you- And, and- asking for advice, though?
I am.
I am.
Like, I'm excited and nervous at the same time about this new challenge and new space I'm in and, and so I'm certainly paying respect to it from a prep standpoint and, and gleaning information from, from my peers, particularly those, that I have relationship with, r- relationships with, and that have done it at a high level.
And so I've sought a lot of advice, I've gotten a lot of advice, and, I'm really just excited about, about doing a good job for the viewing audience.
Great to talk to you.
Good luck, Coach.
Thank you.
Dan, thank you.
That's Mike Tomlin, NBC Sports Football Night in America, and, make his debut.
See, this is different.
This is different, where you're coaching, you're nervous.
This is TV nervous, and what you say is now, like, is, you know, front and center.
