Mike Tomlin didn’t bite his tongue about the idea of problematic and currently unemployed wide receiver Antonio Brown returning to the Pittsburgh Steelers.
Mike Tomlin Is Not Interested In Coaching Antonio Brown Again
Pittsburgh Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin stopped by his former player Ryan Clark’s podcast, The Pivot, for a rare interview. Of course, Clark’s co-host Fred Taylor brought up Antonio Brown, who was also a guest on the show, and the fact he said he would love to return to Pittsburgh. The Super Bowl-winning head coach quickly shut down that idea but is open to Brown signing a one-day contract to retire as a Steeler.
“Y’all know that ain’t happening,” Tomlin quickly replied. “He’s moved on, we’ve moved on,” he added.
Mike Tomlin Has Plenty of Respect For Antonio Brown
But it wasn’t all bad when talking about “that guy,” as Tomlin called him. The head coach reflected on what it was like to coach a talent like Antonio Brown and had glowing words to say about the DONDA Sports president.
“What I’ll say about AB is this, we had nine great years,” Tomlin said. “I appreciate that dude in ways I can’t explain to y’all. … I don’t think enough gets said about the will of that dude, about the work ethic of that dude, about the fearlessness in which he played the game. … I’ve never seen him blink on the football field. I’ve never seen him shy away from anything that was uncomfortable on the football field. I’ve only seen him run into burning buildings, as they say, on the football field. We talk about all this other stuff, but we don’t talk about that.”
“Unbelievable will. Unbelievable work ethic. Unbelievable belief in himself. That’s what I think about when I think about the nine years that I spent with that dude,” he continued.
The Steelers head coach even marveled at Brown’s punt returning skills saying at one point he was “the best punt returner on the planet.”
Mike Tomlin on Antonio Brown: #Steelers #NFL pic.twitter.com/J5FMB0Xmr9
— Steelers Depot 7⃣ (@Steelersdepot) June 22, 2022
Tomlin even talked about the importance of coaching, which left many in agreement that they would run through a wall for the head coach.
Man I could listen to Mike Tomlin coach me how to bake a cake and I’d be Betty Crocker in that bih. https://t.co/eEe87VnZil
— Prentice Penny (aka Charcuterie Papi) (@The_A_Prentice) June 22, 2022
You can peep the entire interview and more reactions to it in the gallery below.
Photo: George Gojkovich / Getty
window.addEventListener(‘interaction’, function () {
setTimeout(function () {
var s = document.createElement(‘script’), el = document.getElementsByTagName(‘script’)[ 0 ];
s.async = true;
s.src = ‘https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js’;
el.parentNode.insertBefore(s, el);
}, 1000)
});
1. Agreed
Mike Tomlin is one of the goats. https://t.co/qUvQBnfr5K
— John Ellis (@1PantherPlace) June 22, 2022
2. Well damn
Only upon watching a clip from this interview did I realize…
I’ve never seen Mike Tomlin without a hat on. 15 years and I never knew. pic.twitter.com/JY25EZCoAh
— Drea Blackwell (@KSBWDrea) June 22, 2022
3.
Channing Crowder shocked to learn Mike Tomlin hired Brian Flores by walking down the hall to Art Rooney’s office, asking if he could hire him, and Rooney said sure. Simple, quick decision (via @thepivot).
“We make the simple complex…because we’re scared.” #Steelers pic.twitter.com/wI5t9KZu7t
— Alex Kozora (@Alex_Kozora) June 22, 2022
4. True
Seeing usual suspects fire off the “that ain’t happening” graphic/catnip on this app today. Here is what Mike Tomlin said about Antonio Brown right after that. pic.twitter.com/gWTGZo10Rb
— Tyler Dunne (@TyDunne) June 22, 2022
5.
I’ve covered Mike Tomlin since Day 1 so I pretty much have heard it all. This is different. 90 mins of great stuff from the guys. I’m jealous. https://t.co/lL2iWbeOI0
— Mark Kaboly (@MarkKaboly) June 22, 2022
6.
This is the best interview with Mike Tomlin I’ve ever heard or seen. And it’s not close. https://t.co/mqyuQ2IVns
— Andrew Fillipponi (@ThePoniExpress) June 22, 2022
7.
Watched Mike Tomlin on The Pivot podcast and I’ve officially got so much more respect for that man as a human being first and as a coach and realize once again how much The Pittsburgh Steelers are lucky to have this man as their head coach.
— Ray (@301Yinzer) June 22, 2022
8.
Despite doctors giving the ok, Mike Tomlin on why he held Ryan Clark out of a game in Denver. Clark’s sickle cell nearly killed him a few years prior (via @thepivot).
“It was my job to care about that dude in that moment. Even maybe more so than he cared about himself.” pic.twitter.com/IwRhVkLgL6
— Alex Kozora (@Alex_Kozora) June 21, 2022
9.
“Man I don’t know how Mike Tomlin was able to keep that Steelers locker room together through all that craziness”
*watches this full interview*
“Okay I totally get it now…” https://t.co/OVlTrUFl4g
— Brett Kollmann (@BrettKollmann) June 22, 2022
10.
I would run through a wall for Mike Tomlin pic.twitter.com/1wt8NggaqZ
— Tyler Forness (@TheRealForno) June 22, 2022