Steelers Now
Well before he was the longtime leader of the Pittsburgh Steelers, Mike Tomlin worked his first NFL coaching job as the Tampa Bay Buccaneers’ defensive backs coach, starting in 2021. One of the players he worked closely with was future Pro Football Hall of Famer Ronde Barber, who today counts Tomlin to be family.
Barber said Wednesday on “The Ronde Barber Show” that he’d known for a while that Tomlin was soon to call it quits. He also doesn’t think Tomlin will ever wear a headset again.
“There’s a lot of stories out there about Mike coming up and wanting to take one year off and go coach (again),” Barber said. “I’m gonna tell you right now, dude, I think he’s done. I think he wants to be done. Last year, I was in Long Island with him and he told me then. He said, ‘I think this is my last year.’ And didn’t say anything to anyone else for the entirety of the year.
“And I went up to this game on Monday night in Pittsburgh because, in the event that they lost — and they lost, it wasn’t a good game in the fourth quarter — I wanted to be there for the last one. Because I was there for the first one when he was here in Tampa in 2001.”
Barber said Tomlin was the first person in the Buccaneers’ building to truly believe in him as a player.
“It’s why he put my gold jacket on when we were in Canton,” Barber said. “His football leadership and his IQ and the style in which he encourages players to become better versions of themselves, that’s one thing. But the person that he is — aside from all the quips and the quotes and all the things that make you realize how iconic he is — the genuine person that he is is awesome to be around.”
Barber also said he’ll be around to return the favor Tomlin previously paid him.
“Mike, I’m telling you right now, when Canton comes calling, dude, I’m gonna be there for you. Just like you were for me,” Barber said. “So congratulations in retirement. I know we’ll see you around.”
Steelers president Art Rooney II said during a press conference on Wednesday that Tomlin indicated he wouldn’t be coaching next season.
“Right now that doesn’t seem to be on his radar,” Rooney said.
This article originally appeared on Steelers Now: Close Friend Clears Up Mike Tomlin’s Future Coaching Plans
