Mike Tomlin is headed to NBC as a top studio analyst on its Sunday night pregame show, Football Night in America, after stepping down as the Pittsburgh Steelers coach following the past season.
Sources briefed on the move told The Athletic on Tuesday that NBC has made Tomlin its No. 1 target for the reworked show. Tomlin, 54, spent 19 years in Pittsburgh without a losing season, guided the Steelers to the playoffs 13 times and reached two Super Bowls, including the 2009 win over the Arizona Cardinals when he was 36.
The move gives NBC the kind of recognizable football voice it has been seeking as it reimagines the program with more current star power and fewer personalities. Tony Dungy was dismissed after 17 seasons as part of that overhaul, and NBC still must re-sign Devin McCourty even as it expects Mike Florio back and has used Matthew Berry as a fantasy football contributor.
Tomlin has long been seen as a strong candidate for television because of his coaching résumé, deep understanding of the game and the clipped, memorable way he talks about it. Fox showed some interest in him, but NBC was viewed as needing him more and has looked at dropping the hybrid approach in favor of a leaner set.
For Tomlin, the transition comes after a closing stretch that did not match the standard he set for nearly two decades: his teams lost their final seven postseason games. NBC is betting that his name, his voice and his record still carry enough weight to help define the next version of its pregame show.