Pittsburgh Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin has never had a losing season in 10 years in the NFL, he’s one of just eight head coaches in NFL history to win at least 100 games in his first 10 years, and he’s made it to two Super Bowls and won one.
But former Steeler quarterback Terry Bradshaw, who won four Super Bowls in Pittsburgh from 1970-83, is unimpressed.
On Fox Sports 1’s “Speak for Yourself” with Jason Whitlock and Colin Cowherd, Bradshaw said he doesn’t consider Tomlin to be a great coach but merely “really a great cheerleader guy.”
On the program, Bradshaw said, “I don’t think he’s a great coach at all. … He’s a nice coach. To me, I’ve said this, he’s really a great cheerleader guy. I don’t know what he does. I don’t think he is a great coach at all. His name never even pops in my mind when we think about great coaches in the NFL.”
“[Mike Tomlin] is a great cheerleader guy, but I don’t know what he does… I don’t think he is a great coach at all.” — @TerryBradshaw pic.twitter.com/5VSmFDMBVq
— Speak For Yourself (@SFY) December 23, 2016
Bradshaw did, however, say he considered Bill Cowher, who coached Pittsburgh before Tomlin, a great coach.
“I think Bill was (a great coach),” Bradshaw said. “I think Bill came in and took over a team that was struggling and when you take over for Chuck (Noll) — the Steelers had some good years but then by their standards kind of mellowed out and at the end of Chuck’s career Bill came in and kind of gave them that boost to get them back up to win a Super Bowl.
“I have more of an identity with Cowher than I do Tomlin. I knew Cowher when he came over from Kansas City as a defensive coordinator and his teams were tough. Tomlin came in from Minnesota, and I didn’t know anything about him.”
Burt Lauten, the Steelers’ director of communication, was quick to chime in.
Friendly reminder: #Steelers HC Mike Tomlin won SB XLIII (2 apps), won AFC North 4x, is 101-57 (.639) & fastest in team history to 100 wins.
— Burt Lauten (@SteelersPRBurt) December 23, 2016
In his playing days, Bradshaw had a bad relationship with his head coach, the legendary Chuck Noll. More recently, Bradshaw took shots at current Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger.
