Mike Tomlin stepped down as Pittsburgh Steelers head coach in January after 19 seasons, following the team's first-round playoff exit against the Houston Texans.
He's since joined the NBC Sports broadcasting team, where he regularly appears on the pre-game, halftime, and postgame coverage of "Sunday Night Football" games. Although Tomlin appears to be enjoying his broadcasting role, speculation continues about whether he could return to the sidelines.
While speaking with Kay Adams, Hall of Famer Cris Carter criticized Philadelphia Eagles coach Nike Sirianni and teased Tomlin as a suitable replacement.
"It takes a bad coach to do what he did at the end of the game, and that was take victory away from NFL players," Carter said regarding Philadelphia Eagles coach Nick Sirianni.
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"Put people who are the least responsible on the roster, the lowest paid, to make a play that they weren't even supposed to make. They weren't supposed to be able to have to make a tackle on that play. ... The head coach's job is to put those guys in a situation that they can be successful, and he didn't do that," he said.
Carter was referring to Sirianni's costly decision in this past Sunday's game against the Jacksonville Jaguars in London. The Eagles connected on what seemed to be a game-winning field goal, with just eight seconds left on the clock.
However, the Eagles opted against kicking the ball into the end zone for a touchback, allowing Jacksonville the opportunity to return it. The Jaguars returned it to about midfield, then called a timeout with a second remaining on the clock.
From there, their kicker connected on a 57-yard game-winning field goal, crushing the Eagles in what initially appeared to be their thrilling win. Sirianni accepted blame for that late-game decision, which cost his team the game after the players worked so hard.
"Well, he's one of the problems," Carter said of Sirianni. "This is what I thought about. Man, what would Mike Tomlin look like in Philadelphia? What would Mike Tomlin have done in that situation?"
He said from listening to Tomlin speak on television, he's pretty sure "he would have not had the Eagles in that situation."
While appearing on Pro Football Focus's NFL Show earlier this year, Tomlin said he still loves coaching and "learned to never say never." He also indicated it would have to be the ideal job for him as it's not a 32-team league when it comes to his potential next coaching job.
As of now, Sirianni is still the head coach of the Eagles, and Tomlin is still enjoying his time away from the coaching aspect of the game while contributing to the NBC Sports broadcasts. Still, Carter's comments raise an intriguing possibility, as Tomlin's experience and championship pedigree would make him an attractive candidate if the Eagles decide to make a change.
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