Photo: Justin K. Aller
Pittsburgh Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin is not interested in the USC Trojans coaching vacancy.
Tomlin addressed comments made by former USC quarterback and Heisman Trophy winner Carson Palmer claiming he could be the next coach of the USC Trojans "if he wants out" of Pittsburgh during his press conference on Tuesday.
When asked by Tim Benz, who appears on the DVE Morning Show and the DVE Pregame Show about the USC job, Tomlin responded, "Hey guys, I don't have time for that speculation. I mean, that's a joke to me. I got one of the best jobs in all of professional sport. Why would I have any interest in coaching college football?
"That will be the last time I address it. Not only today but moving forward. Never say never, but never. OK? Anybody else got any questions about any college jobs. There's not a booster with a big enough blank check."
Palmer discussed his alma mater's ongoing coaching search during an appearance on the Dan Patrick Show Monday and said he's "been talking to a bunch of folks and giving input here and there," adding that he's "been as involved as they'll let me be."
The former Pro Bowl quarterback then dropped Tomlin's name among frontrunners for collegiate coaching vacancy as a "wild card."
"If Mike Tomlin wants out and, I think, you know, at the end of the day there is not a direct 'that's the guy' everyone's pointing their fingers at," Palmer said.
"That's what's so great about the job is it can lure an NFL guy that's tired of their current situation and worried about, 'is Ben Roethlisberger gone? Is he done? Who are we going to draft? Does Mike Tomlin have to start over with a first-round rookie quarterback?' You know, everybody's on the table being that that job is so big and so coveted," Palmer added. "I think there's a bunch of people that are in the discussion and once we get to Week 16, 17 of the NFL season and the college football season is over, we'll get a direct frontrunner."
Tomlin is currently the NFL's third longest-tenured head coach behind only Bill Belichick (New England Patriots, 2000) and Sean Payton (New Orleans Saints, 2006), and one of three Steelers head coaches since 1969, succeeding two Pro Football Hall of Famers in Cowher (1992-2007) and Chuck Noll (1969-91), with all three combining for six Super Bowls.
Tomlin led Pittsburgh to a 27-23 victory against the Arizona Cardinals in Super Bowl XLIII -- becoming the youngest head coach to win a Super Bowl -- two AFC championships in 2008 and 2010 and has a 154-86-1 (.641) head coaching record.
Last season, Tomlin tied late coach Marty Schottenheimer as the only two head coaches in NFL history to have 14 consecutive winning seasons to start their NFL careers.
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