OT: Tomlin Emphatically Declines USC Rumors
This is how you decline a rumor about another coaching job.
Here's the full quote:
I don't have time for that speculation. That's a joke to me. I've 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 college jobs? There's not a booster with a big enough blank check.
Thank you.... Anybody asking Sean Payton about that? Anybody asking Andy Reid about stuff like that?
Not a Steelers fan, but I've always been a big fan of Tomlin. From back in the early days with The Program and House, and of course coaching the Steelers, I've been following his career and enjoyed the whole thing.
Great quote by Tomlin. My guess is there won't be a lot of future college lists that include Tomlin's name for a while, if ever.
October 26th, 2021 at 12:57 PM ^
Meanwhile, Mel Tucker:
“My focus is on the upcoming game against the school down the road,” he said during his first media availability since the report. “That's where my concentration and my focus is, and I really appreciate you understanding that.”
as he faxes his contract over to LSU.
October 26th, 2021 at 1:05 PM ^
I would greatly enjoy the Staee schadenfreude if another one of their couches leaves for LSU.
Not fixing it.
October 26th, 2021 at 1:08 PM ^
Nor should you. Although, I suspect that there will be some couches never making it out of town. I assume the Ingham County landfill is in East Lansing.
October 26th, 2021 at 1:32 PM ^
I would love to see both Tucker to LSU and Franklin to USC.
I don't think we'll be lucky enough to see one of those things happen--but you never know.
(And while I'm dreaming, how about Ryan Day to Chicago for the trifecta?)
October 26th, 2021 at 1:57 PM ^
Other than being a great recruiter, franklin is a known commodity. Ill keep him. PSU folks are split down the middle on him... lets keep the devil we know.
October 26th, 2021 at 2:24 PM ^
I could go either way. It's annoying losing some recruits to him, but at the same time him winning recruiting battles vs OSU is a net positive for us.
OTOH, I could easily see PSU slip back to a perennially 7-8 game winner with their next hire.
October 26th, 2021 at 2:41 PM ^
Are they really far from being an 8 win team? If they didnt win all their bowl games (JIM - IT F-ING MATTERS)... id say they're that now. and despite the amazing recruiting.. hasnt manifested in a lot. But they have the same problem we have had forever.. QB play. Mcsorley rose them up - the rest were crappy. even with elite wrs. id be okay either way - but... bill obrien had them really on the rise. i dont want another one of those.
lastly - i duno if those penn state uniforms are permanent, but they looked like shit. the font changed and the stickers on the helmets sucks.
October 26th, 2021 at 2:46 PM ^
Oh yeah for sure. Thinking a bit further, I'm with you now - better to have them at a 9-10 win level (pre-bowl) with the occasional recruiting win over OSU and MSU (and UM), than having those recruits going to OSU and MSU and being used against us more efficiently than under Franklin.
October 26th, 2021 at 2:52 PM ^
How about beating their ass every year. That would be better than worrying about who the coach is IMO
October 26th, 2021 at 3:37 PM ^
This sounds a lot like when people wanted Tressel gone. Be careful what you wish for I guess. I'd rather we take care of our own business instead of wishing they'd go away, given that these two aren't particularly unbeatable anyway.
October 26th, 2021 at 2:20 PM ^
Their couches typically leave East Lansing after they have been burned extensively.
October 26th, 2021 at 1:08 PM ^
Ha. Along those same lines, here's a back-to-back of Tomlin and Urban answering the same question.
October 26th, 2021 at 1:54 PM ^
Well, you've convinced me, urban. I trust you.
October 26th, 2021 at 2:09 PM ^
Yup, looking down at his shoes really sold me on it also!
October 26th, 2021 at 2:28 PM ^
The voice trailing off faintly and hands in pockets did it for me.
October 26th, 2021 at 2:54 PM ^
Those weren't his shoes he was looking down at...if you know what I'm sayin...
October 26th, 2021 at 3:30 PM ^
Where was Cayman Nebraska?
FFS, parents don't really think sometimes when naming their kids.
October 26th, 2021 at 1:19 PM ^
Also if you watch the video of him saying it and the way he says "school down the road," dude does not give a shit about this game or the rivalry. Zero shits given
October 26th, 2021 at 1:45 PM ^
Maybe they got jealous of Ohio State saying "that team up North" and thought they would sound cool saying something similar.
October 26th, 2021 at 2:04 PM ^
In fairness to Mel ,he is at MSU. Tomlin is the head coach of the STEELERS!! There is a slight difference.
October 26th, 2021 at 2:35 PM ^
Oh come on, give Mel a little more credit than that! It's not like he's ever publicly committed to his current school and then signed a contract with a different school like, I don't know, 4 days later or anything. He's a trustworthy guy.
October 26th, 2021 at 12:58 PM ^
So you’re telling me there’s a chance?.gif
/s
October 26th, 2021 at 1:00 PM ^
Great quote, but if he had really wanted to end it in style, he would have gone with:
October 26th, 2021 at 1:12 PM ^
Reporter: Coach Tomlin, any truth to the rumors that you are considering the USC job?
Tomlin:
October 26th, 2021 at 2:00 PM ^
+1 to both of you. Never enough Coming to America gifs on this website!
October 26th, 2021 at 2:37 PM ^
I don't know who USC is gonna hire, but I do know Joe Louis was 76 years old when he fought Rocky Marciano.
October 26th, 2021 at 1:01 PM ^
Lol. “Mike, how would you like to go from one of the premier organizations in the NFL to a rebuilding project in a second-rate conference in college?”
why even ask
October 26th, 2021 at 1:46 PM ^
I completely agree that its ludicrous to ask Tomlin about USC - dude ain't goin'...
However, USC is hardly a 'rebuilding project'! They have buttloads of talent all over the field, even if they're playing like dogshit with it. No, they don't have the levels they had with Pete Carrol, but they have as much talent as Michigan does. That place is untethered success for a coach that can actually coach...
October 26th, 2021 at 2:00 PM ^
Meh - With the exception of 3 or 4 10+win non-CFP seasons, they've been mediocre since 2008. Just because a team has great talent doesn't mean they can't rebuild. Nobody is denying they have all the resources, $$ and recruiting landscape to be elite but they don't have the leadership. So from a organizational aspect, they will certainly need to rebuild and pick a decent coach. They should have the pick of the litter after the CFB season is over.
October 26th, 2021 at 2:14 PM ^
If the Steelers don't want Tomlin anymore, I've got believe there will be 2 or 3 other NFL franchises that would want to scoop him up.
October 26th, 2021 at 1:02 PM ^
Edit:
michigan beats state by 20
October 26th, 2021 at 1:04 PM ^
Well I stand corrected.
October 26th, 2021 at 1:06 PM ^
Dang. As a Browns season ticket holder I was really hoping that dude would take the job because as much as I dislike the Steelers (and I really dislike the Steelers) I really do admire Tomlin and respect the hell out of him as a HC.
Side note. I've lived in Detroit, San Francisco and Sothern Florida and Cleveland is the only town I know of that has it's own pro football team AND a huge contingent of fans for another city's team to boot. There are countless Steeler's fans in Cleveland that have 0.0% connection to Pittsburg but wear their gear, fly their flags and are as rabid in their support of the Steelers as anyone born on the shores of the Monongahela river.
It's the damndest thing. And when you push them on why they love the Steelers so much the answer is generally "I dont know - I just always have". And those disloyal fucks are everywhere this week as it's Pittsburg week here in Cleveland.
October 26th, 2021 at 1:12 PM ^
"...those disloyal fucks..." says the Michigan fan from Cleveland. I love it. Plus, screw the Steelers. Hate them. Tomlin is cool though. I hope DPJ goes off.
October 26th, 2021 at 1:17 PM ^
But I've LIVED HERE for over 30 years. If even one of them said "I used to live in Pittsburg" or "I have family in Pittsburg" I'd totally get it. But they dont. They simply root for them because they've been good forever while Cleveland's sucked. I should've called them "front-running disloyal fucks" because that's what they really are.
Let me ask you a question. How many Packer fans do you encounter in the Detroit metro area on a a daily basis? How many Packer flags do you see up today? Because around here they are EVERYWHERE.
October 26th, 2021 at 1:23 PM ^
The Washington Football Team (formerly known as the Redskins) have the same problem with Dallas fans here in the DC area. The Cowboys are their arch rivals in the NFC East, but there are boatloads of Cowboys fans here. Many of the ones I've talked to lived here in the DC area their entire lives.
It's weird.
October 26th, 2021 at 1:56 PM ^
Can confirm. The amount of Dallas fans here without any connection to the Dallas metro area is unreal. I mean, there are also a lot of Pittsburg fans - but they are migrants, so I get it. I don't like them, but I get it.
Personally, I'm still a Lions fan, even though I have no idea why. None! I have adopted the Ravens, though, not the local WFT (for reasons unexplained, but probably due to a Lions loss while watching with Dad in a VFW bar when I was ~8). I get the MGrowOld 'longevity in an area' thing as a reason to adopt the local team - after 31 years in metro DC, I'm as good a Caps fan as I am a Wings fan.
And yeah, I know there's an 'h'. Fuck 'em...
October 26th, 2021 at 3:02 PM ^
Reminds me of Notre Dame fans in the northeast that have never set foot in Indiana.
October 26th, 2021 at 3:46 PM ^
it's the same in NY re: Dallas Cowboys fans: Division rivals are popular (relatively) in other NFC East towns.
It's really not that complicated: people don't have a specific connection to the hometown team. Or maybe a friend or someone was a fan of the Cowboys and so instead of being a Giants/Jets fan in NY, you go with a division rival b/c they are on TV playing the local team 2x a year, plus other random games- so you see them on tv more often than say, a random team from another division.
Being ppl familiar with the Lions, I'd expect more of you to understand the decision to root for a more appealing franchise.
October 26th, 2021 at 1:27 PM ^
there's an h! you're missing our h!
October 26th, 2021 at 1:30 PM ^
We have Philistines here deliberately spelling Pittsburgh incorrectly.
October 26th, 2021 at 1:53 PM ^
William Pitt the Elder is offended.
October 26th, 2021 at 1:28 PM ^
Let me ask you a question. How many Packer fans do you encounter in the Detroit metro area on a a daily basis? How many Packer flags do you see up today? Because around here they are EVERYWHERE.
I took a look around Chicago metro area. I spotted zero Detroit Lions fans or flags. Can't figure it out.
October 26th, 2021 at 1:38 PM ^
Valenti is a rabid Yankees/Celtics fan. He’s from NY, so I’ll give him The Yanks, but The Knicks just didn’t win enough. Probably secretly roots for OSU.
October 26th, 2021 at 1:38 PM ^
I grew up on the east side but now reside on the West Coast (of Michigan). The number of Buckeyes and Packers fans are not huge but a real irritant. Too many, regardless.
October 26th, 2021 at 1:43 PM ^
Hey, mGrowOld!
I'm going to be in Cleveland next weekend.
Looked on Facebook and online and can't find where the alumni club watches the Michigan football games in the Cleveland area.
Any idea which bar(s) host people for the games?
October 26th, 2021 at 2:03 PM ^
They havent been doing it since Covid unfortunately. Not as an organized thing anyways.
Where are you staying?
October 26th, 2021 at 2:23 PM ^
That's a bummer. I was in Boston for the Wisconsin game, and they had an organized viewing party at a bar that was completely packed with Michigan grads. Was a lot of fun to watch with my brethren and sistren.
I'll be in the Beachwood area. Staying at the hotel at the new outdoor "lifestyle" mall...the name of which escapes me at this very moment.
October 26th, 2021 at 1:14 PM ^
They do the same thing in Cincinnati. I wonder if fans take on a team during local stretches of futility. Plenty of Packers/Steelers/Bears fans in Detroit and Michigan.
October 26th, 2021 at 1:17 PM ^
I am not sure it's just a Cleveland thing. I have so many friends and relatives that are STEEELERS fans and I have no idea why.