Steelers DT Cam Heyward: Why Mike Tomlin’s Coach Days are 100% Over

Mike Tomlin's name is going to come up every time a head coaching job opens. Cam Heyward would like everyone to save their breath.

Rich closed his conversation with the Steelers defensive tackle with what he called "a real deal question." Halfway through Tomlin's first season as a TV analyst, does Heyward think Tomlin is done coaching?

Heyward didn't hesitate. "Guys, he's not coming back," he said. "He's way too comfortable."

Rich asked if he was serious. Heyward repeated himself and offered the evidence. "He told me as soon as he walked in, 'I win every week now,'" Heyward said. "And I'm like, I get that. I get that."

Heyward made it clear he wasn't going to argue the point with Tomlin. "That's a pretty sweet job he's got going on over there," he said.

Rich recognized the line. That's the thing coaches discover when they go to TV, he said. They win every week. There are no losses. But Rich also pointed out the other side of it: coaches who leave the sideline miss a lot of what it was like to coach. So is coaching really out of Tomlin's system?

Not entirely, Heyward admitted. "It's not out of his system, because I'm still receiving a lot of texts in our group chats," he said. "I know he still cares deeply." But Heyward still doubts anyone can pry Tomlin out of his current situation. "It's going to be pretty tough."

Naturally, Rich wanted to know who else was on that text chain. Heyward said it's just him and T.J., and that Tomlin "tends to poke and prod."

Rich asked whether that meant Tomlin keeps an eye on what they're doing and jabs at them a little bit. Heyward corrected the premise. Not a little bit. "It's a straight uppercut most of the time," he said.

"That means it's still in there," Rich said.

"It's there. It's there," Heyward agreed.

So Rich asked the money question directly. Is there no bag large enough to get Tomlin out of his current situation?

Heyward flipped it right back on him. "Is there a bag large enough to get you to play in the NFL right now?"

Rich laughed and conceded. "There is not, sir. No." And he got the message. "I guess I'm picking up what you're putting down."

For anyone dreaming of Tomlin on a sideline next season, Heyward just delivered his scouting report. Tomlin still cares, still texts, and still throws haymakers in the group chat. He's just enjoying a job where he never loses.