Chapter 1: What news did Mike Tomlin announce regarding the Steelers?
It's the Boomer and Geo podcast from WFAN. And we're coming to you live from the Build Forward Tough studio. Boomer Esiason, Greg Giannotti. It's Boomer and Geo on the fan. Cybercast across the country on CBS Sports Network. And where we are in the free Odyssey app. Good Wednesday morning.
The craziest offseason in the history of the NFL when it comes to head coaches gets even crazier as Mike Tomlin yesterday afternoon stepping down as Steelers head coach. That means he's not just available for everybody to interview, so that's why his name isn't attached to every team and you're not seeing teams reach out and schedule interviews, but he is out and obviously John Harbaugh out.
Those two going at it for eight
years in that division now Zach Taylor is the only one left in that AFC North the Giants continue their press for John Harbaugh and if they miss out on him man I tell you this is going to be a tough one for whoever that second choice is to step in there and every question is going to be how do you feel that the Giants went all out for John Harbaugh didn't get him and then had to turn to you there's second choices and then there's you we'll see if that happens but I still think the Giants are the favorite
Good morning, Boomer. How are you? Yeah, I'm doing all right, G. And you would think maybe somebody could resign like at 6.30 in the morning, please. Yeah. That would help so we could actually react in real time as opposed to hearing everybody already give their reactions. We did get the LeFleur trying to stay news. Yes. It wasn't like an official.
Hopefully that's the case and hopefully he is going to stay. Just to be really totally clear, he was not fired. He stepped down. So that means there is time left on his contract. which means that the Pittsburgh Steelers still do own his rights. And within the NFL, if he wants to go back and coach, there has to be compensation, not financial compensation.
It's usually some sort of, you know, draft choices or something kind of like Sean Payton. and the Denver Broncos. So the way that situation unfolded for Denver. So, again, he was not fired. The Roonies were not going to fire him. I think he probably got sick and tired and heard the fans, heard the boos, and probably heard the criticism over the last couple years and is probably exhausted by it.
He is a human being, after all. Yeah, I mean, and when you're standing there and it's another playoff loss and you're hearing these fans that have cheered you for so many years saying, fire Tomlin and it's 30-6 and things have gotten out of control and you're thinking, all right, I've got a 42-year-old quarterback and I don't know what the hell is going to happen next year at that position.
Yeah, it was time. I mean, sometimes those big decisions make themselves. And for Mike Tomlin, it made itself with that loss to the Houston Texans. So the amazing thing about what happened in Baltimore and Pittsburgh is the fact that where there was smoke, there was fire.
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Chapter 2: What challenges do the Giants face in hiring a new head coach?
And I'm sure Mike could do a great job of breaking down the game. And I think if as long as you are Mike Tomlin in the booth, if he could just let it go and just be himself, I think it'd be great. But the question is, you know, you got to pair them with the right guy. It's got to be the right network. It's got to be to me. It's got to be a national stage. It can't be the third pairing.
You know, so when you think of the networks, they all have their number one and number two guys. And you're not going to be putting Mike Tomlin, I don't think you're going to be putting him in the number one booth with either Tom Brady, Chris Collinsworth, or Tony Romo. No, and it seems like it's Fox.
And Jay Glazer's got a lot of great relationships in the NFL, but him and Mike Tomlin have been close for a very long time. And that's why I think the Fox thing and that connection is probably going to happen. But that one seems like the least... They have, like, eight guys in a pregame show? Yeah, I know. And you think about it.
So, you know, Matt Ryan just left, but then you got Cowher and Tomlin there, and I don't think Bill's going anywhere. You know, you hear about Tony Romo and the issues that he's having, and you think that would be a nice little thing if Mike Tomlin was a natural and they tested him out and then throw him in there with Jim Nansen. Boom, the NFL's going to love that, by the way.
And, you know, it's always trying to get the rights and keeping the NFL happy. Just everybody's got to calm down. Tony Romo's not going anywhere. Not going anywhere. He's got a long-term contract, and as long as CBS Sports has the rights to NFL games, he's the lead analyst. That's what they're paying him for.
So I know that everybody has a difference of opinion on different things, and I'm not going to argue with anybody. I'm not going to try to defend anybody. I'm just telling you, reality tells me that a contract that long, that expensive, you ain't getting out of it. How many years are left on that contract? It was a long contract. I think it was like 10 years, I think.
I think it was 10 years, $170 million. Well, I know it was $17 million a year. But, yeah, so I don't know the perfect landing spot. I'll give you another one, but it's not Fox, and everybody keeps saying Fox, Fox, Fox. Get Kirk Herbstreet out of Amazon and get a real NFL guy in there. All right, so that would be a spot. I'm not saying that Kirk should be replaced. placed or anything.
I'm just saying. He does a great job with college.
Right.
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Chapter 3: How does Mike Tomlin's resignation impact the Steelers' future?
But if CBS extends it, that contract stays in place. Yeah, so you've got all the way until, I guess, 2030 for that contract to expire. So we'll see what happens there. Now, I guess, you know, the Steelers' head coaching job has got to be one of the ones that is the most coveted in all of the NFL because they are going to give you so much time to figure it out.
Now, we have not seen one of their coaches step in and not have success in the first couple of years. Every one of those guys had, you know. Chuck Knoll gets there, you know, has a rough first year, but then they draft Mean Joe Green, and then all of a sudden they're like, they go on and have this unbelievable dynasty run.
Bill Cowher gets there after that, just a couple of years for him to build that team, and then bang, look at that. You know, he's in a championship game in 94. He's in the Super Bowl in 95. You know, he ends up winning the Super Bowl in 2005. Mike Tomlin steps in in 2007. He's winning the Super Bowl in 2008. So those guys won rock.
So we'll see who the next guy is, but they went with young defensive guys in Cower and Tomlin the last two times. There's young defensive guys in Jesse Minter and Chris Shuler that are out there now, but whoever ends up getting that job you would expect would get a long runway to figure it out because that's the way the Pittsburgh Steelers operate.
Mike Tomlin, when he inherited that team of Bill Cowher's, he had a quarterback in Ben Roethlisberger. That helps the transition. That helps you be successful early on when you get there, kind of like Mike Vrabel, kind of like Ben Johnson. You get the quarterback, you get the team built around them, and away you go. That's not the case in Pittsburgh right now.
So whoever steps into these shoes may have a losing record for the first time in 19 years. Sure. I mean, and that could be something that, I'm not saying that it would scare potential suitors away. I would just say that in the back of my mind, I would be thinking, so Tomlin replaced a legend and became a legend himself. How many times has that happened?
Bill Cowher replaced a legend, became a legend himself. So it doesn't happen a lot. No, I mean, it really doesn't. I mean, if you look at the best coaches in the history of the NFL, and you think a lot of them you can't even name the guy who was there afterwards. How about Jimmy Johnson replacing Tom Landry? Now, that was real. I mean, do you remember?
I don't know if you remember how controversial that decision by Jerry Jones was. Sure, yeah, and then the two of those guys couldn't coexist, which was unbelievable with all the success they had. They fell apart is basically what happened, and then they had the fortunate, fortunate, bad season that was allowing them to draft Troy Aikman.
And then everybody around Troy Aikman and that defense and the way that they built that team, it's got to be one of the greatest teams in NFL history. Yeah, great times. So that is one example, Landry and the Jimmy Johnson. But could you say who was the first guy after Don Shuler? Can you even name that? Jimmy Johnson? Right after Don Chula?
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Chapter 4: What are the implications of John Harbaugh's firing on his coaching career?
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So you had yesterday the Steve Bishotti press conference, and in the middle of it, Mike Tomlin did step down after 19 seasons. I saw Schefter say that I guess the Steelers felt blindsided by it, but they never saw it coming. I know the players were shocked by it. I don't know about the ownership. Is Adam talking about the ownership or the players? He said the Steelers.
So maybe he meant the players. Well, it seems like everybody in the building reacted kind of like strange to it. Yeah, very surprised. So that happens as Bishotti is talking to the media about his decision to let go of John Harbaugh when a reporter asks him or tells him. Mike Tomlin stepped down at Pittsburgh. He did?
Is it official?
That's what I keep hearing.
So is he a candidate here? Holy s***, Mike. Wouldn't that be awesome?
Yeah.
Yeah, and then he went on wondering about maybe those two switching teams. Ha ha ha, who knows? But he did also get into the Harbaugh firing, which was the way everything started. We'll get back to Tomlin in a moment. So the first question was, why and when did you make the decision to let go of Harbaugh? What went into this?
We led the league in giving up big leads in the fourth quarter. It's not something that winning organizations do. We have underperformed based on our seeding in the playoffs.
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Chapter 5: What issues are identified in the Mets' locker room?
Well, I think the GM recognizes that that was not a winning core of players, that there was something going on in that locker room. There was something going on with Nimmo and McNeil and Lindor and Soto. Again, it reminds me of the Rangers. Yeah, like something's going on.
Whether it's fragility or people genuinely dislike each other, whether it be because of politics or religion or whatever else, David Stearns recognized that he had an issue in that locker room. And he is trying to take care of that issue the best way he can.
And the best way he can is by letting Pete Alonzo walk, trading Nimmo and McNeil, eating part of the contract, and then now trying to bring in players that are going to be professional that may actually be able to get along with the players that are here on long-term contracts.
Chapter 6: How are the Mets addressing their rotation challenges?
Yeah. I mean, what is going on with this rotation? Is he really just leaning on the younger guys? Eventually, these younger guys are going to have to be leaned on. Well, yeah, but I talked about having a guy like Frambois Valdez, a veteran that you can count on at the top of the rotation that's going to eat innings and you can trust, putting that guy to anchor this group.
And they've done nothing to try to find that. And last year, their biggest problem was what? Starting pitching. Yeah, and they've done nothing to address it. Well, I think that they think that they have a young group of pitchers that are going to be a big part of this thing moving forward.
And they'll end up signing somebody or a couple guys, probably retreads, trying to get guys that can come in and give you some innings. I mean, because we know that there's going to be eight or nine starters during the year. We know that. Yeah.
So, you know, this whole thing with this Kyle Tucker thing, I don't know if it's like the Yankees were going after Juan Soto and throwing the $700 million number out there, and the Mets ended up giving him $765 million in a suite, and that allowed the Yankees to kind of back out and say, well, we don't give suites out to players. Right. Okay, so we tried, but we really didn't try.
You know, that's, I mean, it makes me feel like that's what they're doing with Kyle Tucker. Like, they're trying to show you. And now, and by the way, it's leaked out. But if they lose out on Kyle Tucker, that makes the Dave and Sturds offseason look worse. I say, look, Kyle Tucker didn't want to come here. He wanted to go to Toronto. He wanted to go to L.A. We didn't want to go to six years.
We wanted to go to four years. So you've got to tell me it's four years, what, 160 to 170 million? 180 million? Well, if it's $50 million a year, it's $200 million. Is it totally 50 or is it a little bit under that? Well, it says 50. The report was 50. That's John Heyman's report.
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Chapter 7: What are the implications of the Kyle Tucker situation for the Mets?
Yeah. Could be 50. Yeah. It may not be 50. And when John was reached for comment, he said, Courtney Malloy, that it was $50 million a year for Kyle Tucker. So somebody's leaking to John Heyman. Yeah. That always happens. You know? These guys are baseball insides. Who gains from the leak? I don't know. I don't think it's the Mets. I really don't.
Because the Mets are in a situation now where I feel like if they get Kyle Tucker, everybody's going to be like, you gave him $50 million a year. You didn't play a bunch of games. Right. And then if they do, right. And they're going to compare it to Pete Alonzo. Right. And then if they do get him, it's going to, I mean, if they don't get him, it's going to be Steve Cohen's richest owner ever.
Couldn't even beat the Blue Jays out. They're not even in America. My ass, all he wants to do is build a casino. He doesn't care about the Mets. I mean, it's just lose-lose. So here's the thing. If you're Kyle Tucker, where do you want to go? That's the question. Where's everybody want to go? Do you want to go into this quagmire that is the Mets right now as we sit here? No, I don't.
Don't you want to go where you think you can win? You can win here. Yeah, but not under the current set of circumstances. I don't know about that. You could win here. The Dodgers, you know you're going to win. Here, you're not so sure, but you can. I mean, I think everybody wants to go out, warm weather, going to win a championship, buy a house in Beverly Hills.
Chapter 8: How does the discussion shift to coaching changes in the NFL?
For what? What do you mean for what? Because that's where you live. Yeah, until it burns down. What do you mean it burns down? Who's burning it down? They lost like 7,000 homes out there. In Beverly Hills? No, but right next to it, Palisades. All right. Well, I mean, geez.
No, I'm just – all I'm saying is that I can understand why you would want to go to play for the Dodgers 100%, but I also know if you're using the Mets as leverage, maybe this is what this is all about. Maybe they're using the Mets as leverage publicly at Kyle Tucker's camp. And if they're using the Mets as leverage, then here we go again. Another New York team being suckered.
Do you know that there is only one team in Major League Baseball that hasn't added a player to their roster that wasn't there the last year? Is that the Dodgers? No. You know it's not the Dodgers. They added Edwin Diaz. That's right. There's one player. That's the Yankees. Yeah. One team in Major League Baseball that hasn't added a player from another organization. For what?
They're sitting ready to pounce. On who? On what? On Bellinger. Oh, okay. But that wouldn't even count because they'd bring him back. Because that's bringing a guy back that doesn't count. No, it doesn't. Because they brought Grisham back. I know. Yeah, but when they brought Aaron Judge back, did that count? No.
No.
even though he was being courted by other teams with more money and more term? It didn't count because the criteria was there's only one team in Major League Baseball that hasn't added a player that wasn't there the last year on the team. That's the criteria. All right, okay. The criterion. If it's one piece of criteria, is it criterion? Is it, Eddie? The criterion? I don't believe so, no. Okay.
Now I understand your criteria. So you're telling me that the plural of – there is no criterion plural, which is criteria. I would guess that. I'm not 100% sure, but that's what I would go with. What I always say to you when I do talk to you, you do have a lot of criteria associated with some of the questions that you ask. Well, yeah, I do. You do.
Because that makes it specific to something that makes it a more interesting conversation. I've got to tell you, we're going to play golf at 1130 on a Thursday. Next thing I know, I get this whole list of criteria. That you need answers to immediately.
Yeah.
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