The Pomp And Joe Show
12PM - Point-shaving scandal hits RMU player, Raiders better job than Steelers; Mike Tomlin fell short in drafting impactful first-round picks for years
15 Jan 2026
Chapter 1: What happened in the point-shaving scandal involving RMU players?
It would take a giant story for me to veer away from the Steelers and their situation right now. A coaching search followed by a quarterback search and everything else happening. But this qualifies, Bob, I would say for a couple minutes here. ESPN.com, several college players among 20 charged in point shaving scheme. So I'll read the lead.
20 men have been charged in a point-shaving scheme involving 39 college basketball players on 17 Division I teams, including Robert Morris, I might add. There's a player there who's implicated in this, leading to 29 games being fixed, according to a federal indictment unsealed Thursday in the Eastern District of Pennsylvania.
So a couple of guys from New Orleans play for New Orleans College, University, sanctioned in November for fixing New Orleans games. Four players charged have played for their current teams in the past week. This is unbelievable. Filed in federal court.
Does it explain what degree of this? I mean, was it prop betting? Was it game fixing? Was it?
It seems to be involving prop betting in the college games. I haven't read the whole thing here. The scheme began around September of 22 and initially was focused on fixing games in the Chinese Basketball Association. What? This group later targeted college basketball games, offering bribes to college players ranging from $10,000 to $30,000 to compromise games for betting purposes.
That's what it's about.
So... It's a Chinese basketball association. Is that what you said? Or China? That's where it started. Yeah.
There's a group who, who, you know, purportedly organized a scheme that began with the Chinese basketball association and then later targeted college hoops.
So, and so they're coming up with cash to give the players to miss a couple of shots.
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Chapter 2: How do the Raiders and Steelers jobs compare for potential coaches?
It's very unfortunate, and I feel like just never going to end if the rise and increase in betting and the... really how teams, leagues are introducing betting. We see it now more and more on game broadcast, prop bets before games. You'll see teams that have sportsbooks in their own arenas too.
So the more and more that casinos and betting is involved, I think the more likely that these things are to happen. And I'm not saying that betting is a bad thing at all.
What I'm saying is that these types of things are happening more and more. And you're getting to you have access to through the digital age. And the Supreme Court had a ruling a while back. I forget when it was about making betting more accessible for everyone and how they did all this. But what's happening now, it's leaking to the players. And players have their cell phones.
You can hit them up easily probably in some form or fashion and get them, you know, hey, I got $5,000. All you got to do is go 0 for 3 from the floor in the second half. And some people are willing to do it. I don't think it's anything new because I think point shaving goes all the way back. How many years, Joe? We're talking about point shaving and their baseball scandals. 50s and 60s.
Yeah, it's way back.
Way back. Well, we're talking about the Black Sox from 19-whatever they were. Oh, wait. It's been a- Ron covered.
He was their beat writer, Bob. He bet on the game. My point is it's out there, and now it's become a little easier to get to people who are contributors to these games. And when that happens, that's when you've got a problem.
I mean, anywhere where there's money to be made, there's the threat of illegal activity in whatever walk of life we're talking about. People like money. This just in. They want money. They want more of it. So what was it, $11 billion in betting last year? I'm surprised it's that low. It's just going to happen. It's going to happen.
I don't know what the answer is because the industry isn't slowing down. I can tell you that. I mean, I do ads for FanDuel.
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Chapter 3: What role has Mike Tomlin played in the Steelers' draft decisions?
Yeah. That would be tremendous. Well, I'll tell you my new favorite candidate, if he is one. His name hasn't been mentioned, but in the ESPN.com piece I read, other potential candidates. Was this Graziano? I don't know who wrote this. If the Steelers want to go a little off the board...
Watch out for Broncos quarterback coach Davis Webb, who turns 31 next week and is getting attention from several teams for offensive coordinator and even head coach interviews. Man, I think they've done a nice job there. First of all, he's apprenticing with Sean Payton. Secondly, I think whatever anybody thinks of Bo Nix, they've done a pretty darn good job in a short period of time
developing a quarterback whose team is a number one seed. Would you agree with that, Bob?
Yes. I mean, anytime Sean Payton thinks you're capable of doing a job like that at that young of an age, and we're seeing more and more of that, Joe. You know, kids that are, I say kids, but, you know, they're coming right out in some of these sort of apprentice roles, internships, and next thing you know, they're moving right up the ranks.
And 31 is a young age to have that sort of responsibility, but he can handle it, obviously, as their offense has shown.
City Dweller, you said you had some calls on the Steelers' situation. Let's go to Dave. Dave is in Oakmont and wants to chime in. What's up, Dave? Hi. Good afternoon. I just find it very curious that in this age of everything getting leaked, rumors, whatever, nobody's offered Mike Tomlin to talk to Tomlin.
I thought he was going to get a job like three seconds after heā Well, people did right away. That was reported. But it's also been reported that he doesn't want to coach this year. I know that, but I'm just surprised nobody tried to knock hisā No, they have.
They have, and they will continue to do it. Well, I don't know. It's just that if his agent or whatever gives word out that, hey, he's taking a year off, he's not doing it, you can still try, and maybe you'll hit a number that resonates with him.
But, you know, that's why you're not hearing that, because I think he sent out clear, and I've believed this all along, that he's going to take some time away. Maybe two years, they said.
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Chapter 4: How does the betting landscape affect college sports integrity?
He can develop even better. I see that Simpson, they're looking at $6.5 million to return. He should. He's not very good. No, I'm just saying, I think Moore not being available changes what this draft class looks like from a quarterback point of view.
Why did that guy, I had to leave for a moment, why did he mention Mendoza there?
I don't know why. I mean, trying to make a correlation between he won a national championship and so did Will Howard. He has not yet won one, but if he does.
Do you guys agree with me that the Raiders' job would be way more attractive because you have the first pick and it's Mendoza than the Steelers' job? No, because I just think that the management there and the ownership is just disruptive.
I don't know. I think that's a big thing. If you could solve that right off the bat, that is big. I'm not going to look at that as a better job because of where they are. It gives you an opportunity to change things pretty quickly, so I think that's a plus.
Pretty nice situation that they play in these days, too. They just hired Pete Carroll. They're willing to spend money. They tried Gruden. They tried Josh McDaniels. They tried Pete Carroll. I don't blame them. Yeah, they tried a lot of guys. I want the quarterback.
All of those Lombardi trophies over there are there because of, I think, well, Joe Green is probably the most influential player in Steeler history because he helped change the culture. And yet, it feels to me like the two most important players on the field in regard to those Lombardi trophies are Terry Bradshaw and Ben Roethlisberger.
So if I'm the prospective Steelers candidate and I say, tell me about you, like what's the best part about this job? And the answer is, well, we're not going to fire you after two years. I can promise you that. I would come back with, great. What else you got? Do you have a quarterback or a plan to get one? Like you have to have a quarterback to win.
So if I'm a candidate right now and I've got the number one pick in the draft and it's Mendoza, that to me is by any reasonable definition a better situation than coming here.
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Chapter 5: What are the implications of the recent college basketball betting scandal?
I want the number one pick in the draft. I do too.
And that's why, by the way, the Giants were a better job than the Steelers too.
By the way, if you are a coach, a young coach, To me, the Steelers is the team you want to go to just because you know they're going to give you a chance. And they should put resources into what they do.
I know. I keep hearing that. But again, if I'm in the interview and I say, what's the best thing about this place? And they say, you're not going to get fired after two years, my answer would be great.
That's not going to be the only thing. Okay, what else will they say? But that is a vote of confidence that you can be here so it gives yourself time to bring in the assets you need. And then it's incumbent upon you. It's about the quarterback.
If you go to a team that has a history of getting rid of coaches really quickly, if that first year you draft Mendoza, he turns out to be David Carr, and things go backwards, how long do you think you'll last there?
Not long. How long do you think he'll last here?
It depends on who they get in the quarterback. I don't know. Mike Tomlin won a Super Bowl right away. They're going to be given time to find that quarterback. He's not going to be held accountable.
You better get the quarterback. There's a lot of great things in Steelers history and a lot of great players. The reason, the two main reasons they have six Lombardis is Terry Bradshaw and Ben. Bill Cower had a great run for a long time, but I noticed he didn't win a Super Bowl until he got Ben. Mike Tomlin walked into Ben.
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Chapter 6: What strategies should the Steelers adopt for future drafts?
When you don't have a lot around him. I don't know that Oakland, that Vegas has all that much around him.
Yeah, but let's not act like limits. Like, where'd he go? He's on the phone. Let's not act like the Steelers are the only franchise that offers stability to a coach.
I'm not saying that. What I'm saying is, as a young coach, you know you'll get it. In other places, you may not. How long did Jonathan Gruden be in Arizona? It didn't take long for that to collapse, and they had apparently a lot of pieces. People picked them to go to the Super Bowl this year. For sure.
They'll give you more. Again, if I'm a new coach and the first thing you tell me is we're more stable than Arizona, I'm not sure. Are they more stable than New England?
Buffalo? We'll find out.
Baltimore?
Even Cincinnati stuck with their coach. It's important to have a quarterback. I'm not going to get away. I get that, and I believe it 100%. Kansas City?
Kansas City? They're less stable than Philly. Philly seems to have a model. They do. But the thing with Philly is they're not a coach center. They don't let the coach rule everything. Philly says our GM and our owner will rule everything. Correct. If you don't get us where we want to go, we'll prove that coaches are interchangeable.
And I understand it because they've proven it. I get it. I think this is something we're going to have to wait and see because we don't know who the characters will be.
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Chapter 7: How can the Steelers improve their coaching and player development?
convolutes things more than it solves. When you get a text, sometimes how you read the text is not how it was intended to be read. You know? Yes. Have you done that before? Yes. And then you go back and forth with someone and say, look, that's not what you said. Yes, I did. No, I didn't.
A guy named Frank Michael Smith. I don't even know who he is, Bob.
Yeah, he's a good kid. He does a great job. I've known him for a long time and his father for a long time. He seems very smart. He's very smart, and he does wonderful TikToks. Who does he work for? Himself.
I like his tweets. Frank Michael Smith? Yep.
You want to get him on one day? I can text him and get him on if you want. He's really good. Well, yes. And he does it visually. He's really popular among the TikTok people.
Yeah, I have his number. He's actually called the show when I was hosting at night once before, and I had him on.
I've talked to him since. Yeah, he's a good kid. And he's working hard at becoming one of the better-known TikTokers in the world, actually.
Really? Yeah. Okay. Well, anyway, I was going to write about this and talk about it. And it's not like we haven't before. We have a million times, except that it's especially true and pertinent now.
is what the national media won't talk about with Tomlin is the, the, his, his hand in personnel and the draft roster construction, bringing in people like Russell Wilson and Trubisky and everybody else and drafting picket, which is as bad as it gets and bringing in Matt Canada, which is why when I was on this show with Ron cook, do you remember him limits, Ron? And we used to have Peter King on.
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Chapter 8: What are the long-term impacts of coaching decisions on NFL teams?
No, I do want to be the final voice. And in fact, that's a condition of my hiring. Okay, fine. I think a guy like Harbaugh can demand that. A guy like Tomlin, if he wants to demand that.
Mike Tomlin came in and drafted Lamar Woodley and Lawrence Timmons right away.
I understand. What I'm saying to you is I'm a younger guy just starting to earn my stripes. I don't know if I want the pressure of that right off the bat.
Then I don't want, no offense, but I don't want you as my coach then.
Well, what's the point of having everyone else in your organization if you're going to immediately give a 31-year-old? Go ask them.
They've let Mike Tomlin run their organization for 19 years.
Right, and that is not necessarily always left to the best results and roster composition. I'm just saying, from that point of view, I'm just happy to get that job. I'm going to do what I can to make that job work. And I still believe that they have a pretty healthy dialogue in that room. You may ultimately have the coach, but I don't think he exclusively picks every single guy.
No, he doesn't. But, Bob, you and I could look at the same college prospects in any sport. You and I in limits. And this is what I always say about the Steelers. There's no way we're coming to a consensus. We're going to have arguments. But you're going to have arguments that sway your decision. Sure. But one guy gets the final say.
Okay, fine.
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