PITTSBURGH — Antonio Brown has left a complicated Pittsburgh legacy, and no one knows that better than Mike Tomlin.
The Steelers coach opened up about the mercurial receiver during an appearance on the Pivot podcast Tuesday and demurred when asked if Brown could return to the Steelers, as the wideout suggested he wanted to do last month.
"Y'all know that ain't happening," Tomlin said. "In terms of putting a helmet on and running out of the tunnel and playing ball and stuff like that, man, you know he's moved on, and we've moved on. We can sit around and chop that up like it's a realistic conversation, but we know that's not realistic."
To be fair, that wasn't exactly Brown's stated aim. His posts from mid-May said he wanted to retire a Steeler, and he later clarified that he had no intention to play here again.
Nevertheless, some took the idea and ran with the idea of him returning to the Steelers' receiver room, prompting Tomlin's response. So forget about seeing him wear the black-and-gold No. 84 here again.
Tomlin wasn't without some warm thoughts about his former student, though. Speaking with former Steeler Ryan Clark and former NFL standouts Fred Taylor and Channing Crowder, the coach praised the bounty Brown's talents produced here while stopping short of defending his actions toward the end of his Steelers career.
"What I'll say about AB is this, man. We had nine great years," Tomlin said. "I appreciate that dude in ways I can't explain to y'all. I won't even bother to attempt to explain to y'all because it sounds like I'm defending him in some way.
"And to me, from that standpoint, the nature of our relationship and what we all did together requires no defense. You could digest it however you want to digest it. I don't think enough gets said about the will of that dude. About the work ethic of that dude. About the fearlessness that he played the game."
Indeed, the numbers were prodigious. Before he essentially quit on the team at the end of the 2018 season, Brown had amassed 837 receptions for 11,207 yards and earned seven Pro Bowl and four All-Pro selections — a Hall of Fame resume even if he hadn't gone on to win his only Super Bowl ring with Tampa Bay at the end of the 2020 season.
Tomlin also addressed concerns about minority hiring in the NFL, which has become a major league-wide topic this offseason following accusations from former Dolphins coach and current Steelers assistant Brian Flores that his candidacy for the New York Giants' coaching position was never considered seriously.
For his part, Tomlin was blunt in his assessment of where things stand for Black coaches around the league currently.
"That's what we're talking about, right? You're talking about head football jobs in the NFL," Tomlin said. "You're talking about some of the best 32 in the world at what you do. I've been in coaching all my adult life. I've been in the National Football League for over 20 years. I know the coaches. And I know some of the guys being denied are in the top 32."
With regard to Flores' hiring specifically, Tomlin said he did not have much of a relationship with him before bringing him on board as linebackers coach this offseason.
The two had discussed league matters together in recent years, once Flores had secured the Dolphins job. But otherwise, Tomlin described himself as more of a fan at a distance.
Things changed once news of the lawsuit took over the headlines, though.
"When he filed that lawsuit, I said, man, I imagine people are moving away from this dude," Tomlin said. "And I just want him to know I'm not moving away from him. I'm not moving to him because I don't know him like that. And so I just shot him a text."
It took a few weeks as hiring processes elsewhere played out. But once it became clear that Flores would not be getting a head job elsewhere, he reached out to Tomlin for advice, telling him he still wanted to coach.
That prompted Tomlin to ask owner Art Rooney II whether he could hire Flores as an assistant. With Rooney's support, he called Flores back within 45 minutes to offer him a job.
"It's not complicated, dude," Tomlin said. "This dude is a credible football coach. And a solid dude. Why wouldn't you?"
