The comments made last week by former Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback turned Fox Sports analyst Terry Bradshaw didn’t go over to well with current players on the team and for good reason. On Tuesday, Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin finally responded to what Bradshaw had to say about him and the way his players defended him.
“I appreciate the support, but criticism and critique are very much a part of our business and it’s an element of our business that as a competitor, I embrace,” Tomlin said. “The term “great”, is something that I have a great deal of respect for. I certainly don’t think that my resume to this point reads as great, but very few coaches resumes read as that at this point. Guys like Bill [Belichick] in New England can probably say that, or Pop [Gregg Popovich] down in San Antonio, but I think the rest of us are just working-stiff, to be quite honest with you.”
Tomlin didn’t stop there as he fired a shot back at Bradshaw for him calling Tomlin a great cheerleader-type of coach.
“Now, with that being said, terms like “cheerleader guy”, to me, maybe fall outside the bounds of critique, or criticism,” said Tomlin. “They probably fall more into the area of disrespect and unprofessional, but what do I know, I grew up a Dallas fan, particularly a [Thomas] Hollywood Henderson fan.”
In case you didn’t get that, Thomas Henderson, who played for the Dallas Cowboys from 1975-1979, told reporters prior to Super Bowl XIII that Bradshaw “is so dumb, he couldn’t spell cat if you spotted him a C and an A.”
All of this stems from the comments Bradshaw made about Tomlin last week during his appearance on Fox Sports 1’s “Speak For Yourself.” In case you missed that, here’s what he had to say about the Steelers head coach.
“I don’t think he’s a great coach at all,” Bradshaw said, when asked if Tomlin still needs to prove himself. “He’s a nice coach. He’s really a great cheerleader guy. I don’t know what he does, but I don’t think he’s a great coach at all. His name never even pops in my mind when we think about great coaches in the NFL.”
I dont know about you, but I think Tomlin handled that “great.”
