Though Mike Tomlin and Antonio Brown didn’t part on ideal terms, Brown has no ill will for his former head coach. Appearing on Jason Whitlock’s Fearless podcast Tuesday afternoon, Brown reflected on what Tomlin meant to him on and off the field.
“Mike Tomlin…that dude was like my pops, to be honest,” an emotional Brown told Whitlock. “Ever since I met Mike Tomlin I always knew, I’ll have success. I feel like when I went to the Steelers, Mike Tomlin, once I saw him and talked with him, I knew I was going to the Steelers. Mike Tomlin was that father figure for me. Outside of coach. Obviously as a coach and the minutia as a coach, he was always challenging me at the utmost to make sure I was better.”
Brown had a winding journey to the NFL. A Florida kid who played his college ball in the MAC at Central Michigan, becoming a sixth round pick of the 2010 NFL Draft. Scouts questioned his level of competition, his slight frame, his 4.57 40-yard Combine time.
Pittsburgh took the chance on him late in the draft. He found the end zone on his first regular season touch, taking a reverse for a touchdown on a kickoff against the Tennessee Titans. His role as a receiver was limited in the early goings but he made his name known in his debut playoff game. Tied 24-apiece against the Baltimore Ravens, Brown made a 58-yard helmet catch down the right sideline on a 3rd and 19 heave from Ben Roethlisberger, setting up the game-winning touchdown.
From there, his career took off. He finished second on the team in receptions, yards, and touchdowns in 2011. His breakout year came in 2013, leading the team with 110 receptions for 1,499 yards and eight touchdowns. His numbers became video-game like in 2014, leading the NFL in receptions (129) and yards (1,698) and in his prime, was essentially uncoverable. For six straight seasons, he posted at least 100 receptions, 1,200 yards, and eight touchdowns. In NFL history, no one else has done it more than four times, consecutive or not.
In his now famous interview with The Pivot in 2022, Mike Tomlin acknowledged Brown would never play for the Steelers again but spoke well of him.
“We had nine great years,” Tomlin told Ryan Clark, Fred Taylor, and Channing Crowder. “I appreciate that dude in ways that I can’t explain to y’all that I won’t even bother to attempt to explain to y’all because it sounds like I’m defending him in some way…the nature of our relationship and what we all did together requires no defense.”
The feeling seems mutual.
“That guy Mike Tomlin, always had my back, always believed in me,” Brown said. “So I’m always indebted to Mike Tomlin. He was one of those guys that’s stood in the foxhole for me. And that meant a lot to me.”
But Brown eventually felt like his time was up in Pittsburgh and he made a loud exit, forcing the team to trade him. Brown hasn’t said he regrets the move, telling Whitlock he was chasing a Super Bowl ring he eventually received with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. But had Brown stayed with Tomlin, he might’ve gone down as the greatest receiver in NFL history. Instead, he’ll be remembered for as much what he did off the field than on it.
