One of the biggest knocks against Mike Tomlin is his lack of a coaching tree. Not many coaches who have worked under Tomlin have gone on to make a significant impact as a coach elsewhere, with the exception of a few veteran coaches like Todd Haley or Bruce Arians. But those coaches wouldn’t be considered a part of Tomlin’s coaching tree. It’s a tree that’s barren, but this offseason, it could see new life. With Detroit Lions OC Ben Johnson expected to leave Detroit for a head coaching gig, ESPN’s Adam Schefter reports that former Steelers wide receivers coach Scottie Montgomery, now with the Lions as their assistant head coach/running backs coach, could receive OC consideration in Detroit.
If Montgomery does get the job, he would be the first member of Tomlin’s coaching tree to serve as an offensive coordinator. Montgomery was with Pittsburgh from 2010-2012, hired after a stint at Duke as their wide receivers coach. Montgomery would return to Duke in 2013, holding a variety of roles including offensive coordinator from 2013-2015, before getting hired as the head coach at East Carolina, where he lasted three seasons and put up a 9-26 record.
Montgomery returned to the NFL in 2021 as the Indianapolis Colts running backs coach, and he took his present role with the Lions in 2023. With Montgomery’s help, the Lions have built one of the most potent rushing attacks in football with Jahmyr Gibbs and David Montgomery. And with Johnson likely to depart, Montgomery makes sense as someone who can step in as the team’s offensive coordinator. He’s been a coordinator before at both Duke and Maryland, and while the NFL game is different than the college game, it’s not as if it would be his first experience calling plays, especially given that he was also East Carolina’s head coach.
If Detroit doesn’t hire Montgomery, he could also wind up being a candidate to join the coaching staff for Johnson or defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn, another head coach candidate from the Lions. The knock on Tomlin for a lack of a coaching tree is a little bit of a stretch given he’s often worked with older, veteran assistants, but it is still notable given he’s been with Pittsburgh since 2007. Montgomery being the first coach that he brought into the league and developed to turn into an offensive coordinator would certainly be notable.
Tomlin’s handling and hiring of the coaching staff is going to remain a knock on him, especially if there aren’t tangible changes this offseason after a five-game losing streak to end the season. While it won’t impact Pittsburgh, Tomlin’s coaching tree might finally start to grow with Scottie Montgomery.
