Tommy Reamon Sr., a former Pittsburgh Steelers running back and longtime football coach who became close to Mike Tomlin, has died. He was 73. Reamon’s son, Tommy Jr., shared a photo honoring his father earlier today and the news was confirmed locally.
Born in Newport News, Virginia, the same town Mike Tomlin would later call home, Reamon was selected by the Steelers in the ninth round of the 1974 NFL Draft, a class regarded as the greatest in NFL history. It featured Jack Lambert, Mike Webster, John Stallworth, Lynn Swann, and undrafted free agent pickup Donnie Shell. Reamon didn’t reach those heights and never appeared in a regular-season game with the Steelers. Reamon played college football at Missouri.
Drafted by the World Football League’s Florida Blazers the same year, he signed there and became a star in the upstart league. In 1974, he was named the WFL’s MVP, carrying the ball 386 times for 1,576 yards and 11 touchdowns during a 20-game season, the Blazers finishing the year 14-6. In 1975, he spent time with the WFL’s Jacksonville Express but finished with just 278 yards.
Reamon’s lone NFL season came in 1976. Signing with the Kansas City Chiefs, he carried the ball more than 100 times for 314 yards and four touchdowns. In Week 9, Reamon faced off against the Steelers. Pittsburgh won the day in a convincing 45-0 victory thanks to one of the greatest defenses in NFL history. Reamon’s professional career ended in 1977, finding success with the CFL’s Saskatchewan Roughriders, though he had tryouts with the Washington Redskins the following year.
Though Reamon never appeared in a regular-season game for the Steelers, he played in the 1976 exhibition game in which the Steelers played a group of college All-Stars. He scored the last touchdown in the event’s history, capping a 24-0 game shortened due to a terrible storm that made conditions unplayable.
After his playing days, Reamon went into coaching. Returning to Virginia, he coached a string of future NFL players including quarterbacks Aaron Brooks and Mike Vick. In 2023, Tomlin helped convince Reamon to become the head coach at Denbigh High School, the high school Tomlin attended decades earlier.
“I started doing football camps when I got to a place of influence,” Tomlin said to Reamon in a 2023 luncheon hosted by the Steelers. “Because when I was a teenager, I went to his camps. We didn’t have money to go to nobody else’s camp. Coach Reamon would have a camp for five dollars. He’d feed you lunch and give you a T-shirt. Shoot, the five dollars was for the lunch and the T-shirt. The camp was free. I just appreciate you, just appreciate you being a blueprint for us. We sit around and talk about you all the time.
“I ain’t played for this dude one day. But this dude always checked in on me. He knew what I was, he took care of me. My brother never played for him. He sent my brother to JUCO.”
Reamon retired as the school’s head coach following the 2024 season after leading the team to a playoff victory.
Reamon’s son served as a Steelers intern during the team’s 2011 training camp in Latrobe.
