Tim Benz: Question about college coaching rumors was appropriate. So was Mike Tomlin's response.

It sure seemed like Pittsburgh Steelers coach Mike Tomlin hated one of my questions at his weekly press conference Tuesday.

That’s OK. I loved his response.

After 21 minutes of on-field and health-related inquiries in advance of the team’s game in Cleveland, I figured an appropriate amount of time had passed before I posed a question many other reporters were also waiting to ask.

And many fans were waiting to hear.

Following a week’s worth of speculation from former players and ex-NFL executives regarding Tomlin’s potential interest in the LSU or USC coaching vacancies, would he ever have an interest in leaving the Steelers to take a college job? Has he privately expressed such a desire to try that level of coaching instead of the NFL?

“Hey guys, I don’t have time for that speculation,” Tomlin replied. “That’s a joke to me. I have one of the best jobs in all professional sports. Why would I have any interests in coaching college football? That will be the last time I address that and not only today but moving forward. Never say never — but never. OK? Anybody else have any questions about college jobs? There is not a booster with a big enough blank check.”

Stop what you’re doing and watch this now. pic.twitter.com/84l8G0jCld

— Albert Breer (@AlbertBreer) October 26, 2021

I guess the second “never” means “no” then?

Tomlin wasn’t done.

“Anybody asking (New Orleans Saints coach) Sean Payton about that? Anybody asking (Kansas City Chiefs coach) Andy Reid stuff like that?”

Actually, Mike, sorta. I don’t know if anyone asked Payton in person about it. But he was linked to a college job in 2015. The job in question was — wait for it — USC’s. And Payton was asked about Michigan’s job opening in 2014.

Regardless, at least the “there isn’t a blank check big enough” bravado within Tomlin’s response served as a direct rebuke to the speculation. More than, say, James Franklin’s.

As he did with Tomlin on Monday’s “Dan Patrick Show,” former USC quarterback Carson Palmer tied the Penn State coach to the USC opening as a potential candidate. Franklin’s response was substantially less emphatic.

Clearly he meant Ohio State, but you know, it's been a week

— Audrey Snyder (@audsnyder4) October 26, 2021

Of the two, you’d think Franklin would have more to gain by shutting down the rumors vehemently — if he wanted them shut down. After all, it’s at least conceivable Franklin may want to make that move.

So, come to think of it, he has a lot more to gain if his name stays in the hunt. Like a lucrative new contract in Southern California. Or leverage to get even more money out of Penn State than the $38.2 million he was given in 2020.

Forget what’s going through Franklin’s mind when he was asked about those vacancies, though. Anger appeared to be going through Tomlin’s mind. Disgust that he was even asked about the prospect of taking a college job.

Honestly, I didn’t understand the conversation either. Why would Tomlin ever want to leave the legendary stability of working for the Rooney family? Why would he ever voluntarily want to endure the hassles of recruiting, dealing with college administrators, NCAA regulations, 18-year-old diva amateurs, pesky parents and boosters?

Yeah. Exactly. Why?

I was asking myself the same questions. Hence my desire to get answers directly from Tomlin.

I assumed there was no smoke to this fire. But why was anybody rubbing two sticks together to get the smoke in the first place?

Maybe Tomlin was sick of the NFL. Maybe he wanted a change. A different challenge. A different way of life.

Perhaps he has a unique respect for shaping the character of younger people. The ability to coach a roster of players that’s desperate to get to the NFL, instead of being the steward of a payroll of $178 million.

Tomlin keeps an extreme distance from the local media. I don’t know him personally well enough to have any insight into those questions.

Maybe Doug Whaley did. He was Steelers director of football operations during Tomlin’s first three years before eventually becoming the Buffalo Bills general manager. It was Whaley who touched off the “Tomlin to the college ranks” thread during an appearance on 93.7 The Fan last week.

“Six letters for Steelers fans to be very concerned about … LSU, USC. Think about that. Both institutions can out-pay the Rooneys. Their alumni base has enough money to give Mike Tomlin whatever he wants,” Whaley said on Oct. 20.

Hmm. I’d figure a guy that worked with Tomlin for a while would be the last person to advance such a seemingly odd fit.

Unless he knew something we didn’t.

The next day, one of Tomlin’s former players, Ryan Clark (an LSU alumnus) added fuel during an appearance on ESPN 104.5 in Baton Rouge. The retired safety and ESPN personality said, “People don’t pull stuff out of thin air” and “This isn’t the first time I’ve heard of this. It’s the first time I’ve heard of it publicly like this.”

Clark added that LSU should offer Tomlin a contract so big that it “would make him disrespectful to Lord Jesus Christ to turn down.”

Am I going to assume I know Tomlin better than a guy who was on both of his Super Bowl rosters? If Clark isn’t dismissing Whaley’s theory, should I?

Then, on Monday, Palmer referenced Tomlin as a “wild card” candidate for the Southern California job on the “Dan Patrick Show.” That lent a Trojans voice to the mix as Palmer claimed he was acting as a sounding board for his alma mater on any potential hires they may like.

That’s more than just scuttlebutt in a chat room or a thread on Twitter started by some college football insider. To me, that felt worthy of seeking comment from Tomlin.

Some disagreed with me. “Don’t bother asking. There’s nothing to it. It would’ve just gone away on its own.” I heard that a lot on Twitter and the radio Tuesday.

Really? Because last week was a bye. Tomlin wasn’t around to ask. The rumor grew two extra legs over five days as he stayed silent about it.

So perhaps giving him a chance to end the speculation was the most direct route toward making the story “go away.”

Or, you know, asking questions in hopes of getting honest answers. Which is somewhat inferred as part of my job description.

One of two things happened. Either Tomlin was comfortable with speculation being at an arm’s length on national blogs and talk shows, or a sportscast in Los Angeles or Baton Rouge. But when I brought it into his house, he popped.

Or he was dying to sound off and put the speculation to rest at the first possible opportunity, and that question provided the opportunity. As a result, he has quelled discussion a heckuva lot more this morning than what would’ve been the case if no one had bothered asking.

Either way, Tomlin accomplished the task he wanted to accomplish, and I got an answer I think a lot of Steelers fans were waiting to hear.

Everybody’s happy. Even if they didn’t look that way behind a podium.

Or come off that way in this column.

TribLIVE Steelers beat writer Joe Rutter joined Tim Benz on 105.9 the X for this week’s post-Tomlin press conference podcast. They talk about Tomlin’s reaction to the question about college job openings, Stephon Tuitt’s injury, Zach Banner’s return, and Sunday’s game against the Cleveland Browns.