Brady Quinn comes to defense of Mike Tomlin after USC rumors

After Pittsburgh Steelers coach Mike Tomlin vehemently denied rumors linking him to job openings at USC and LSU, former Notre Dame quarterback Brady Quinn backed him up. Quinn said in an appearance on the Dan Patrick Show that the idea that Tomlin would leave the NFL is preposterous.

“He’s been one of the more successful, underrated head coaches in the NFL over what, the past 14 years he’s been there now,” Quinn said. “He hasn’t had a losing season. He’s won a Super Bowl. It’s ridiculous when you think about it. It’s even more ridiculous when you think about him leaving the NFL level to go to Southern Cal, which honestly needs a complete rebuild, and you got to recruit, which is a completely separate job as it is. And he’s got one of the better jobs in professional sports, definitely in the NFL with as patient as that organization has been and with as consistent as they’ve been.

“They’ve had three head coaches in 50 years. Why would he leave that? I think there is a lot of things other than his success that he has been able to accomplish there.”

Tomlin has been the coach of the Steelers for the past 15 seasons. In that span, he has compiled a 148-81 overall record. He has them at 3-3 this season with a matchup against the Cleveland Browns upcoming on Sunday.

In his Tuesday press conference, the Steelers coach addressed the rumors and speculation that he could possibly leave his NFL career to take the USC job.

“I don’t have time for that speculation,” Tomlin said emphatically. That’s a joke to me. I’ve got of one of the best jobs in all of professional sports. Why would I have any interest in coaching college football?”

The Trojans fired coach Clay Helton following just the second game of the season, a loss to Stanford. USC currently sits at 3-4 with just five games left to become bowl eligible.

As fun as it might have been to fantasize for Trojans fans, the reality is they likely won’t find such a high-profile name. Brady Quinn was spot on about the rumors, and Mike Tomlin added this gem for further assurance.

“Never say never, he said. “But never. There’s not a booster with a big enough blank check.”