When Mike Tomlin stepped away as the Pittsburgh Steelers head coach, speculation immediately centered on him finding his way into the television business. Sure enough, he signed with NBC as an analyst for Football Night in America. His debut during the Hall of Fame Game was a big success. He looked like an excellent fit. News also broke before his debut that the Steelers wouldn’t be required to be compensated if Tomlin returned to coaching. However, that may not matter in the grand scheme of things.

Andrew Marchand of Marchand Sports Media reported on his podcast that Tomlin’s NBC contract is backloaded in terms of compensation. That means if he returned to coaching after this season, he would miss out on the bulk of his NBC earnings. Marchand detailed the situation and believes the structure was designed to incentivize Tomlin to remain with NBC for the foreseeable future.

“He’s been a guy who network executives have been looking at for a long time. When I’d ask them, probably going back a decade, ‘Who’s number one on your list who is an active either player or coach?’ Tomlin was almost always number one,” Andrew Marchand said.

“NBC snares him, big-money deal … a little backloaded, so they want him to stay. That’s an incentive for him to stay. Could he go back to coaching? He says no, but we’ll see. I think he’ll be under the spotlight.”

Tomlin could ultimately follow the Cowher path

Tomlin’s predecessor, Bill Cowher, took a similar route when he retired from coaching. Cowher moved into television with CBS and became one of the most recognizable NFL analysts in the business. Despite remaining connected to coaching rumors, he never returned to the sideline.

Cowher was linked to several potential openings over the years, including the Carolina Panthers’ head coaching vacancy in 2011. Ultimately, he stayed retired and continued his successful television career.

Tomlin could easily follow the same path. He now has a coveted position with NBC, an opportunity to remain around the NFL without dealing with the daily demands of running a team.

Coaching is a grind Tomlin may not miss

Tomlin also doesn’t appear particularly interested in jumping back into coaching anytime soon. Being an NFL head coach is a grind that demands an enormous commitment from the person in the role.

It is one of the rarest jobs in sports, but it also comes with relentless pressure, long hours, and constant scrutiny. Tomlin spent 19 seasons dealing with those demands in Pittsburgh.

Once he gets through his first full season working for NBC, he may realize that he doesn’t miss any of it. If that happens, Tomlin could remain in television for a long time and follow Cowher’s path rather than returning to the Steelers or another NFL sideline.