Steelers HC Mike Tomlin ‘wild card’ for USC head coaching vacancy

Leave it to an ex-Cincinnati Bengals player to cause trouble. On Monday’s Dan Patrick Show, Carson Palmer, former Bengals quarterback and Trojan legend, let Mike Tomlin’s name slip as a candidate for the USC head coaching vacancy.

Patrick challenged Palmer’s notion with a look of disbelief, “Has Mike Tomlin hypothetically been discussed?”

After a deer-in-headlights pause, Palmer somewhat back-peddled in his response. “Uhhhhhh… I’m sure he has. I think anybody is a potential candidate right now. That’s what’s so great about the job. It can lure an NFL guy that’s tired of their current situation.”

Palmer then circled back to Tomlin, citing concerns about Ben Roethlisberger, the Steelers’ future at quarterback and whether he’ll want to start over again with a rookie quarterback.

Palmer also went on to say that “everybody is on the table.” From the sounds of it, he’s grasping at straws.

No doubt someone in the Steelers media will ask Mike Tomlin about this in his weekly press conference tomorrow — and it’ll probably be news to him.

Carson Palmer has been included in conversations surrounding #USC next Head Football Coach and he says #Steelers HC Mike Tomlin is a name that could be in the mix. pic.twitter.com/GJpar0cZUy

— Dan Patrick Show (@dpshow) October 25, 2021