FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Sunday, October 2nd, 2016

“FOOTBALL NIGHT IN AMERICA” FEATURES BOB COSTAS’ INTERVIEW WITH PITTSBURGH STEELERS HEAD COACH MIKE TOMLIN

“He’s a bright guy and he realizes that these type of things have to be in his rearview mirror.” – Tomlin on Steelers RB Le’Veon Bell

STAMFORD, Conn. – Oct. 2, 2016 – For tonight’s Week 4 edition of NBC’s Football Night In America, the most-watched weekly studio show in sports, host Bob Costas interviews Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin. Football Night will also include highlights, analysis and reaction to earlier Week 4 games ahead of tonight’s Chiefs-Steelers Sunday Night Football showdown.

Football Night airs each Sunday at 7 p.m. ET on NBC. Bob Costas will host tonight’s program live from Heinz Field in Pittsburgh, Pa. He will be joined on site by Sunday Night Football analyst Cris Collinsworth and sideline reporter Michele Tafoya.

Dan Patrick co-hosts Football Night from NBC Sports Group’s Studio 1, and is joined by Dungy, two-time Super Bowl champion Rodney Harrison, and Mike Florio of Pro Football TalkPaul Burmeister will report from Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, Calif., on the Cowboys-49ers game.

INTERVIEW: Below are excerpts from Costas’ interview with Tomlin. If used, please note the mandatory credit: “In an exclusive interview airing tonight on Football Night in America.”

 

MIKE TOMLIN WITH BOB COSTAS

Tomlin on the Steelers’ 34-3 loss to the rival Philadelphia Eagles last week: “We got beat. They kicked our butts. We kicked our butts, and that’s usually the case when you have an outcome that’s similar to (last week). It was a perfect storm from that perspective.”

Costas: “Did it shake your team’s confidence?”

Tomlin: “I think any time you take significant step back like that, there are questions. But I also think that we’re excited about getting back in the stadium for ‘Redemption Sunday’ as we call it when you’re coming off a performance like that.”

Tomlin on Le’Veon Bell, who is coming off a three-game suspension for violating the NFL’s substance abuse policy, and his maturity: “I’m concerned, like you are. All of the guys you work intimately – he’s a bright guy and he realizes that these type of things have to be in his rearview mirror. Only time will tell. Obviously the proof is in the pudding, but we feel confident that he’s gotten these things behind him.”

Tomlin on how he’s addressed his team regarding kneeling during the National Anthem: “We haven’t said anything formally. There have been a lot of informal discussions. We’re probably a bit different than most teams. We have an Army Ranger on our team in Al Villanueva. I think our guys, just in general, are probably more sensitive to his sacrifice and the sacrifice of those like him, so we’ve kind of stayed out of it probably from that perspective alone.”

Tomlin, who is 44 years old, on already having coached in the league for 10 years: “I really don’t even think about it to be honest with you. I’m having so much fun. I enjoy the day-to-day challenges that the job presents. It’s amazing how fast 10 years can go by.”

Costas: “But think of it this way – if you went another 20 years, that would be 30 years as a head coach, and you’d only be about as old as Bill Belichick is now.”

Tomlin: “I’ll do it one day at a time.”

 

FOOTBALL NIGHT IN AMERICA