Mike Tomlin used to shut down any question about the Myles Garrett and Mason Rudolph brawl. Now he’s cracking jokes about it. On Cam Heyward’s Not Just Football podcast, the former Pittsburgh Steelers coach called Rudolph “our punchable face,” as first reported by ClutchPoints.
The clip, shared on X by Pittsburgh radio host Andrew Fillipponi, shows Tomlin leaning into the line and laughing about how it lightened the mood.
Why the Timing Hits Different
Today, November 14, is exactly seven years since that night in Cleveland. On November 14, 2019, in the final seconds of the Browns’ 21-7 win over the Steelers, Garrett ripped Rudolph’s helmet off and hit him with it. Several players got involved, and the NFL suspended Garrett for the rest of the regular season and any Browns playoff games.
At the time, Tomlin and the Steelers stood firmly behind their quarterback, with Heyward among his loudest defenders. For years, Tomlin wouldn’t touch the subject publicly.
The IAHHM Take
This is what happens when a coach steps away from the sideline and into a media chair. Tomlin is out of Pittsburgh and working as an NBC analyst now, and the guard comes down a little. Coaches protect their locker room. Analysts and podcast guests get to be people.
And honestly, it’s a funny line, even if Rudolph probably won’t be framing it. The helmet swing is still one of the ugliest moments in modern NFL history, and it’s still a defining chapter of the Steelers-Browns rivalry. Seven years later, it’s turned into a punchline on a former player’s podcast, which tells you how much the sports media world has changed.
Speaking of NFL storylines that won’t quit, catch up on Stefon Diggs calling Jayden Daniels “Kobe Bryant”. Was Tomlin’s joke all love, or did it cross a line?
Source: ClutchPoints
