tomlin-harbs.jpg
Getty Images

The NFL's two longest tenured coaches and longtime rivals are both now free agents after the Ravens fired John Harbaugh last week and Mike Tomlin stepped down as Steelers coach on Tuesday.

While there were rumblings Tomlin's time in Pittsburgh could be coming to an end, the news that he was stepping down after the Steelers' loss to the Texans in the Wild Card round still sent shockwaves around the NFL. Among the places the news reverberated was in Baltimore, where Ravens owner Steve Bisciotti was holding a press conference to discuss the team's coaching search when the Tomlin news broke. 

When informed of the news, Bisciotti was taken aback, and when asked if Tomlin would be a candidate for the Ravens job quipped back, "only if John [Harbaugh] takes the Pittsburgh job." 

"Holy shit, Mike, wouldn't that be awesome?" Bisciotti said when asked if Tomlin would be a candidate. "Only if John takes the Pittsburgh job. Wow, wouldn't that be interesting? I don't know, that thing last week [pounds chest] maybe disqualified him from my opening after our kicker missed a kick to let them advance. Good for Mike. Yeah, I don't know. Talk to him [nods to Eric DeCosta]. I love Mike. I mean, I've admired Mike for 18 years, and that's really shocking that he did it that way. But, yeah that's kinda crazy." 

The two AFC North rivals inadvertently trading coaches seems highly unlikely, but it's fair to wonder if the Ravens would at least check in on Tomlin's interest in the job. We don't know at this point whether Tomlin wants to jump straight back into coaching, but if he does, there isn't a place better suited to win right now than Baltimore. 

We'll find out what Tomlin's immediate plans are soon enough, and he'll have plenty of options available to him no matter what he wants to do. If it's working in TV, just about every network would likely love to add him as an analyst.  If it's coaching, a number of teams with openings will bring him in for interviews. 

That could include Baltimore, and while his chest pound may have stung Bisciotti and Ravens fans after their Week 18 loss, if general manager Eric DeCosta wants to bring in their longtime rival for an interview, Bisciotti would support it.