First Call: A deeper look at Steelers coach Mike Tomlin's odds for coach of the year

Wednesday’s “First Call” looks at why there was no push for Mike Tomlin in the NFL Coach of the Year gambling odds. We fix a “Super Snub.” And a little free advice for Peyton Manning.

Money on Mike?

You may have seen that NFL Coach of the Year odds are out.

Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin is right in the middle of the pack.

According to Betonline.ag, Tomlin, Pete Carroll (Seattle Seahawks) and Mike Zimmer (Minnesota Vikings) are all at 28-to-1. That’s a three-way tie for 15th on the odds chart.

That makes sense to me. If the Steelers improve from last year and get a round or two deep in the playoffs, Tomlin won’t get much praise. It’ll all go to Ben Roethlisberger for his return as the major difference.

It also suggests the oddsmakers don’t see much of a spike above 8-8 for the Steelers. I agree there, as well. I’ll say 10-6 and a first-round playoff loss.

Face it, 10-6 and a playoff loss doesn’t get you much coach-of-the-year pub. Keep in mind, the oddsmakers usually stilt their odds when it comes to the Steelers, assuming a lot of money comes in on them because they have such a large national fan base.

But — fairly or not — that fan base doesn’t necessarily pin a lot of faith on Tomlin. BetOnline.ag can safely assume the money won’t be rolling in on “Coach T” even from his normally gambling-happy fan base.

Plus, Tomlin isn’t a coach who seeks — or gets — a lot of attention anyway. And he so rarely gets love from his own fan base when things go well.

Jeez! If he gets the award and we post a column about it, I guarantee you the first comment from a reader would be, “You know he only ever won a Super Bowl with Bill Cowher’s players, right?”

Interestingly, the two coaches pinned closest to the Tom Brady saga are tied as favorites. Bill Belichick and Bruce Arians have the best odds at 12-to-1.

From Belichick’s standpoint, I get it. If the Patriots manage to win the AFC East again without Brady, that’ll be a major feather in his cap.

If the Tampa Bay Buccaneers go as far in the NFC as many are expecting now that Brady is there, Arians will get a lot of credit for pulling it all together so quickly.

But don’t you think Brady will get more credit there than Arians will? By the way, put me down for 10-6 with a first-round playoff loss for the Bucs this season. Just like I think we’ll see here in Pittsburgh.

Brady will make those guys better, but not good enough to get beyond the first playoff weekend.

Based on value, Kyle Shanahan strikes me as a good bet at 20-to-1 with San Francisco after nearly winning the Super Bowl a year ago. A lot of people thought he deserved more than 14 1/2 votes a year ago, coming in second place.

Arizona’s Kliff Kingsbury and Buffalo’s Sean McDermott may be even better bets at 18-to-1. The Bills could crack through in the AFC East this year with New England weakened. And the weapons added around Kyler Murray could give the Cardinals a shot at making the postseason.

The media seem to tie both of those coaches very intensely to any success their respective clubs have.

Adam Gase (New York Jets), Bill O’Brien (Houston Texans) and Doug Marrone (Jacksonville Jaguars) are all the longest shots at 50-to-1. Save your money there, folks.

Want a good long shot? How about Joe Judge of the New York Giants at 40-to-1? Soft division. Second-year quarterback. Big-market hype. Building from nothing. A returning, healthy superstar in Saquon Barkley.

Any progress that team makes (minimal though it may be), he’ll get lauded for it.

Keep that one in mind.

Sir! There’s a Mr. Stallworth on line 2

NFL.com came up with a montage of the greatest Super Bowl catches ever.

And the Steelers are well-represented. Lynn Swann makes the cut from Super Bowl X. So did Santonio Holmes’ game winner in Super Bowl XLIII.

But no love for John Stallworth in Super Bowl XIV.

Let’s remedy that situation right now.

In Super Bowl XIV, John Stallworth hauled in 3 catches for 121 yards and a score on our way to victory over the Rams. #tbt pic.twitter.com/gkHLtKZlMU

— Pittsburgh Steelers (@steelers) October 25, 2018

No. 45: @Steelers QB Terry Bradshaw TD pass to John Stallworth in @SuperBowl XIV (Jan. 20, 1980) #NFL100

?: NFL 100 Greatest Plays on @NFLNetwork pic.twitter.com/q6ZKAhjfib

— NFL (@NFL) September 14, 2019

There. Now I feel better.

A maybe from Manning

Former All-Pro quarterback Peyton Manning isn’t closing the door on a broadcasting career.

Yet.

He told the Rich Eisen Show: “I said ‘no’ to this year. This just doesn’t feel like the right time. I hate having this sort of ‘check-with-me-next-year type deal,’ but that’s really how I have approached this chapter. I believe in taking it a year at a time.”

I’m with Manning here. I agree with the masses. He’d be a great broadcaster. But part of being a national commentator is that everybody hates you.

Even if you are good. Even if you are balanced. Your job is to be hated. Everyone assumes you hate their team the first time a negative comment is made. It’s always assumed you have an ax to grind or an agenda to serve.

And Manning is too nice — and too rich — to need that garbage.

Stay out of it, Peyton. You’ll always be relevant enough to do vignette, bit pieces like “Peyton’s Place” on ESPN. And you are good at it. That’s your wheelhouse. Enjoy it.

Leave it to the likes of Cris Collinsworth, “Booger” McFarland and Jason Witten to take the heat.

Savage!

Whoa, Golden Knights Twitter.

The Vegas hockey team bragged about officially making the NHL playoffs … with 23 of their closest friends.

The team’s social media account did so by mocking a few of their Western Conference rivals who were left out of the fun.

pretty exciting to be in the top 77.4% of the league and qualify for this year's playoffs!!!!

cc: @SanJoseSharks & @LAKings

— y-Vegas Golden Knights (@GoldenKnights) May 26, 2020

Ouch! Take it down a notch.