'Sunday Night Football' Analyst Chris Simms Ousted After Mike Tomlin Addition

On Sunday night, former Pittsburgh Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin made his first appearance on NBC Sports where he's set to be the top analyst for the 2026 season.

During his debut, Tomlin addressed his decision to step down from his longtime role as the Steelers coach.

“It was probably not an overnight decision, but it’s probably not something I could articulate or share with people,” Tomlin said in an interview with NBC’s Maria Taylor during the network’s NBA pregame show. “There’s a loneliness with leadership. I just thought it was a good time for me, personally. And what I mean by that is just where I am in life.

“And I thought it was a good time for the organization, to be quite honest with you. We didn’t have a lot of success in the playoffs in recent years. There’s just some veteran players there — guys like Cam Heyward and T.J. Watt and (Chris) Boswell — that were worthy of the excitement and the optimism associated with new leadership.”

NBC Sports Makes Another Change

Tomlin's addition came after the network let former NFL coach and Mike Tomlin mentor Tony Dungy go earlier this year. As it turns out, Dungy isn't the only change heading into the 2026 season.

Former NFL quarterback Chris Simms announced he's out at Sunday Night Football and media insider Richard Deitsch confirmed the news with NBC Sports.

Chris Simms announced this morning that he is out at Football Night In America. A source at NBC Sports confirms. Obviously NBC has changed up its NFL pregame show with the addition of Mike Tomlin.

— Richard Deitsch (@richarddeitsch) April 27, 2026

Mike Tomlin Makes Aaron Rodgers Prediction

While Simms is out, Tomlin made headlines with his prediction for Aaron Rodgers.

“Man, if you had a gun to my head, I’d say it’s (Aaron Rodgers),” Tomlin said. “Being around him for the 12 months I was around him, he’s got a love affair with the game of football. Not only the game, but the process."

"The informal moments. The development of younger guys. The connections with teammates. I think he’s got an addiction to that and there’s only one way to feed it. Certainly he is still capable and in really good shape. So I think at the end of the day, he’ll play football."

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