Week 2 of the 2026 NFL season saw NBC's Mike Tomlin ascend into a crowning role on Sunday Night Football and FOX's Tom Brady continued showcase of his brutal honesty
Mike Tomlin
Mike Tomlin is two games into his new TV job with NBC (Image: Getty Images)
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Mike Tomlin could've found himself a variety of coaching jobs last offseason had the future Pro Football Hall of Famer decided to continue working in the NFL.
Instead, he pivoted to television and looks like an early star for NBC on 'Sunday Night Football' as the network's most recognizable face. Elsewhere, FOX's Tom Brady has transitioned from a terrified baby gazelle in the broadcast booth to someone perhaps so comfortable that he may face a fine for profane language.
Tomlin and Brady — with a special inclusion of FOX's under-fire Drew Brees — highlight this week's NFL Broadcast weekly round-up by the Mirror US.
Candid Mike Tomlin already a TV ace
Tomlin immediately transitioned from 19 years as the Pittsburgh Steelers head coach to the face of NBC's 'Sunday Night Football.' He didn't face much competition: the network has trotted out the underwhelming crew of the overly-smiling Jason Garrett, the cookie-cutter Devin McCourty, and the recently let-go duo of Tony Dungy and Rodney Harrison.
The fiery Tomlin immediately lends the NBC broadcast a much-needed sense of legitimacy, as evidenced by his Week 1 takedown of the Cleveland Browns. The ex-Steelers boss said the "Browns is gonna Browns," following the team's humiliating opening day blowout loss.
Browns coach Todd Monken directly responded to Tomlin's statement after a Week 2 road win: “Browns are gonna Browns. ---- that, OK?” Tomlin was asked about Monken's comments multiple times. "I’m glad that I can still motivate, although I’m not coaching anymore,” he joked.
No other NBC personality was previously capable of making waves. Tomlin is — he even criticized his old team in another rant. Great hire.
Tom Brady getting quite comfortable on FOX
Is Brady getting a little too comfortable in his FOX color commentating gig? The seven-time Super Bowl champ is in year three of his 10-year, $375 million contract with the network, and he's certainly shaken off his stiff cadences from year one.
During Sunday's Commanders-Cowboys contest, Brady first exclaimed, "Oh s---," while reacting to the gruesome slow-motion replay of Jayden Daniels's elbow injury (Brady quickly apologized). Later, he called a Dak Prescott 35-yard Cover 2-beating reception to CeeDee Lamb a "p--- missile." He reacted early on a pair of hospital passes with loud, "Ohhhhhh(s)."
Even though Brady may be setting himself up for a profanity-induced FCC fine, his dash of apathy towards broadcasting standards — sprinkled in with his clear enthusiasm for the product — is quickly turning him into....(shocks) a star broadcaster.
Drew Brees the hypocrite
Brees, recently inducted into the Hall of Fame, received little fanfare when he replaced Mark Sanchez on FOX's No. 3 broadcast team alongside the excellent Adam Amin following Sanchez's late-night dispute with a trucker. Brees previously lost his 2021 NBC commentary job after a "mutual" parting.
The former New Orleans Saints quarterback drew flak for curiously critiquing Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts's second-quarter decision to slide three yards short of the first-down line on a second-quarter third-down scramble. "I was hyping up Jalen Hurts, and now, I’m gonna get on him,” Brees said.
“Lower your shoulder, and go get the first down. You slide, they’re gonna mark the ball where you started the slide, not where you end the slide. So, it’s not a tush push situation. It’s not 4th-and-1. It’s 4th-and-3.”
Brees, famously, was not a mobile quarterback who rarely put his body on the line.
“Brees couldn’t run against a Pop Warner team & never considered lowering his shoulder," former NBA star Jalen Rose tweeted. A play later, Hurts fired to wideout Dontavion Wicks for a five-yard completion and first down.