Mike Tomlin has showcased another side of himself since retiring as an NFL head coach last season.
The Pittsburgh Steelers legend has also been more open about his life outside of football. This included a candid comment he made during a recent interview with GQ that is drawing a lot of attention.
“I am probably on the spectrum. My wife would say that,” Tomlin said.
He was saying this in the context of discussing the staggering amount of time he spent playing “Minecraft” over the past 12 years, which has resulted in an insanely detailed and impressive virtual world.
Tomlin also spoke about how isolating and lonely being a head coach in the NFL can be, given how much time and energy one must spend obsessing over game tactics. He used “Minecraft” as a way to escape that stressful environment.
Regardless of whether Tomlin has received an official autism diagnosis, he deserves a lot of credit for speaking about this publicly, if only because he’s shedding light on a topic that often doesn’t get a lot of shine.
Tomlin has done a terrific job of pivoting away from his coaching career, as he’s now one of the best analysts in the game, working as a studio analyst for NBC Sports.
