Terry Bradshaw backtracks on ‘cheerleader’ comments toward Mike Tomlin

Former Steelers QB and current FOX NFL Sunday analyst backtracked on his “cheerleader'”comments toward Steelers HC Mike Tomlin.

Terry Bradshaw backtracked on his “cheerleader” comment this afternoon on “The Herd”. Bradshaw had previously said that Tomlin was “a great cheerleader guy” but not a great coach. But now he says that maybe his wording of ‘cheerleader’ was off. This is after Tomlin fired back with his own jab of Bradshaw.

He says that by “cheerleader” he meant “motivator,” which probably would’ve been a better way to word it in the first place. Instead, Bradshaw had provoked Tomlin and some of his players by the comment. Bradshaw stated that he said “cheerleader” because he often sees Tomlin gyrating, and that was the first word to come to mind.

He then said that Tomlin shouldn’t have came back at him with a comment because it showed the comment got to him. Bradshaw said he should’ve blown off the comment like any other criticism of him. However, since the criticism was from Bradshaw, it’s hard to imagine he would ignore it. Using the word “cheerleader” to describe an NFL coach is also usually viewed as a sign of disrespect. Tomlin has earned enough respect in the NFL with his 109 wins, two Super Bowl appearances and one Lombardi Trophy that he doesn’t deserve the comment.

Related Story: Terry Bradshaw thinks Mike Tomlin is a good cheerleader, not a good coach

Bradshaw probably shouldn’t have criticized the Super Bowl-winning coach anyways. It’s caused him far more bad than good, and it doesn’t prove anything, especially since the comment was towards his former teams coach. Bradshaw famously had a strained relationship with Chuck Noll, his head coach during his playing days.

Either way, Bradshaw stated he regrets calling Tomlin a cheerleader. Hopefully his relationship with the Steelers organization wasn’t strained with his momentary lapse in concentration.