When Mike Tomlin talks about coaching professional football and mentoring young men, people listen. That's what happens when you're a future Hall of Famer and one of the finest coaches of your generation, having led the Pittsburgh Steelers for nearly two decades.
These days, as I'm sure you know, Tomlin is a featured analyst for NBC's Sunday night NFL broadcasts. So when the Dallas Cowboys choked away a win to the rebuilding Arizona Cardinals on Sunday, Tomlin used his wealth of experience to talk about what he thought happened with Dallas.
In regard to a bunch of "blinkers" on the Cowboys, let's just say Tomlin had some rather ... colorful advice for the current iteration of the team.
Mike Tomlin says the #Cowboys have a bunch of “blinkers” and
no one on offense or defense who “wanted to grab the bull by the horns to win the game.” His advice: “Cut your eyelids off.” (📽️ @SNFonNBC) https://t.co/GJLiONjU6N pic.twitter.com/M7jdIfIRIG
— Ari Meirov (@MySportsUpdate) November 2, 2026
You know, at face value, I get what Tomlin is saying. I also appreciate that he delivered the message in a way everyone will definitely remember, which was his intention. According to Tomlin, the Cowboys need to stop blinking in tough moments of adversity. Plain, simple, understandable.
Still, I can't say I've ever heard anyone tell folks to stop blinking by simply cutting their eyelids off on national television. That's pretty gruesome. Behind closed doors in a locker room, I'm inclined to believe Tomlin may have used a similar line after a tough loss during his coaching days to great effect.
It lands a little differently when you're saying something like that to millions of non-football players at home.
This article originally appeared on For The Win: Mike Tomlin shared some really gruesome advice for the blinking Cowboys
