Big Ben: Tomlin has 'right to move on,' or stay put

PITTSBURGH -- Ahead of his Hall of Honor induction, former Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger couched comments he previously made on his podcast, when he suggested it might be "clean-house time" for the organization and time for coach Mike Tomlin to move on.

"Just because I said there's a time for some new things, that's just saying that I think Coach Tomlin -- if he wants to move on, he has every right to move on, it's not they should," Roethlisberger said Monday night before the Steelers' 28-15 win over the Miami Dolphins. "It's up to him, and he's earned that right. If he wants to do something else, he can and he should and we should honor him whenever that time comes. Maybe he wants to coach here for another 10 years, that's fine too."

After the Steelers' loss to the Buffalo Bills in Week 13 -- during which fans chanted "Fire Tomlin" in the stands at Acrisure Stadium -- Roethlisberger was blunt on his podcast "Footbahlin with Ben Roethlisberger" about his suggestions for the organization.

"Maybe it's a clean-house time," Roethlisberger said during the Dec. 2 podcast. "Maybe it is, maybe it's time. And I like Coach Tomlin. I have a lot of respect for Coach Tomlin. But maybe it's best for him, too.

"... Maybe a fresh start for him is what's best. Whether that's in the pros, maybe -- go be Penn State's head coach. You know what he'd do at Penn State? He would probably go win national championships. Because he's a great recruiter."

Penn State hired Iowa State's Matt Campbell soon after.

Players in the Steelers' locker room supported their head coach and downplayed the former quarterback's comments.

"I don't worry about anybody who's not in the locker room," defensive captain Cam Heyward said at the time. "It's not a dis at them. I think we just got to worry about the guys in here and focus at the job at hand. There's a lot of football to be played. Not running from that. Our job, we got to answer for it. Keep it moving."