Micah Parsons met Mike Tomlin at Game 6 of the NBA’s Western Conference Finals in San Antonio and made the pitch straight away: the Green Bay Packers had room for him. Parsons told the longtime Pittsburgh Steelers coach, “We’ve got a spot for you,” then added, “Just keep coming north!”
The timing made the exchange land harder than a casual courtside greeting. Tomlin, 53, has spent 19 seasons in Pittsburgh and is being talked about as someone who may step away from coaching for a while, with the possibility of working as a TV analyst before deciding whether he wants to return. That is why a public recruiting push from Parsons, one of the Packers’ newest voices, drew attention beyond the arena.
Parsons’ comments came during a live NBA playoff game between the San Antonio Spurs and the Oklahoma City Thunder, when the conversation between the two NFL figures was visible enough to make the round of sports chatter. Parsons was acquired by Green Bay in a trade and is now in the middle of his own recovery, coming back from an ACL injury that will keep him out to start the 2026 season. Even so, he was still playing recruiter, trying to lure a coach whose next move is one of the league’s most watched questions.
There is one complication that keeps the idea from being simple. Matt LaFleur is the Packers’ head coach, and the team has no sign of moving on from him. That means Tomlin would not be walking into an opening in Green Bay so much as into a crowded picture, which makes Parsons’ pitch sound more like a wink than a plan.
Tomlin has been described as a free agent after nearly two decades in Pittsburgh, and that is what gives the exchange its edge. If he does step away for television, a return to the sideline could still come later. If he does not, the Packers’ invitation stays where Parsons left it: public, playful and without any real guarantee that Tomlin will ever take it.
