Can you spell 'shade'? Steelers' Mike Tomlin has great response for Terry Bradshaw

We’ve heard Terry Bradshaw’s thoughts on Pittsburgh Steelers coach Mike Tomlin, and we’ve heard from some of Tomlin’s players on Bradshaw’s comments. But we hadn’t really heard from Tomlin himself until Tuesday.

And it was worth the wait.

Meeting with reporters at the Steelers’ facility, Tomlin was asked about Bradshaw, a Steelers legend and current Fox Sports personality who called him “a great cheerleader guy” on Friday.

At the end of a long answer about Bradshaw, Tomlin said, “But what do I know? I grew up a Dallas fan. Particularly a ‘Hollywood’ Henderson fan.”

For those of you who might not remember, former Cowboys linebacker Thomas “Hollywood” Henderson once remarked that Bradshaw was so dumb he “couldn’t spell ‘cat’ if you spotted him the ‘c’ and the ‘a’.”

So, yeah…it’s subtle fire, but fire nonetheless.

Here’s the entire answer from Tomlin on Bradshaw, via ESPN reporter Jeremy Fowler; he also said classifying him as merely a “cheerleader guy” crosses the line into disrespect.

“Criticism and critiques are very much part of our business. It’s an element of our business that as a competitor I embrace,” Tomlin said. “The term ‘great,’ that’s something I have a great deal of respect for. I certainly don’t think that my resume to this point reads as ‘great.’ But very few coaches’ resumes read as that at this point.

“Guys like Bill (Belichick) in New England probably can say that, Pop (Gregg Popovich) down in San Antonio. I think the rest of us are just working stiffs, to be quite honest with you.

“Now that being said, terms like ‘cheerleader guy’, to me, maybe fall outside of the bounds of critique or criticism. They probably fall more toward the area of disrespect and unprofessional. But what do I know? I grew up a Dallas fan. Particularly a ‘Hollywood’ Henderson fan.”

Salty Mike Tomlin is the best Mike Tomlin.