Mike Tomlin’s response to Terry Bradshaw’s criticism couldn’t have been better

Last week, Terry Bradshaw had some not-so-great things to say about Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin on FS1’s Speak For Yourself.

Bradshaw said on the program, “I don’t think he’s a great coach at all. He’s a nice coach. To me, I’ve said this, he’s really a great cheerleader guy. I don’t know what he does. I don’t think he is a great coach at all. His name never even pops in my mind when we think about great coaches in the NFL.”

That led to a rebuttal from Tomlin today, when he was asked by reporters how he felt about the criticism.

“What do I know? I grew up a Dallas fan,” Tomlin said. “Particularly a Hollywood Henderson fan.”

Thomas “Hollywood” Henderson played linebacker for the Cowboys, who insulted Bradshaw prior to the 1978 Super Bowl, saying that Bradshaw was, “so dumb, he couldn’t spell ‘cat’ if you spotted him a C and an A.”

Steelers players also spoke on behalf of their coach, and they didn’t appreciate Bradshaw’s comments.

“I pulled up ESPN around 10 p.m. [Friday] and was like, ‘What the hell is this?” guard David DeCastro told ESPN. “I don’t get what the motivation is. Is this to get your name out there more or something? What are you doing?”

Linebacker Vince Williams also spoke up after the Steelers clinched the division on Christmas:

Defensive tackle Daniel McCullers chimed in too, saying, “[Bradshaw] is entitled to his opinion. We support our coach. He’s gotten us ready.”

It’s nice that his players had his back, but Tomlin’s comeback was enough to put Bradshaw in his place.