Mike Tomlin gets roasted by former Super Bowl MVP, former Steelers star and others for Minecraft City

Former players and coaches marveled at Tomlin's surprising hobby, while Cleveland used it to troll its division rival after a wild victory

Oct 2, 2026 at 1:19 pm ET • 3 min read

It's not easy to have a hobby when you're an NFL coach, but Mike Tomlin definitely had one and he unveiled it this week. During a YouTube stream Thursday, the former Steelers coach revealed that he secretly spent the past 12 years building an extremely detailed Minecraft City, and let's just say, there were a lot of people around the NFL who found it amusing that Tomlin spent so much time on something that wasn't related to football at all. 

After unveiled his city, Tomlin got absolutely roasted by everyone from a former player to a former Super Bowl MVP to a former NFL head coach. There was even one NFL team that made fun of him, but let's start with Le'Veon Bell. 

The three-time Pro Bowler spent five seasons with Tomlin in Pittsburgh and he was one of the first players to make fun of Tomlin for his city. 

Bell seems to be joking here, but there's certainly some truth to his tweet. Tomlin said he started building his Minecraft City in 2014, and over his 12 seasons of coaching, the Steelers didn't reach the Super Bowl a single time. They also didn't win a single playoff game during Tomlin's final nine seasons on the job. 

Someone actually broke down how Tomlin coached before and after he started his Minecraft City, and, well, the numbers probably won't make Steelers fans very happy. 

Of those three playoff wins that came after he started Minecraft, the final one came in the 2016 divisional round. After beating the Chiefs 18-16, that set up a game with New England in the AFC Championship. Former Super Bowl MVP Julian Edelman played in that January 2017 game and he made fun of Tomlin's preparation for the matchup. 

The Patriots ended up steamrolling the Steelers, 36-17, on their way to a Super Bowl title.

Being an NFL coach takes up a lot of your time, which is why most people were so surprised that Tomlin was able to build such a detailed city. Former Colts coach Chuck Pagano was asked about Tomlin's Minecraft habit and he was absolutely shocked that the former Steelers coach was able to construct anything so detailed while also coaching the Steelers at the same time. 

"I don't know how one does it," Pagano said on the Pat McAfee Show. 

Pagano admitted he also had a hobby during his coaching career, but it was one that let him do his job at the same time. 

"You know I had a hobby? Right. The peloton," Pagano said. "I had it next to my desk. Like our buddy [Seahawks GM John Schneider] up in Seattle, multi-tasking, you can stick that in your office, you can jump on it, you can still watch tape, you can do a lot of things while you're just pedaling a bike, but I can't fathom. I don't have as big a brain as Coach Tomlin has -- granted he did a lot of great things, Super Bowl champ, all those great things -- but do try to find the time to create this extravagant."

According to Tomlin, building the city started as a way for him to connect with his young children, but after they grew up, he stayed with it because it was therapeutic.

"I'm not a big TV watcher," Tomlin said. "It allowed me to detach from the realities and the pressures of life."

Although Tomlin doesn't watch much TV, he was probably watching on Thursday night when the Browns stunned the Steelers with a wild 27-24 win in Cleveland. Tomlin obviously doesn't coach the Steelers anymore, but the Browns still decided to poke fun at him on social media following the game. 

At this point, it's starting to feel like Tomlin might not ever live this down. If any other NFL coach is currently building a secret Minecraft City, you might want to keep that to yourself.