‘About time…’ Mike Tomlin breaking unwritten rules of coaching with Dallas Cowboys comments

Mike Tomlin's recent venture into football analysis has gotten off to a somewhat controversial start, after the former Pittsburgh Steelers ' head coach questioned the Dallas Cowboys .

Tomlin was replaced, ironically, by former Dallas Cowboys head coach Mike McCarthy as the head coach for the Steelers this spring.

Perhaps that is what motivated him to break what some consider to be an unspoken code of conduct within the coaching fraternity.

Mike Tomlin's criticism of Dallas Cowboys coaching comes as 'refreshing' change to NFL analysis

Speaking during NBC's Sunday Night Football coverage, Mike Tomlin did something almost no head coach-turned-analyst has done – criticise the Dallas Cowboys coaching staff.

While Tomlin never mentioned HC Brian Schottenheimer and DC Christian Parker, he did question the negligent defensive scheme they drew up that allowed the Baltimore Ravens to steal the walk-off win.

"I thought the sequence played by the Dallas Cowboys at the end of the game was somewhat negligent, to be quite honest with you.

"It was seven seconds left to go in regulation; they kick a touchback. Baltimore gets the ball on the 35-yard-line. They had this really significant play down the middle of the field down to their number one receiver, Zay Flowers…

"I'm really surprised they're playing man-to-man in this sequence… It put them in position to make that game-winning field goal… Strategically, Dallas helped them in that circumstance."

As mentioned before, almost no former head coach who became a TV analyst has ever criticised the coaching staff for their decisions in such a manner.

Some schemes and plays are certainly debated, but former coaches usually treat their kind like a fraternity, choosing not to bring down their fellow coaches after a mistake of any kind.

Former ESPN editor Chuck Salituro praised Tomlin for his approach to broadcast analysis, telling Front Office Sports that he is making himself a valuable addition to NBC's coverage team.

"It's refreshing, accurate, completely fair, professional, and about time. The hardest thing in my experience for former coaches and players is to separate themselves from the brethren and tell us how they really feel, especially in their first year of TV work.

"I always told new analysts you no longer work for the team or the league and with the coaches and players. You work for our audience.

"The audience has to come before any past allegiances. You owe your best work and professional honesty to the audience first."

How Tomlin's comments will go down with the larger active and inactive NFL coaching community remains a mystery.

But it's hard to imagine them being happy, especially considering the unspoken precedent previous coaches-turned-broadcasters had set.