3 & Out - Mike Tomlin OUT in Pittsburgh, Guy Haberman joins the show

What’s up, everybody—John Middlekauff here. I taped with my guy Guy Haberman, who literally officiated my wedding and has been calling Niners games while Greg Papa battles leukemia; planned to roll that convo, then the Mike Tomlin bomb dropped, plus a quick note that our Netflix videos are no longer live after games and will post early mornings for now.

Tomlin stepping away felt inevitable. The roster’s old, they’re stuck in the middle without a quarterback plan, and the modern grind wears you down—even a prideful lifer knows when the house is on fire.

TV makes a ton of sense for him, especially Amazon in the booth where his presence won’t get buried at a desk; the lifestyle, money, and praise are hard to beat. If he returns to coaching, suitors will line up, but the trade comp won’t be Sean Payton big, and he’ll insist on quarterback stability—think Giants, Dolphins, maybe Atlanta if the plan is real.

Pittsburgh probably wants a tough defensive tone-setter, names like Brian Flores or Robert Saleh pop, with a wild-card long shot like Kurt Signetti if they go off-road. The Ravens’ front office is humming; the Steelers’ isn’t what it used to be, so a true reset and one tough year might finally be the right medicine after seasons of 10 wins and quick exits.

Bottom line, what Tomlin did—never bottoming out—was incredible, and the league needs his voice whether it’s in a booth for a year or back on a sideline soon.

Guy, my best man and now the voice of a wild Niners run, welcome in—how did Philly feel from your perch, and was the wind as gnarly as it looked?

Philly’s booth was oddly comfortable for a freezing, windy day, and the wind absolutely mattered. You open that window and you can feel it cutting across the open end of the Linc.

Brady talked about keeping the ball down in wind, which is easier when you’re taller; that set up the Jennings trick pass—walk me through that moment with McCaffrey.

Juan tossed the ball into a crosswind that I was sure would sail; time froze and I thought it was over McCaffrey’s head. He tracked it, flipped his body, and somehow plucked it in stride—one of the coolest athletic plays I’ve ever seen in any stadium.

Wild, especially after his tough drop in Week 18; this felt like a full-circle answer at the biggest time.

No doubt. Even with a flag flying, I finished the call then circled back; in Philly there’s no silly in-arena fluff—just music and a crowd that erupts every break.

Did you sense ugliness from the fans, especially with Kittle’s injury and the booing during all those three-and-outs?

In a building that big, you’ll find every reaction, but it didn’t feel ghoulish around Kittle; mostly disbelief. They booed a few times, then the DJ hits and the place roars again—that’s their rhythm.

For a defending finalist with stars everywhere, that loss felt catastrophic—like that viral shot of Hurts with Kittle and Brandon Graham’s haunted eyes in the frame said it all.

Some teams are buttoned-up, some are just…volatile. The Eagles’ sideline energy is chaotic at times, and in a close game discipline matters; the Niners stayed clean, the Eagles stacked penalties, and that was a real edge.

Seattle looked stacked and physical the week before, and Philly’s front is full of dudes too; Fangio’s a known chess match for Kyle, while Mike Macdonald brought fresh sauce. Both those defenses are loaded with blue-chippers.

On the field you feel the size—Leonard Williams blew by me and felt like a building on legs. The league is full of monsters, and the Niners counter with elite scheme plus a few overachievers playing out of their minds.

Even if some in the building quietly wondered, the Niners made it weird long enough to flip belief. And chemistry matters—San Francisco’s core trusts each other, while the Eagles’ offense felt tense with the AJ-Jalen friction rumbling under everything.

The Niners have had drama too, but players believe Kyle maximizes them, and that conviction fuels how they play. That trust is the secret sauce.

Remember Tim Ryan on Moving the Chains? He was elite on air and he’s tight enough with Robert Saleh to call him Bob.

Totally. He’s friendly and insanely disciplined, the guy reminding you what you can’t drink in the meal room, then cracking a smelling salt before a trick play; classic OG D-lineman vibes.

Chicago’s got that first-time surge again, the kind of electricity you only get once.

It reminded me of a Giants playoff game when Steve Perry led Don’t Stop Believin’ and the whole place flipped; one of those forever sports moments.

We even ran into Jack Del Rio that day.

He told people he’d crush the Raiders interview and did; slim options then, but landing guys like Mack and Carr changed their path.

Once, during Dennis Allen’s session at the facility, my phone twice went off—my mom—just a brutal look in that room.

Hosting Raiders postgame during blowouts was rough; after I tweeted that 0 and 16 was possible, the team president called from the tarmac to get me to delete it, and I eventually got escorted out.

Crazy that for how bad they’ve been at times, they almost never pick number one.

Picking fifth or sixth can leave you QB-less; that gap matters.

Dante Moore’s situation is fluid, and with Raiola, Nebraska’s fishbowl is intense; he flashed big-time talent but not consistently.

The Patriots posted a day-of-game food reel—how do guys eat like that?

Road food is nonstop—plane entrees, candy bins, midnight cookie bar, then meals every couple hours; awesome and dangerous.

Players burn it off, but for coaches it takes real discipline to stay lean; Saleh and guys like Harbaugh are dialed.

Would a rookie QB view the Raiders differently with Tom Brady around?

It depends on who they hire and whether Tom actually shows up at the combine and leans in; if he’s going to influence hires, he can’t do it from a country club. Mark Davis keeps swinging—Gruden, Brady—so if Tom truly engages, that could help land a prospect like Fernando Mendoza, and I could see Robert Saleh fitting there.

Brady just watched Saleh maximize a defense, and TV gives you rare access that feeds those decisions; top analysts meet more coaches than anyone and become informal search help.

How do those TV meetings actually work?

Midweek you Zoom the visiting head coach and coordinators, then Friday you’re in the building for sit-downs and walkthroughs; you see practice up close, which is invaluable.

The big crews are around facilities, and most fly private now. Brady’s broadcast gig keeps his Rolodex warm—he’s already dropping calls with top coaches.

In the AFC West, Reid, Payton, and Harbaugh might keep him at arm’s length, but coaches like Kyle or McVay will still pick up.

Sideline and field time is priceless; you chat with assistants who become OCs, and the face-to-face intel is unmatched.

No one works a sideline like Mike Silver, and the hiring circle’s tighter than ever, even if the Ravens tree might open more doors alongside Kyle and McVay’s pipelines.

If you’re twenty-two, ask for people’s numbers and follow up; most will give them.

Do kids still dream of calling games, or is the goal now building for TikTok and Reels?

I feel like the talent bench is thinner and that actually makes it easier to stand out, kind of like trades where fewer people want the hard jobs.

I see more voices, not less, because anyone can build their own platform now, and I meet sharp students at every game who are already doing it.

Because it’s so easy to DM and email, the people who physically show up are the ones who separate; I see that hustle pay off in real estate too.

Our little guy is two months, and everything I’m studying says praise effort, not intellect; that grit research really landed for me.

What’s been the biggest early lesson?

Moms are superheroes, and my job is patience and support; the sleep is chopped up, but early mornings create a quiet window, and if you talk for a living you can function.

It hits you that you have to model composure and priorities, because the kid mirrors how you act, and most of the stuff we stress about doesn’t matter to the few people who truly care.

The gear is wild, but the pacifier is the MVP; diapers become routine fast, and the bigger challenge will be guiding him emotionally when the real decisions arrive.

I even started a dad diary on how much baby gear borders on overkill, since we grew up with a crib and a blanket and now it’s gadgets everywhere.

Tell me, does that awe when you look at them stick around, or does it fade?

It shifts once the teenager stuff starts, like fender benders and bad decisions, and the awe trades places with stress and tough love.

What’s your travel and prep look like?

I’m on the one o’clock bus to SFO, then it’s Chick-fil-A and lock in for a big call.

The line feels heavy, injuries matter, and I didn’t expect last week’s result, but I’m not eager to bet against them right now.

They’ve already battled through key guys going down; who’s your pick to win it all?

If the Bills get through this week, watch out, because their quarterback can take over games; it’s wide open, and if the Niners were healthier they could absolutely run it, but winning four straight with this roster would be an all-time feat.