Jimmy Johnson’s wild plan to get Mike Tomlin out of Pittsburgh

Forget trading picks for coaches.

Fox analyst and former Cowboys Super-Bowl winning coach Jimmy Johnson proposed a radical concept to help galvanize the stagnant Dallas and Pittsburgh franchises.

“I’ve got no inside information but things are stale in Pittsburgh. Things are stale in Dallas,” Johnson said Sunday. “And just, food for thought, how about a coaching swap. Mike McCarthy’s a Pittsburgh guy. Let him to go to Pittsburgh, let Mike Tomlin go to Dallas, both franchises would be excited.”

This concept, though, became a moot point when Dallas opted Monday not to extend McCarthy’s contract and thus allow him to become a free agent.

The concept of trading coaches is not new, but actually trading a coach for another coach would have been an absolute blockbuster, especially if it involved two of the league’s most storied franchises.

There have been eight trades in the NFL involving coaches, including Denver acquiring Sean Payton last year, but none have involved a coach-for-coach swap.

Even if this may have been more of a fantasy idea than reality, Johnson’s suggestion highlights the growing uneasiness surrounding both franchises.

McCarthy’s and Tomlin’s futures with their respective organizations have come under the microscope after each coach’s season ended in poor fashion and McCarthy is now out after five seasons.

Fans of both teams are seemingly frustrated amid years of failing to meet expectations.

Tomlin led the Steelers to the playoffs this year and continued his 18-year streak of finishing at least .500, but the Steelers have lost six straight playoff games and have not won in the postseason since the 2016 season following their 28-14 loss to the Ravens on Saturday night.

The Steelers reportedly are planning to keep Tomlin.

“I can’t get over a game last night when we saw the Baltimore Ravens beat the Pittsburgh Steelers. Steelers have now lost five straight games, that’s just unheard of,” former Steelers quarterback Terry Bradshaw said Sunday on Fox. “Defense was horrible, couldn’t stop the run, couldn’t stop the pass, could’t do anything right last night. Honestly, Jimmy, I’d go to you, you can’t lose playoff games — this doesn’t look anything like the Steelers teams we’ve seen.”

Dallas, meanwhile, has not appeared in a conference title game or Super Bowl since 1996, and McCarthy oversaw this year’s 7-10 season, along with last year’s playoff flop against the Packers.

Former Giants star Michael Strahan noted how Dallas’ struggles aren’t in the same class as Pittsburgh’s.

“The only problem is, you said it, both stale but one continues to make the playoffs and the other one doesn’t,” Strahan said. “That’s not stale. One’s having more success.”

Both teams enter the offseason with plenty of questions and Dallas will first have to find its coach before attempting to fortify a top-heavy roster that seemingly has taken a major step back in a loaded NFC.

Pittsburgh yet again has a quarterback issue after Russell Wilson’s play deteriorated down the stretch.