Mike Tomlin Walks Through the Minecraft City He Built Across Twelve Quiet Years

Mike Tomlin left the Steelers sideline in January 2025 after nineteen seasons, a Super Bowl, and a record that never fell below .500. Eight months later he told Craig Melvin on the Today show that he had been working on one city in Minecraft creative mode for about twelve years, and that his oldest son, Dino, kept telling him people ought to see it.

He began playing Minecraft to get away from the constant demands of his middle school-aged children. He needed something to sit with them and keep them entertained. With creative mode allowing him to simply relax and have fun, the endless blocks and lack of a hunger bar appealed to his long-held passion in construction and architecture. Early on, the youngsters pitched in, contributing their own designs and making the overall experience even more fun. As they grew older and high school and college took over their lives, he had a unique opportunity to bring them back together. He has grown devoted to the game, however, and they continue to transfer the save from one system to another, owing to the fact that he never found out how to do it on his own. Every time they return home, they ask him to load up the city so they can see all of the modifications he’s done.

He based his city on a large body of water near where his character initially spawned. Initially, he was only concerned in density, but later a host of high-rise apartments and multi-family buildings were built straight along the shore, with streets and sightlines precisely planned to guarantee that each unit had a spectacular view. You can look out over the sea or onto fields that I haven’t even created yet. It took some time for the quieter neighborhoods and single-family streets to materialize, but finally, a whole cluster of blocks became communities.


The downtown area began with a small boutique hotel. It’s a very magnificent location, with an executive spa, therapy rooms, a lobby, balconies, indoor and outdoor stores, an elevator shaft, and a subterranean speakeasy right next to the pool, with a view of the water from the bar window. One of the difficult aspects in the beginning was getting enough light in, so he utilized glowstone in some of the underground rooms because windows weren’t an option, not because he thought the look was attractive. You know, it’s a minor issue, but he insists on separate men’s and women’s restrooms in all public places.


One of the nearby high-rise buildings features a multi-level fish tank that occupies one entire wall of each apartment. Some of the rooftops offer nice indoor-outdoor areas, such as a movie setup that opens directly onto a patio. He even went so far as to display a Trump Tower sign in front of his favorite penthouse. A replica of the apartment complex where his son lived while in college can be found nearby. Baseball and soccer stadiums are intended to be built directly across from another skyscraper, which is still under construction. You can even see some of his less-than-great controller work here and there. He jokes about it.


For him, the hours he spent playing were a way to relax from the stresses of his job. He doesn’t watch much television, so this was a terrific way for him to unwind, and episode one ends with a vow to return to the Bay Area and reveal more of what he’s been working on. Regarding the series, he is now an NBC pundit, but he is still expanding the city, and his children will not allow him get rid of it.