The Tomlin tango.

The Tomlin two-step.

Dancing with the Tomlin.

Whatever you want to call the incident Thanksgiving night when Pittsburgh Steelers’ head coach Mike Tomlin nearly tripped Baltimore kick returner Jacob Jones, it was fishy.

Yes, coaches do ignore the no-standing-on-the-white-stripe rule. All the time. Every coach does it.

No first- or third-base coach in Major League Baseball actually stands in the box. Basketball coaches wander out of their designated areas on the bench frequently as well.

This, though, was different.

It is apparent, at least to me, that Tomlin knew exactly what he was doing.

The KDKA end zone footage released Monday was pretty much a smoking gun in my mind.

It shows Tomlin squaring his feet up to the edge of the sideline, standing straight and stiff and then sticking his right leg out as if he were doing the Hokey Pokey, then pulling it back and doing the Tomlin Shuffle to get out of the way at the last minute.

Whether it was intentional or not, it was wrong.

If it was intentional, it deserves severe punishment.

The NFL is looking into the matter. The rumor is that the league may fine Tomlin as much as six-figures, could suspend him for a game and even strip the Steelers of a draft pick.

Taking a draft pick away is excessive.

He acted alone. There was no second dancer on the turf sideline knoll sticking a foot out. The Rooneys didn’t call down from the owners’ box to Tomlin and say, ‘Trip the dude on the kickoff if it looks like he may score.”

Tomlin, mired in a tough season and in a fight to keep the team in playoff contention, panicked a little bit when he saw Jones breaking into the open and heading down the sideline.

That’s what I think, anyway.

He didn’t move like a man who was simply wandering aimlessly while watching a play unfold on the Jumbo-Tron.

It looked like he was on an intricate mission to get in the way without overtly doing so.

It backfired. There are cameras everywhere. He was going to get caught.

To me, it’s unfortunate because I don’t expect behavior like that from a guy like Tomlin, who has always come across as someone who puts the rules and the respect for the game above all else.

This sullies him a bit.

Like all things, it will blow over. His predecessor, Bill Cowher, famously nearly went on the field to knock down a Jacksonville player returning a blocked kick in 1997.

He held himself back.

Tomlin should have, too.

Still, the Steelers should not lose a draft pick over this incident.

Fine Tomlin heavily. Suspend him. But leave the pick alone.

Mike Kilroy is a staff writer for the Butler Eagle.