Tillman earned a bachelor's degree in journalism in 1986 and a bachelor's degree in communications in 1988 from the University of Oklahoma. He is a graduate of the Harvard Business School's & NFL's Business Management and Entrepreneurial Program.
In the 1989 off-season, Tillman was traded to the San Francisco 49ers where he played for three seasons. He was co-captain with Joe Montana and Ronnie Lott as part of the 49ers roster at Super Bowl XXIV when they defeated the AFC championDenver Broncos.
Return to the Oilers
In 1992, Tillman was traded back to Houston, where he completed his playing career.
Sports broadcasting
Broadcasting
After being drafted by the Houston Oilers in 1987, Tillman worked as an anchor and reporter at KPRC-TV during the seven-month off-season. His football and broadcasting careers developed in tandem as he hosted two radio sports-talk shows and was a reporter and anchor for a radio PM magazine in Oklahoma City prior to his television jobs.
Tillman joined CBS Sports in 1999 as lead studio analyst for College Football Today, the network's pre-game studio show. Tillman, who had served as WABC-TV's weekend sports anchor in New York from 1997 to 1999 and spent 10 years as a sports anchor for KPRC-TV Houston, is paired with Tim Brando at the College Football Today desk. Tillman and Brando also broadcast regional NFL games for CBS from 2000–2003. In the first three years, Tillman and Brando were the eighth team of the NFL games for CBS; however, Tillman and Brando were demoted to the ninth team of the NFL games for CBS and replaced by Bill Macatee and Jerry Glanville in the eighth team in 2003. Tillman has also served for four years as a reporter for the Network's NCAA tournament coverage and is an anchor for regional broadcasts on Fox Sports Networks. He also served as host of DirecTV's "NFL Sunday Ticket."
Tillman began duties as the voice of KGOW 1560 The Game, a Houston sports talk radio station, when the station launched its new format in August 2007. His role includes reading promotional copy for the station, as well as weekly on-air time during the football season.
Tillman is a current co-host of KTRK's Houston Texans Inside the Game, a thirty-minute weekly post-game recap and analysis program that typically follows the station's local newscast on game days.
Personal life
Tillman currently lives in Sugar Land, Texas, along with his wife, Rita, and their four daughters.