If there is one type of Pittsburgh Steelers fan that absolutely doesn’t exist, it is the fan that is merely content with preserving a streak of non-losing seasons. There is nobody out there who is generally satisfied with the fact that the team hasn’t won a playoff game since 2016, but it makes for a good strawman when people who strongly favor major changes argue with others who strongly favor less drastic change.
That doesn’t mean that avoiding losing seasons isn’t an accomplishment, even if it is a means to an end—you need to win games to win Super Bowls. And at some point, it could trigger pride or duty, as it does, specifically and personally, for defensive lineman Montravius Adams.
“Something that means a lot to me is Coach T [Mike Tomlin],” he told reporters yesterday via the team’s YouTube channel. “Never had a losing season, and I just don’t want that to be under my belt. He’s a guy that when I came in gave me a lot of morale to play better. I’m sure a lot of guys in the locker room feel this way, but we’ve got to get it right.”
A former third-round draft pick of the Green Bay Packers, Adams spent his rookie contract trapped behind a Pro Bowl-caliber player at his position in Kenny Clark and never got the opportunities he might have elsewhere. He feels that he was afforded the opportunity he needed from Tomlin, and so he feels a certain way about him.
But make no mistake about it, this is not a team situation. This is something personal to Adams. He was asked specifically if the non-losing streak is something that is actually talked about. “Honestly, in meetings I’ve never heard it, but just me personally, when I sit back and think, it’s something that’s on my mind,” he said. Because “I just don’t want that to be under my belt.”
There’s nothing wrong with a player wanting to play for his coach. Every player should feel that way. If your coach isn’t inspiring his players to play, then there is a key part of his job that he is not doing. Of course, that doesn’t guarantee results, but it does buy loyalty.
“Just for the time I have [been here], the coaching staff and him has been great,” Adams said. “I think what people say about him being a player’s coach is all the way true. I just think, if we can’t come together for each other, at least we can do it for him.”
Of course, the situation they’re trying to come together against is the fact that they’re facing elimination, sitting at 5-8 through 13 games. If they lose one more game in their final four, they will have their first losing season since 2003. Adams was eight years old then.
