Pittsburgh Steelers CB Patrick Peterson joined Colleen Wolfe and Brian Baldinger on NFL Network’s Training Camp Live prior to the team’s first padded practice on Tuesday, and the veteran praised Mike Tomlin’s communication and leadership style.
“We’re not worried about the outside noise. We’re worried about how can you help us become a world champion. You can’t do nothing but respect that,” Peterson said. “I love the way coach put it on each and every person’s mind before we hit the practice field so we understand what he’s looking for.”
Peterson went deeper on Tomlin’s communication style.
“The way he finds ways to push guys buttons but also does it with a smile and with loving arms around you,” he said. “The way he communicates with players on a day in and day out basis, you cannot do nothing but respect that.”
Peterson has played for six head coaches in his NFL career, which has spanned 12 seasons up to this point, and heading into his 13th Tomlin marks the sixth coach he’s played under. He also might be the most respected, and playing for Tomlin was a big selling point to bring Peterson to Pittsburgh.
While you can question Tomlin’s in-game coaching decisions, one thing that’s hard to argue with is him as a leader of men. Tomlin has weathered a lot of big personalities in the locker room and kept a lot of issues in-house, while also getting as much as he possibly can out of guys. As Peterson said, a lot of that stems from the fact that everything is about football, winning a championship and not worrying about the outside noise.
But at some point, the leeway is going to go away if Pittsburgh can’t win a playoff game soon. They’ve gone winless in the postseason since 2016, and fans and players alike are starting to get restless. Guys like Peterson and T.J. Watt and Minkah Fitzpatrick are leading a defense that should be among one of the best in the league, and if Kenny Pickett can take strides in his second season, this should be a team good enough to win a playoff game.
That’s a reasonable expectation for this season, and something it seems as if Tomlin has the players focused on. With just over a month until Week One, we’ll see how much better this team looks sooner rather than later.
