Prior to becoming head coach of the Pittsburgh Steelers in 2007, Mike Tomlin spent five seasons coaching a secondary in Tampa Bay that now has two members in the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
Those two members are safety John Lynch and the newly enshrined Ronde Barber, who received his Gold Jacket Friday night from Tomlin, and then spoke glowingly about Tomlin in his induction speech Saturday in Canton, Ohio.
Barber spent five seasons with Tomlin from 2001-05. In those five seasons, Barber solidified his Hall of Fame career, earning three first-team All-Pro accolades, one second-team All-Pro accolade and three Pro Bowl berths, and winning a Super Bowl title in 2001. In that same span, Barber led the NFL in interceptions in 2001 with 10 and led the NFL in fumbles returned for touchdown with two in 2004.
All these years later, Barber gives credit to Tomlin for the vision he had for Barber ahead of the 2001 season.
“I was just an ordinary guy. And by the time I finished my fourth year, I was a middle-of-the road free agent with little to no interest and only one place to go: stay put and get a new DB coach. And that was Mike Tomlin. Mike’s not here, but he gave me my jacket yesterday and before he ran me through his first EDD drill — if you don’t know what that means, it’s everyday drill — He told me, ‘Ronde, you’re different.’ That what he had seen me do no one else was doing,” Barber said in his Hall of Fame speech Saturday, according to video via the Buccaneers’ Twitter page. “He told me, ‘you’re gonna be a 20/20 guy, okay?’ So we set our sights on that and it would be 12 more years in a 45/25 career that sent me here.
“Football’s always changing. And Mike T, you helped me change one little corner of the game that would define me. I think he imagined this for me well before I could. And he gave me the air to breathe it into existence. Thanks for the empowerment, dude.”
Quite the powerful words of thanks and appreciation for Tomlin there.
That empowerment, that belief…that’s something that’s defined Tomlin throughout his coaching career, not only in his stint with the Buccaneers from 2001-05 or his time with the Minnesota Vikings as defensive coordinator in 2006, but with the Steelers since landing the job in 2007, winning a Super Bowl with the Steelers and appearing in another.
That empowerment, that belief and his overall vision and understanding of his players has helped make so many guys a success, some as successful as Barber. Tomlin having that vision of what Barber could be helped lay the foundation for a Hall of Fame career. Giving Barber that believe and that empowerment to become a game-changing player has Barber now forever immortalized in the hallowed halls of Canton.
The respect goes both ways, too.
Over the years, Tomlin has praised Barber for his football IQ and linebacker-like mentality. In 2021, Tomlin compared him to Minkah Fitzpatrick and gave a passionate answer about what made Barber so good.
“Ronde was so sharp that I started coaching Ronde like Sam linebacker, even though he was playing nickel,” Tomlin said on the Flying Coach Podcast. “He keyed the box and he played the run and he fit runs like a Sam linebacker. Really prior to that point, I didn’t know any secondary coaches coaching nickels in that way, to be honest with. Without a doubt, Ronde is the first nickel I saw in the National Football League chase a puller on a counter scheme and go make the tackle on the other side of the ball. And not stumble into it. I’m talking about he keyed it and played it. I tell that story because it’s really the same approach that I take in terms of dealing with Minkah. Minkah has that level of football intellect.”
Barber was known for his effort and high football IQ. During the Hall of Fame broadcast, a voiceover played of Barber noting that great players first have to know themselves. Their strengths, their weaknesses, what they fit best in order to maximize their game and become a Hall of Famer.
Turns out, Tomlin helped him first understand and learn who he was as a player. After that, Barber let his effort, instincts and football IQ take over, putting together a Hall of Fame career.
