The paths of Pittsburgh Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin and Los Angeles Rams defensive coordinator Raheem Morris have crossed numerous times over the years. Their relationship spans decades, going back to their time together on the coaching staff of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers beginning in 2002. There is plenty of mutual respect between them, Tomlin praising Morris last year as the best head coach he knows without a head coaching job.
They spent four years working hand-in-hand, but since then have been adversaries numerous times. Sunday’s game will merely be the latest chapter, and it hasn’t been good for their relationship—or so Morris joked in speaking to reporters yesterday.
“Man, I can’t stand this man. He’s an archenemy of mine”, he said in a clearly unserious manner, via the team’s YouTube channel. Recalling Tomlin’s bluntness in feeling him out two decades ago, Morris said, “We got the chance to work with each other for a couple of years, and we remained really good friends off the field—and on the field, I can’t stand him”.
Tomlin was the defensive backs coach for the Buccaneers, first under Tony Dungy and then under Jon Gruden, while Morris was there, first as a quality control coach and then for two seasons as Tomlin’s assistant coach working with the defensive backs. In other words, they spent a lot of time together, and have a lot of stories. Not that he’ll be sharing any of them this week before the game.
“Not right now. We’ll give you some of those in the offseason”, he joked. “Right now I’ve got to get ready to face him, because he’s gonna stand in front of his media with the stone face and the big eyes and he’s gonna be absolutely stoic and he’s not gonna want to joke about our relationship, so I won’t give him any ammo. Because he’ll take it and use it against me”.
Now, it has been a minute since the two have squared off. Morris has been the defensive coordinator for the Rams since 2021, and this is their first meeting with him in that capacity. Tomlin last saw him professionally in 2018 when he served as assistant head coach (among other hats) for the Atlanta Falcons—a game Pittsburgh won handily, 41-17.
Prior to that, it was another Tomlin win when Morris was the secondary coach in Washington in 2013, a 27-12 affair that featured a weird trio of touchdown receptions from TEs Heath Miller…and Leonard Pope and Will Johnson, the latter more of an H-back.
Tomlin also blew out his Buccaneers in 2010, 38-13, as head coach, a game in which Charlie Batch started, with Ben Roethlisberger serving a four-game suspension. In all, he is 3-0 against Morris in three different capacities with three different organizations. Let’s just say that he has plenty of bragging rights.
In fact, he’s put the hurt on Morris’ teams, which have never scored more than 17 points, or allowed fewer than 27. The closest score in all three games was a 15-point win over Washington, the others being 24 and 25 points. It’s no wonder Morris doesn’t want to give Tomlin any more ammunition.
