Historically, Pittsburgh Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin has been known as the ultimate player’s coach. Some use the term to praise Tomlin while others use it to demean him. Heck, it can be hard to even agree on what it means to be a player’s coach. Some say that those coaches are too easy on their players.
Regardless of others’ intent, WR Calvin Austin III loves Tomlin for it. He appeared on the Jason & John radio show in Memphis on Thursday, and he was asked about playing for Tomlin.
“Coach Tomlin is a true player’s coach,” Austin said. “He definitely knows how to relate to his players. One of the big things I think that he does very well is he motivates and challenges his players. Being out on the field leading up to the week of whatever game it is, you’re gonna know whatever challenge he puts in front of you and whatever you need to do to help out that game… So when you get there on game day, you already know the expectations and what lies out in front. So your only job is to go out there and execute.”
What Austin describes sounds like a far cry from a coach who babies his players and lets them get away with whatever they want. This sounds like a coach who cares for and respects his players. There can be no question that Tomlin cares about his players, and not only about them as his players but as human beings. It’s part of why he makes a big deal out of working with the rookies every year to educate them on life outside of football now that they’re professional football players.
However, it’s the motivation and the challenging of the players that seem to pass by Tomlin’s critics. According to Austin, expectations are laid clearly out each and every week before a game. It also sounds like those expectations aren’t coddling the players either, instead challenging them to improve each week in practice and in the film room.
Challenging expectations do force players to take their game to another level. It also shows a level of respect from a coach to challenge them in a healthy way. It also establishes clearly what each player is to do in a game so that all they need to do is go out and execute.
So while people may call out Tomlin for being a player’s coach, it sounds like Austin uses the term as a compliment. It doesn’t sound like player’s coach means taking it easy on the players either in the case of Tomlin.
