Be around a business long enough and you’re going to make a lot of connections. It’s rare that the Pittsburgh Steelers play an opponent that doesn’t have some kind of story about its experiences with head coach Mike Tomlin. The Los Angeles Rams, their upcoming opponent, are no different with head coach Sean McVay, who recently praised his peer.
“Mike T is an absolute stud”, he told Steve Mason and John Ireland (not to be confused with the classical composer of the same name) on ESPN Radio. “Even just the way he handles himself, his leadership. He’s been a guy that I’ve gotten to know really well over the last handful of years because of his relationship with Raheem [Morris]”.
Morris has served as defensive coordinator under McVay for the past three seasons. He has held two previous head coaching positions, most notably during a three-year run with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in 2009-11. He had never held a coordinating role in the NFL prior to that, having done so for just one year in college.
But before that, he worked on Tampa Bay’s staff with Tomlin from 2002-2005, before the latter left to become the defensive coordinator for the Minnesota Vikings, a year later earning the head coaching job with the Steelers. Those four years together were formidable for both, and it’s no surprise McVay has been regaled with stories, later guiding his own history with Tomlin.
“He’s always treated me great. You look at just the way that he responds to adversity, I think that’s one of the true testaments to great leadership”, he said. “The way that he is just so steady, and you know they’re always gonna have a certain identity with the way that his teams play in Pittsburgh, and to do it for that long at such a high level is a real testament to him and their players and their coaches”.
Like Tomlin, McVay had early success as a young hotshot head coach. He reached the Super Bowl in his second season, as Tomlin did, though he did not win his first trophy until his fifth season. He followed that up with a 5-12 year, a losing season, something Tomlin has yet to experience.
McVay’s Rams just got back to .500 last week, while the Steelers are looking to build on some momentum, going 3-1 in their last four games. A win on the west coast over McVay would be beneficial toward those efforts, ahead of a three-game homestand.
While still only 37 years old, McVay isn’t quite the young up-and-coming hotshot head coach, now in his seventh season. He is a known commodity (with the coaching tree to show for it). And now he’s looking to find a similar groove in which Tomlin has found himself throughout his career, with consistent, stable success. Only, he hopes, with more trophies to show for it.
