While Cameron Heyward didn’t record a sack on Thursday night in the Steelers’ win over the Tennessee Titans, it’s clear that just his presence on the field gave the defense a boost. After missing the first seven weeks with a groin injury, he finally was able to make his return to the gridiron in Week Nine.
Heyward has been one of the few bridges between the Ben Roethlisberger era and the Kenny Pickett era. Even at 34, his game has shown no signs of slowing down.
His on-field leadership makes a difference, but his off-the-field impact through the first half of the season has also been felt by the team. He was often seen on the sideline giving teammates tips, and intently watching the game.
For some, this served as a bit of a sneak peek of what we could see from Heyward down the road. NFL analyst Mike Florio appeared on Pro Football Talk Live Thursday and spoke about how he sees Heyward as a potential head coach in the future.
“You can tell just how a guy carries himself on the sideline if he’s head coaching material. You have to look the part and exude the right demeanor.” Florio noted. “You have to have your s**t together. There was just something at that moment when I saw Cam Heyward and I thought that guy is going to be a head coach in the NFL one of these days.”
As Florio said, Heyward certainly looks the part. It’s hard to put into words, but he just has the traits of someone who would be a really good mentor.
It’s far from uncommon to see NFL players transition to coaching. The Steelers’ own Hines Ward is currently a head coach of the San Antonio Brahmas of the XFL.
Perhaps the closest contemporary to Heyward as a potential NFL coach is current Titans coach Mike Vrabel. Vrabel started his NFL career in Pittsburgh, before taking off with the New England Patriots. He was recently inducted into the Patriots’ Ring of Honor. Vrabel even embodies a lot of similar traits to Heyward: leadership, willingness to do whatever it takes to win, toughness, and versatility.
One thing to note is that Vrabel never played for the Titans, though he wasn’t a lifer for any one team like Heyward is. Mike Tomlin is still pretty young at just 51, but he has racked up quite a few miles on his tires over his career. If there’s eventually an opening at head coach, I imagine the Steelers could do a lot worse than Heyward.
