Even through 17 years as the head coach of the Pittsburgh Steelers, Mike Tomlin is still able to reach his players, and his message isn’t getting stale. The 2023 season was proof of that, especially after the Steelers fell to 7-7 on the season.
After that stretch, the Steelers won three straight games to get into the playoffs. While there was some endless speculation that Tomlin could decide to walk away from the Steelers at the end of the season after the struggles, that didn’t end up being the case, and now he’s set to not only return for the 2024 season, but beyond, too.
That has running backs Najee Harris and Jaylen Warren quite excited.
Appearing on an NBC Sports Bay Area video promoting Bounty, Harris and Warren spoke glowingly about Tomlin.
“He understands the backgrounds of the unfortunate, and he’s willing to cope with that, from what I’ve been around,” Warren said, according to video via the NBC Sports Bay Area YouTube page. “He’s really understanding, and he’s selfless. He’s gonna do what’s best for his players.”
That’s been the case with Tomlin his entire career. He’s able to connect with players who come from entirely different backgrounds, establish a relationship with them on and off the field, and get the best out of them.
It’s a cut-throat business overall, one that sees players come and go in the blink of an eye. That is still the case in Pittsburgh, but Tomlin is still able to make a connection with them, creating relationships that last a lifetime.
That’s what Harris sees.
“The NFL is so cutthroat that sometimes they take away the fact that we’re human still, you know what I mean? And stuff like that. So, he has kids, and he said that just spending time with players is something that he wants to do because he knows that it’s a cutthroat business,” Harris said, according to video via the NBC Sports Bay Area YouTube page. “So, if he could build a relationship with somebody and try to help him out, even past football, that’s big for him.
“So, Mike T coming down there in the locker room and like dancing with us, if y’all see a lot of videos of that…he’s just a player’s coach, that’s what I always call him. To have somebody like that in your corner, you always wanna play harder just for that person.”
That might be hard for fans and media members to understand, but Harris and Warren aren’t the first Steelers to say something like that about Tomlin, and they won’t be the last as long as he’s in the coaching profession.
Being able to connect with his players is huge. Having that human side and really understanding what makes his players tick is pivotal for Tomlin. It resonates with players, especially guys like Harris and Warren, who have come from tough backgrounds.
