Whether fans love him or hate him, it’s clear based on his accolades and the way people in the league speak about him that Mike Tomlin is one of the best and most respected coaches in the NFL. At this point, everyone has heard about Tomlin never having a losing season, but it truly is remarkable, especially considering the quarterback play over the past few years. Tomlin is even close to making some history, and that doesn’t happen by accident. One current quarterback had some extremely high praise for Tomlin, even though he spent very little time with the Steelers.
Chris Oladokun was the other quarterback the Steelers drafted in 2022, but he never made the final roster, instead signing with the Chiefs as depth behind Patrick Mahomes. Considering he has two Super Bowl rings now, that decision seems to have panned out fairly well. However, on a recent episode of The Sitdown podcast, Oladokun spoke about his impression of Coach Tomlin during their brief time together.
“Coach Tomlin is a legend. He’s about his business, he’s gonna give it to you straight, he’s gonna give it to you real,” Oladokun said. “He’s not gonna sugarcoat anything. He expects nothing but excellence, and I feel like that’s something that you want as a player, when your coach is going to go to bat for you, but also he’s holding every single guy, from T.J. Watt all the way down to the last guy on the roster, he’s holding all those guys accountable. That’s something I really respected.”
Tomlin’s straightforward nature is apparent if someone were to even watch one press conference of his, but it’s part of what’s made him so successful. He lets players know what he expects out of them, and if they don’t meet those expectations, they can’t play for the Steelers.
Accountability is also an aspect of Coach Tomlin’s style that is much more evident now than maybe ever before. Somehow, he managed to hold Antonio Brown accountable for far longer than anyone else, which speaks volumes on its own, but the adage of wanting volunteers not hostages has become non-negotiable. Last year, reports came out that Chukwuma Okorafor, who had been a starting tackle for this team, was benched because of his poor attitude. As Oladokun puts it, Tomlin does not mess around. Respect is everything.
Obviously Tomlin isn’t perfect, but neither were Chuck Noll or Bill Cowher, and when Tomlin is gone, which could be sooner rather than later apparently, whoever replaces him won’t be perfect either. Having such a consistent winning football team is important though, even if it doesn’t produce a Lombardi Trophy every year, because it creates a culture. It’s what separates teams like the Browns and the Steelers. One look at the Detroit Lions with and without Head Coach Dan Campbell tells you all you need to know about how important the culture that a coach creates is. Tomlin’s culture is respect, honesty, and winning, and based on how players like Oldokun talk about him, it seems like he’s done an exceptional job ingraining those things with the Steelers.
