Over the years, Pittsburgh Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin has been labeled as a players’ coach. That is true to a certain extent, but some take it to mean he is buddy-buddy with all of his players and doesn’t lay down the law like coaches sometimes need to. The majority of players who have come through the Steelers’ program over his 17-year tenure have nothing but good things to say about him, and several free agents have cited him as one of the big reasons they wanted to come to Pittsburgh.
His longest-tenured player, DE Cam Heyward, was asked about Mike Tomlin’s authenticity by Lil Wayne on the latest episode of his Not Just Football podcast, and described what makes him great.
“Mike T., everything’s authentic. Ain’t nothing fake,” Heyward said. “When I talk about Mike T., everybody calls him a players’ coach. And I’m like, it’s beyond a players’ coach because he holds everybody accountable. And he’s honest, but he gonna challenge you every day, and there’s not running from it. And he’s gonna find a way to motivate that person. He ain’t gonna do it the same way.
“The one thing I love about him is, I’m gonna treat everybody fair, but not equal. So you might have something that another guy needs, but I’m going to make sure everybody’s accountable in this process.”
We only get a small glimpse into what the accountability for players looks like, as most of it happens behind closed doors. The Steelers have always kept their cards close to their chest with very few opportunities to look into the locker room or team meetings as other teams have moved toward camera crews and self-produced reality television.
We should get an opportunity to see some of that for the first time when HBO’s Hard Knocks rolls into town for the final six weeks of the season as part of its coverage of the entire AFC North division. With it being a crucial stretch of the schedule with several divisional games, we should get an unadulterated look at what Tomlin is really like with his players. If this same Hard Knocks setup was a year ago, we would have gotten a glimpse into the three-game losing streak, the negative media narratives, and the quarterback controversy. There’s no telling what could be in store for this year.
There is a reason that someone like T.J. Watt insisted that Tomlin needs to be around for the duration of his contract back when extension talks were happening. A competitor like Watt wouldn’t do that just because he is pleasant to be around. Tomlin holds his players accountable behind closed doors. As Heyward said, “fair but not equal.”
“I just love that man,” Heyward said. “I’m one of the few that gets to play with him and he holds us accountable. And everybody’s always jealous because they don’t get to have a coach like that.”
