Professional sports in America often overlap, but it usually comes from players supporting the other teams in the city they’re playing in. Take Ben Roethlisberger attending a Pirates or Penguins game for example. What isn’t as common, however, is two teams from different cities and sports collaborating. This week saw one of those rare moments happen with the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Los Angeles Dodgers, the MLB’s resident powerhouse. After Paul Skenes and the Pirates blew through his team, Dodgers’ manager Dave Roberts had his staff watch Mike Tomlin at a recent practice during OTAs.
Roberts came away with rave reviews of Tomlin, as he said during his appearance on The Herd with Colin Cowherd.
”It’s voluntary workouts, so each day Coach Tomlin addresses the guys. Today was about the exclamation point, and finishing plays and doing things the right way. It was applicable to everybody on a football field, but also in life and in baseball. I was ready to run through a wall for this man. He’s done it for so long and won so consistently. But to have that energy every day, every year, is, for me, fascinating.”
Roberts has reached the top of the mountain in the MLB before, winning the World Series as a player in 2004 and then again as manager of the Dodgers in 2020, so he understands what greatness looks like, as well as what it takes to manage a championship team. Even then, Tomlin still had him ready and motivated. Considering how different the MLB is and how the Dodgers can just throw money at a lot of their problems to solve them, it isn’t hard to tell why Tomlin’s method of leadership would be inspiring.
Tomlin became an NFL head coach as a relative unknown, and yet, he’s managed to win a Super Bowl and gain the respect of seemingly everyone around the league. Some fans may be upset with him because of the Steelers’ lack of success recently, but he remains one of the NFL’s best head coaches. If a high-ranking member of an organization with zero attachment to the NFL or even football in general can see that, it must hold some truth.
If Roberts and the Dodgers manage to capture another World Series victory this year, maybe some credit should be thrown Tomlin’s way. Although that wouldn’t be nearly as sweet as if the Pirates managed to finally win a championship again, which may only happen as soon as pigs fly. Rooting for the Dodgers would be like rooting for the Tom Brady Patriots anyway, so thanks for the kind words about coach Tomlin, but Pittsburgh always says let’s go Bucs!
