Mike Tomlin may have his problems as a head coach, but he’s still been an exceptional embodiment of the Steelers, consistently keeping the team competitive, even if the roster has flaws. However, Tomlin’s greatest strength may be his ability as a leader.
Players have spoken in the past about Tomlin’s honesty in his approach to coaching, and it seems this is one of many reasons why he is so respected around the league. One of the biggest examples of Tomlin’s willingness to go against the grain, both for the sake of his own morals and to improve the Steelers, is when he hired Brian Flores in 2022.
Flores was the head coach of the Dolphins from 2019 to 2021, seeing moderate success in the role. However, he was fired after the 2021 season, a move that drew controversy when Flores sued multiple NFL teams, including the Dolphins, for racial discrimination. A move like that typically doesn’t go over well with team owners, who seemed to be shunning Flores out of the league after his decision to speak up.
Tomlin didn’t seem to be of the same mindset, as he proceeded to hire the talented Flores to his defensive coaching staff for the 2022 season. In a recent interview on the HBCUGameday YouTube channel during the Next Up Coaches Conference he’s hosting, Tomlin spoke about why he hired Flores.
”Brian Flores has been a classic example of that. I refuse to sit by on my hands and watch him go through what he was going through,” Tomlin said about helping other minority coaches. “I didn’t even have a personal relationship with Brian Flores, but I knew his video, I knew his tape, I knew his coaching resume through that. It was an honor for me to have an opportunity to keep him in the business. To show people that he is employable and to help him continue in his coaching journey. It’s an awesome opportunity for me, but I also view it as a moral obligation, given the fact that countless others have helped me.”
Hiring Flores certainly did give the defense a boost in 2022, as players had nothing but rave reviews for the former head coach. This is Tomlin’s greatest strength, though. Where every other team in the league saw a coach carrying around controversy, Tomlin saw a bright mind that would provide a positive contribution to the Steelers, as well as a man he could empathize with. Tomlin is just one of a few stories of success in the history of African-American head coaches, and if not for the patience of the Rooney family, that story might have been short a few chapters.
Tomlin was given a chance in 2007 to be the next head coach of the Steelers when he was mostly viewed as an unknown commodity around the NFL. He had only been a defensive coordinator for one year, and yet, the Rooney’s took a chance on him, and it has more than paid off. Tomlin did a similar thing with Flores, taking a chance on somebody who has shown they can be a great coach in this league and who might be getting judged based on something that has nothing to do with his ability to coach.
Tomlin’s goal with this conference is to help coaches become the next Flores. Now, Flores is the defensive coordinator for the Minnesota Vikings, a role he seems to be finding a lot of success in, and perhaps he’ll find his way back to being a head coach eventually. None of that is possible without Tomlin deciding to stand up and do what’s right. Flores wasn’t perfect as a head coach in Miami, but he still showcased great ability. There was no reason for him not to get any kind of coaching job afterward. There have been infinitely worse coaches who have been given multiple second chances.
Eventually, Tomlin won’t be the head coach for the Steelers, and when that day comes, the entire league will be worse off because football is better when Mike Tomlin is a part of it. He isn’t perfect by any means, but it’s decisions like this one with Flores that make him invaluable. It keeps the league honest. Flores could be out of the league entirely now if he hadn’t joined the Steelers, but instead, he’s found more success. Success isn’t born out of following trends. It’s created by those willing to break the mold, and Tomlin would certainly classify as a mold-breaker.
