Pittsburgh Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin is a walking aphorism machine, for better or worse. For some, it translates to stellar leadership, but others see it as a galling string of clichés. Which camp you fall in tends to coincide with whether you think he’s a good coach in general.
But regardless, Tomlin and his Tomlinisms are here to stay. One of the most interesting I have always found is his personal approach to players. He claims to treat players “fairly but not equally,” not exactly a unique concept but nevertheless a Tomlin staple. The one player who knows him best, Cameron Heyward, explained what he means when he says that.
“Everybody understands the guidelines, but at the same time, everybody needs different things”, he explained to Jim Rome. “A veteran might not need to practice every day, but I need to get more out of him, and he still needs to be accountable throughout the week, so be it. Because the point is to win on Sunday”.
“There’s little things like that”, Heyward added regarding Tomlin’s coaching ethos. “Or it’s a younger guy who might need more snaps and might need to take the brunt of the work during the week, but it’s still expected to have the same results on a Sunday. It’s about getting everybody to the same place, even though you might jump on the train a little bit later”.
“Fair but not equal” does not always manifest in the healthiest ways, at least according to reports and speculation. For example, certain players like Antonio Brown and Ben Roethlisberger might get special accommodations during training camp. Other players see that and wonder why they have to stay in outdated dorm rooms for a month. However, even the coaches stay in the dorms, so Mike Tomlin practices what he preaches in that respect.
The concept of fairness without equality boils down to the basic concept that everybody is different. I think that’s a fundamental quality of leadership in any group setting, and one Tomlin embraces to the fullest extent.
I might also argue that there is a certain value in unequal treatment of the “perks” variety. Showing players what they might gain could fuel them to reach that level. We see this manifest in fun ways like steak and lobster dinners. Tomlin started treating the winners of the Seven Shots drills in training camp to these meals as a motivational tactic.
But really, it’s far more about the interpersonal dynamics of a player and a coach. Some players might need hard coaching, while others need a light touch. One player who needs very specific conceptual schematics might line up next to a visual learner who needs to practice that scheme on the field before he gets it.
Understanding the needs of each and every player is ultimately the “fair but not equal” Mike Tomlin coaching approach. Heyward has fallen on many different rungs of the equality spectrum, but he will tell you that Tomlin has always treated him fairly relative to where he was in his career. Not everybody will end up feeling that way, but there’s a reason he has a virtual lifetime appointment.
