The Pittsburgh Steelers made it a priority this offseason to get better along the offensive line. They’ve made it clear that they want to run the ball better, and even doubled down on that by hiring Arthur Smith as their offensive coordinator. By selecting Troy Fautanu and Zach Frazier with their first two picks in the draft, the Steelers sent a message about what kind of team they want to be. Add their selection of Mason McCormick in the fourth round, and it becomes apparent what the Steelers want to do on offense. Former Steelers corner Bryant McFadden said that Mike Tomlin continued to emphasize this when he talked to him today, and that it seems to have even rejuvenated Tomlin.
Working as an analyst for CBS Sports, McFadden was present at today’s practice and made sure to talk to Tomlin about the Steelers’ offense during a session of Seven Shots.
“[Tomlin] said, ‘We’re gonna build a team within the team at the line of scrimmage.’ If you look at the draft, the first two selections were interior guys on the offensive side,” McFadden said via video from CBS Sports, “The mentality that he has, he has newfound motivation. That’s the thing that I love about a guy. When you talk about reaching the pinnacle of everything he’s done, he’s still hungry. He hasn’t eaten anything yet.”
It’s clear that Tomlin loves football, but it might be the physicality that he loves the most. Today was the first day that pads went on for players, and Tomlin seemed to love getting the opportunity to see what he has in his young offensive linemen. If the Steelers want their offense to improve this year, they’ll need their five best linemen to be exceptional. Tomlin loves making two dogs fight over one bone, and there are a whole lot of dogs and very few bones with this offensive line.
McFadden was part of two Steelers teams that won the Super Bowl. One was with Bill Cowher as the head coach; the other was Tomlin’s only Super Bowl victory. McFadden has seen Tomlin at his greatest moment in the NFL, and his perspective of Tomlin now is that he’s as hungry as he’s ever been. That makes sense considering the Steelers’ lack of recent playoff success.
As frustrated as fans are hearing about Tomlin never having a losing season, there’s probably no one who hates that stat as much as the man himself. Tomlin measures his success with championships, and while he’s probably glad to be making the playoffs, he also has to be sick of being one and done.
It’s been 16 years since the Steelers’ last Super Bowl victory, and it sounds like Tomlin is intent on bringing another one back to Pittsburgh. In his eyes, that all starts with the offensive line. If this unit plays well this year and the Steelers don’t win the Super Bowl, expect Tomlin to come back even hungrier next year.
