The verbal spat between Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver George Pickens and new position coach Zach Azzanni certainly started training camp at Saint Vincent College in Latrobe with a bang.
Pickens, who had some attitude and effort issues in 2023, reportedly didn’t do a drill properly, which led to Azzanni — a hard-nosed, demanding coach — to fire away at him, which apparently led to a heated argument in which Pickens needed to be calmed down by fellow receivers.
That argument has dominated the discussion at times coming out of training camp in recent days, but that incident isn’t a big deal from Pickens’ vantage point, nor is Azzanni’s new coaching style that he might have to adjust to.
“He’s a great guy; high energy for sure,” Pickens said to reporters regarding Azzanni, according to reporting from the Post-Gazette’s Ray Fittipaldo. “…Kirby Smart is kind of like that, so I had a coach like that in college.
“It’s not a huge change for me. That’s just Coach Z’s personality.”
While it’s good to hear that it’s not a huge change for Pickens and that the incident isn’t a big deal from Pickens’ vantage point, his actions will need to show that he can take hard, demanding coaching.
In his first two seasons in the NFL, it’s fair to believe that he was a bit coddled by wide receivers coach Frisman Jackson, as were other receivers on the roster. That led to some attitude and effort issues in the two seasons under Jackson, which ultimately played a role in the Steelers making a change at the receivers coaching position, bringing in the experienced Azzanni to course correct.
With more than 26 years of experience as a receivers coach in college and the NFL, Azzanni’s style of coaching is well-known and highly respected. Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin threw support behind Azzanni on Friday, stating that he’s known Azzanni for a long time and likes his style of coaching.
“He’s detailed, he’s professional. He’s been around the block and back,” Tomlin said of Azzanni to reporters Friday following practice, according to video via the Steelers’ YouTube page. “I’ve known Zach and known of Zach for a long time.”
Azzanni brings a loud, passionate, and demanding style to the table. He’s an old-school coach, and sometimes, that can rub guys the wrong way. Maybe he just caught Pickens at the wrong time, but the young receiver has to respond better.
He says he’s used to that style of coaching dating back to college with Kirby Smart, so he needs to show he knows how to handle it and respond to it moving forward to put this story to bed.
