It shouldn’t shock you, but when asked about his legacy in the game of football, Mike Tomlin could care less.
In a recent appearance on The Pivot Podcast, Tomlin was asked about his legacy in the NFL after nearly 20 years as a head coach. To no one’s surprise, Tomlin wasn’t interested in talking about merits, instead focusing on his current players and the upcoming season.
“One, I don’t have time. And even if I did have time, I don’t know that I would allow myself to,” said Tomlin on the podcast. “I’m living it… My career has been long. These dudes, their careers are short. I owe them urgency.”
Obviously, Tomlin was directing his words towards the players that work underneath him and have been putting in the time during training camp so far. Tomlin stressed the importance of being in the same mental space as the current players in his locker room because of the briefness that is an NFL career.
“I don’t have a longevity mentality when I get out of bed in the morning because they are not afforded that,” explained Tomlin.
In the end, Tomlin simply stated that living in the past and thinking about his achievements doesn’t help his team, so he is uninterested. Still, when time comes for him to look back and admire his body of work, I think he will be proud.
Appearing in two Super Bowls, winning one to become the youngest head coach to do so at the time is enough to make most Hall-of-Fame voters blush, but when you add in his .633 win percentage and winning seasons record, he becomes a near lock for Canton, or at least that’s what co-host Channing Crowder believes.
“You are a first ballot Hall-of-Famer, I don’t know if you even understand that,” Crowder told Tomlin.
As I said earlier, Tomlin remained unmoved.
“It doesn’t help me help them.”
It’s that focused mentality that has made, and continues to make Tomlin one of the best coaches in the league. He’ll one day be recognized among the greats, even if he doesn’t care.
His comments to Crowder aren’t new, either. Earlier in the summer during mandatory minicamp, Tomlin stated that he doesn’t care about his legacy or his resume, as it means nothing right now, especially with him being singularly focused and chasing another ring.
