The 2023 season was a wild ride for the Pittsburgh Steelers. The player they thought was their franchise quarterback did not play well, they lost multiple games to inferior opponents, and yet they still somehow made the playoffs. The season looked lost at several different points though. A three-game losing streak late in the year seemed like the final nail in their coffin. However, it sounds like Mike Tomlin knew exactly how to rally the troops, at least according to Steelers director of player development Darrel Young.
Appearing recently on the Coaches Corner Podcast, Young, who played in the NFL for nine years and has been in the Steelers’ front office since 2021, spoke about Tomlin’s message to the team after they Steelers lost to the Indianapolis Colts in Week 15 last year.
“We had lost to the Colts, and we needed that game,” Young said. “We ended up being 7-7, we was on a three-game losing streak. We could’ve stayed in the playoff hunt, and at that point, we had just dropped out of it. [Tomlin] comes in and he says, ‘There will be no revolution without bloodshed.’ Feels like we’re in a movie. He said, ‘Just let that sink in.'”
Add that to the list of metaphors in Tomlin’s vocabulary. It sounds like the point he tried to convey was that things wouldn’t change unless they were willing to take sacrifices and accept losses. That they might be down, but they weren’t out.
Based on the rest of the season, Tomlin’s message resonated with the team. The Steelers proceeded to win their last three games of the year to secure a playoff spot, including absolutely thrashing the Cincinnati Bengals in the game right after their loss to the Colts. Tomlin not blinking and keeping his composure rubbed off on the players, inspiring them to make a push for the playoffs.
Situations like that are why Tomlin has never had a losing season. Last year, that stat looked like it was in serious danger, but Tomlin was able to calm everyone down and point them forward. It’s an example of his great leadership. Granted, the Steelers shouldn’t have lost some of those games last year, but it’s the NFL, and anyone can win any game.
For all the people who are frustrated with Tomlin and his lack of recent playoff success, no one within the organization ever has a bad thing to say about him. You can criticize certain things he does, but how many other coaches are going to use that kind of metaphor to inspire their players after three terrible losses? Looking at the Steelers’ schedule this year, Tomlin might need to have a few more messages like that saved.
