When it seemed like Brian Flores would be out of the league in 2022 after suing the NFL, Mike Tomlin offered him a job. One Flores was overqualified for, a just-fired head coach becoming a positional coach and defensive assistant, but it allowed Flores to stay in an NFL building. Now the defensive coordinator of one of the league’s best units and increasing his chances of becoming a head coach again, Flores is grateful not just for the opportunity but all that he learned from Tomlin in their year together.
Joining Adam Schefter on Schefter’s podcast, Flores spoke about what he learned from Tomlin and Bill Belichick and how the two are more similar than it might first seem.
“Bill’s the GOAT. Mike T is kinda like the next generation GOAT,” Flores told Schefter. “I’ve told Mike T this. They’re very similar in that a lot of core coaching points and philosophies are the same. The delivery is just obviously very different from both guys.
“Bill will say, ‘You can’t win until you keep from losing.’ And Mike will say, ‘if you wanna be a kick-ass team, don’t kick your own ass.’ It’s the same thing but just two different deliveries.”
Belichick and Tomlin have been among the most consistent head coaches of this era. Blinking without adversity. When Tomlin lost QB Ben Roethlisberger early to a season-ending injury in 2019, the Steelers remained competitive and nearly made the playoffs. When Belichick lost Tom Brady in 2008, the Patriots still finished 11-5. With Belichick out of coaching this season, Tomlin’s become the NFL’s longest-tenured head coach, now in the middle of his 18th season.
Clearly, as Flores points out, the demeanor of the two are vastly different. Belichick quiet and reserved. Tomlin more vocal and a far better quote. But behind the scenes, they set a high standard. There’s plenty of stories of Belichick chewing out Brady in front of the rest of the team for a poor read or bad throw. Tomlin has “the news” where weekly he’ll put up plays in front of the entire team of where a player or unit struggled.
Hired to be the Steelers’ linebackers coach in 2022, Flores says watching Tomlin hold the entire team’s attention during his daily meetings was inspiring.
“I think I’m pretty good in front of a room,” Flores said. “And then when I sat in his meetings, I’m sitting there writing, writing, writing. He’s got line after line after line. I’ve sampled some of those. I won’t say I steal ’em, but I’ve sampled some of his since I left. He just does a phenomenal job really across the board with every player, building relationships while holding them accountable at the same time.”
We’ve gotten glimpses into those meetings and speeches, most notably the “reasonable expectation” message Tomlin gave last year that went viral. With Hard Knocks currently filming and debuting the AFC North in-season documentary next month, there should be a chance to hear Tomlin’s message even more.
In the interview, Flores says he still has all his notebooks with everything he wrote down and took from during his time with Pittsburgh.
Flores’ time with Tomlin and the Steelers was short. Just one season before he was hired to be the Minnesota Vikings’ defensive coordinator. This was never a long-term play. It was a lifeline to keep Flores in the league and prevent him from being forgotten. Flores won’t forget that. Nor will he forget the impact watching Tomlin coach and teach had on him.
