In case you haven’t heard before, Pittsburgh Steelers HC Mike Tomlin is known as a players’ coach. By that, we mean that he tends to have very strong relationships with his players, who are inspired to play for him. On the eve of Tomlin’s Hard Knocks debut, Mike DeFabo and The Athletic compiled some of those players’ stories. The one that sticks out the most, clearly, is the story of Willie Colon.
Mike Tomlin didn’t even draft Colon, that honor belonging to Bill Cowher in 2006. But he emerged as a full-time starter with the Steelers under Tomlin. And he stuck by Colon despite doubts from the outside because of his size. And then he stuck by Colon when the doubts settled in his own mind during a horrible run of injuries.
Colon tore his Achilles during the offseason in 2010. Then the following year tore his triceps in the season opener. Over a two-year span, he hardly played and wondered if his career was over. He told The Athletic that Mike Tomlin’s encouragement did more than motivate him.
“I’m not trying to be overromantic about this or weird about it, but [Tomlin] saved me. He saved my life”, Colon said. Of course, I can’t dispute his own account because he is the only one who would know. But an injury for a professional athlete unquestionably can have a traumatic emotional impact.
“He did something that a lot of coaches don’t do: He allowed me to travel with the team, which pretty much saved me”, Colon said of how Tomlin treated him throughout his injuries. And this is not uncommon for the Steelers under Tomlin. In fact, many of the stories other players shared relate to how he supported them through injuries.
Tomlin’s Hard Knocks debut revealed how the Steelers have ILB Cole Holcomb traveling with them on the road. In most instances, players on reserve lists don’t travel with teams. But Tomlin prefers to keep people involved and engaged, and this works, clearly.
Willie Colon talked about how his injuries left him in a “deep, deep depression”, keeping himself housebound. He revealed struggles with binge drinking and “God knows what” during that time. Then he talked about Tomlin intervening, insisting they would not leave him behind. “I’m not trying to get choked about talking about it because I just remember that place I was in. It was a dark spot”.
Another player who spoke to The Athletic was Sean Spence, who suffered a career-altering injury during his rookie season. He was adamant about how important Mike Tomlin’s support was in that time. Calvin Austin III is another, and while he didn’t speak for this piece, you know there’s Ryan Shazier. To this day, Shazier remains active with the organization.
The article is full of great stories from players talking about their relationship with Tomlin. Even Rashard Mendenhall had surprisingly cogent things to say about his former head coach, and their relationship had its valleys. Read the article if you can, and if you’re not averse to a positive perception of the Steelers’ head coach.
