He hasn’t had the postseason success in the past decade that many would like for a Hall of Fame head coach, but Pittsburgh Steelers’ head coach Mike Tomlin still has quite the pristine reputation when it comes to players, both in the NFL and coming out of college.
In a Combine Confidential piece from FOX Sports that asked 40 prospects confidential questions regarding the NFL, the College Football Playoff format, the No. 1 overall pick, NIL and more, Tomlin was named the top NFL head coach that prospects want to play for.
Tomlin edged out the likes of Kansas City’s Andy Reid and Detroit’s Dan Campbell in the survey, earning nine votes to beat out Reid and Campbell with eight each.
“We thought this one would be close, but we didn’t realize it would be quite this close. Heading into the final two prospects, there was a three-way tie. The Steelers’ Mike Tomlin pulled out the close win, getting nine votes to edge out the Lions’ Dan Campbell and the Chiefs’ Andy Reid with eight each,” FOX Sports writes of the coach survey from the draft prospect. “Three coaches got two votes each: the Eagles’ Nick Sirianni, the Dolphins’ Mike McDaniel and the Raiders’ Pete Carroll. Four others got a single vote: the Rams’ Sean McVay, the Falcons’ Raheem Morris, the Vikings’ Kevin O’Connell and the Texans’ DeMeco Ryans.”
Tomlin has his warts on the field as a coach in today’s NFL, especially with his team seemingly getting out-schemed, out-coached and not being prepared on the biggest stages, particularly in the postseason. The late-season collapse from the Steelers, who lost five straight games to end the season, didn’t do them any favors, either.
But even with that all well-known, guys still want to play for Tomlin. The message that Tomlin pushes still seemingly resonates with players. Team president and owner Art Rooney II doesn’t believe that message from Tomlin is getting lost, and it seems like draft prospects coming out feel the same way as they want to play for Tomlin, who has a way with words and is revered behind closed doors.
Chances are, a few of those 40 players might get that opportunity to play for Tomlin when it’s all said and done in the draft process.
