The Pittsburgh Steelers put forth a rule change proposal that was voted on, slightly altered, and ultimately passed at the NFL Owners meeting over the weekend. The proposal was to modernize the free agency legal tampering period to allow teams to speak directly to players and meet with them virtually during the tampering period.
The rules used to allow teams to speak with agents only until the start of the new league year, when the players officially became unrestricted free agents. One former GM thinks this new rule, proposed by the Steelers, will benefit them more than some other teams.
“That’s a huge advantage for guys like Andy Reid, Sean McVay or Mike Tomlin. Those guys aren’t just coaches — they’re great recruiters,” a former GM said via FOX Sports’ Jordan Schultz. “This rule will benefit them and anyone who can emulate their approach when it comes to landing top free agents.”
As the college game rapidly shifts its operations to be more in line with an NFL business structure, this rule change gives NFL teams a small taste of the college recruiting experience.
Whatever you want to say about Mike Tomlin, he has been one of the primary draws for free agents coming to Pittsburgh, especially after seeing him operate on a show like HBO’s Hard Knocks, where he was the unwilling star of the show. His charisma and leadership skills are not in question.
Before signing with the Steelers, Darius Slay mentioned that he always wanted to play for Tomlin. He isn’t the only one. Patrick Peterson said very similar things before he was ultimately signed a couple of years ago. In an anonymous survey conducted by FOX Sports, Tomlin finished second to Dan Campbell as the coaches that players most wanted to play for.
He is also routinely one of the coaches that receives an ‘A’ or ‘A-plus’ from players in the annual NFLPA report card.
The fact that Tomlin will now have the opportunity to speak directly with up to five players during the tampering period could help the Steelers land big free agents. When there is an intermediary like an agent, interpersonal skills don’t matter too much. This new rule changes that, and the Steelers will be positioned pretty well because of it.
