Steelers' Tomlin a true leader of men
As a first thought, it seemed writing anything about the 2020 Pittsburgh Steelers would be easy and all positive. But reality is when you discuss the Steelers, and especially the head coaches over the years, it is still what have you done for us lately that comes up.
So if they do end up playing the dreaded Ravens this Tuesday and happen to lose, the attitude concerning Mike Tomlin will change for some fans.
Here are the facts: Mike Tomlin has won 151 games as head coach of the Pittsburgh Steelers. That surpasses the 149 won by Bill Cowher and trails only Chuck Noll’s 193 victories in Steeler history.
Both Noll and Cowher are in the Pro Football Hall of Fame for their coaching careers. Tomlin is probably already qualified but one more championship and maybe a coach of the year honor would probably get him in for sure.
Tomlin was brought in from outside the organization in 2007. He wasn’t high on the list of many Steeler fans’ candidates for the job nor had Cowher been when he joined them for the 1991 season.
Noll coached the Steelers for 23 seasons, and Cowher for 15. This is Tomlin’s 14th.
Maybe more significant than passing Cowher’s win total would be passing another Hall of Fame coach turned analyst, Tony Dungy. You may not have noticed, but Mike Tomlin is Black, as is Dungy.
Tomlin now holds the record for most wins by a Black head coach in the NFL. Big deal? Maybe it shouldn’t be, but in a year when very few things took COVID-19 or Trump versus Biden out of the headlines, race and social justice did at times.
Admirably, Tomlin hasn’t hidden nor demanded attention to his race as a storyline this season.
Many have clamored for his head to roll over the years because of coaching decisions he has made ranging from hiring of assistants, play calling, his coining of new phrases in press conferences and his role in selection of draft picks.
But when you are 10-0 and hold a three-game lead in the division, it is hard for even Moe from Meridian to be hard on him on the call-in shows.
Seems like everyone likes Mike in 2020. His race should have no bearing when the votes are taken at the end of the year to decide who gets the coaching awards. Another Lombardi Trophy would most likely please him more, anyway.
But, let’s not be blind to the extra pressure during these times where more people than ever are shouting for correcting the issues of racial injustice. Tomlin has to hold together a team of millionaires (all with twitter accounts) and keep them focused on football and the color of the jersey they wear rather than the color of their skin.
He also has had to keep them focused on keeping themselves out of harm’s way when it concerns the pandemic. You only need to look at the Ravens, Titans and Raiders to see what coaches and owners have failed to get the message through to those teams about needed COVID prevention protocol.
You think that isn’t part of winning this year? It absolutely is. These same very young athletes with more discretionary spending money than we can ever imagine are being coached to socially distance and to mask-up anytime they don’t have a mouthpiece in place.
And so far the Steelers have been one of the most successful at keeping players healthy. Maybe that should be an award in itself.
That would be as likely for John Harbaugh, coach of the Ravens, to win as for Jim Harbaugh, coach of Michigan (soon to be former coach) to beat Ohio State.
Don’t confuse game-time decisions with lifestyle decisions. They are different. But leading people is the same.
You can lead well, or you can lead in a manner that can cause poor results. Mike Tomlin has shown the ability to win under difficult situations like losing Ben Roethlisberger, Ryan Shazier and Devin Bush to season-ending injuries. He still maintained at least 8-8 season records without them.
Or you can get in front of social issues and health mandates and work with your people for the best possible outcomes.
We applaud what Mike Tomlin has done on and off the field in 2020.
— RV
