Coach Tomlin

Hi everyone! I have a question and would like to know what everyone else thinks. I am very impressed about how much knowledge Coach has of every team the Steelers play. He describes in depth most of the opposing players on offense and defense. I always find this amazing. I was listening to SNR and the media was talking to Jeff Fisher. He never even mentioned anything about the Steelers players and what possible problems they could present his team. He only spoke about his team. I could be wrong, but Tomlin seems to be the only coach who seems to actually name and list the strengths of the opposing team players. It's like he knows these guys personally. I am very interested in hearing all of your opinions on this. Thanks.

GO STEELERS!!!

TESS743 wrote:

I am very impressed about how much knowledge Coach (Tomlin) has of every team the Steelers play. He describes in depth most of the opposing players on offense and defense.

Tomlin has been the target of many criticisms over the years, and they all have to do with his weaknesses. He seems to lack aptitude in clock management, draft picks, conditioning newer players, and game time decisions (like where the sideline ends), all things his predecessor (Cowher) excelled at. Cowher's weaknesses however, seem to be the areas where Tomlin is the most proficient, such as temperament, adjustments, and preparing the team for the opponent at hand.

So really, I agree wholeheartedly with your sentiment that Tomlin knows more about the players and the teams they play on, and less about the sport itself. Cowher knew the sport, and Tomlin knows the players.

Legendary coach John Wooden never worried about the other team, he focused upon his own teams getting better and executing to the best of their ability.

Tomlin is a student of the game and gives the media what they want in being complimentary of the opposition. Sun Tzu speaks in The Art Of War, about knowing your enemy and if you do, then you don't fear the outcome of battle. I think Tomlin and many coaches subscribe to that philosophy.

The Tomlin detractors over the years have been irrational, just like the Haley haters. They are nowhere to be seen this week, but that all changes if there is a loss. If anybody has spent time around coaches, they understand a great coach that gets IT and can communicate IT to his players. Tomlin is that guy.

Fans are going to say what they want to say about coach Tomlin based on how the team is doing. Some have a predisposition to dislike him or question his knowledge of the game or his abilities to lead or coach. One thing's for sure. Mike Tomlin understands football as well as anyone.

He speaks and dissects football from the perspective of a defensive coordinator, and has accumulated knowledge and experience in leading men and managing games as a head football coach. He understands X's and O's because he has a complete understanding of how the game works. He's not perfect, but no one is. I'm very happy he's the coach of this team, and hope he is for many years. As long as he is getting talent and continues to get the individual players and the team as a whole to improve, he is an effective coach.

The comments of "deer in the headlights", "thousand yard stare", "doesn't know how to coach", etc....are ridiculous.

He's "above the line".........."obviously".

Cowher left detailed scouting reports of every team in his office before he left. Tomlin is just reading off of those.

Rhyno wrote:

Cowher left detailed scouting reports of every team in his office before he left. Tomlin is just reading off of those.

Tomlin can't win without Cowher's scouting reports.

FrancoLambert wrote:

Rhyno wrote:

Cowher left detailed scouting reports of every team in his office before he left. Tomlin is just reading off of those.

Tomlin can't win without Cowher's scouting reports.  

FrancoLambert wrote:

Rhyno wrote:

Cowher left detailed scouting reports of every team in his office before he left. Tomlin is just reading off of those.

Tomlin can't win without Cowher's scouting reports.  

Only two areas concern me about Tomlin over the years.

1. Clock management has been an ongoing problem for him.

2. Drafting secondary players. Can't put it all on him but some of the problems we are facing right now are because he whiffed on drafting the secondary over the last 7 years. This year I think will be a turning point for the secondary either way. Hopefully the pass rush continues to excel and take some heat off the secondary too.

Steel Peon wrote:

draft picks

The Steelers have drafted better offensively under Mike than they ever did under Cowher, but it's a moot point because neither make the selections.

SteelersCanada wrote:

Steel Peon wrote:

draft picks

The Steelers have drafted better offensively under Mike than they ever did under Cowher, but it's a moot point because neither make the selections.

Honestly, are you saying that no Steelers head coach has any input on the offensive (or defensive) players they draft??

Do they just goto the combine and pro days for the food and hotel reward club points then? Or do they goto watch players, meet them and not discuss any of them and the relative merits/risks of drafting the players they watched??

El-Gonzo Jackson wrote:

SteelersCanada wrote:

Steel Peon wrote:

draft picks

The Steelers have drafted better offensively under Mike than they ever did under Cowher, but it's a moot point because neither make the selections.

Honestly, are you saying that no Steelers head coach has any input on the offensive (or defensive) players they draft??

Do they just goto the combine and pro days for the food and hotel reward club points then?  Or do they goto watch players, meet them and not discuss any of them and the relative merits/risks of drafting the players they watched??

They obviously have input. The selection that gets made isn't Tomlin's call, however. Every coach, assistant and scout has valuable input into the pick. The selection itself is up to Colbert, though.

Do you remember how Cowher wanted to draft Shawn Andrew over Roethlisberger? If it was his call, Ben would've slipped passed the Steelers.

Input doesn't mean they have anything close to the final say. Colbert has had his job for as long as he has for a reason.

We can argue how much input they have, or weigh out exactly where and when it's appropriate to have it in the war room, but the pick made isn't up to Tomlin. It's why hearing people say "well, the team drafted better under 'x' than 'y'" for any organization is asinine. Coaches take responsibility for poor drafting because that's part of what needs to be said to the media.

He's just winning by beating Cowher's opponents!

SteelersCanada wrote:

El-Gonzo Jackson wrote:

SteelersCanada wrote:

Steel Peon wrote:

draft picks

The Steelers have drafted better offensively under Mike than they ever did under Cowher, but it's a moot point because neither make the selections.

Honestly, are you saying that no Steelers head coach has any input on the offensive (or defensive) players they draft??

Do they just goto the combine and pro days for the food and hotel reward club points then?  Or do they goto watch players, meet them and not discuss any of them and the relative merits/risks of drafting the players they watched??

They obviously have input. The selection that gets made isn't Tomlin's call, however. Every coach, assistant and scout has valuable input into the pick. The selection itself is up to Colbert, though.

Do you remember how Cowher wanted to draft Shawn Andrew over Roethlisberger? If it was his call, Ben would've slipped passed the Steelers.

Input doesn't mean they have anything close to the final say. Colbert has had his job for as long as he has for a reason.

We can argue how much input they have, or weigh out exactly where and when it's appropriate to have it in the war room, but the pick made isn't up to Tomlin. It's why hearing people say "well, the team drafted better under 'x' than 'y'" for any organization is asinine. Coaches take responsibility for poor drafting because that's part of what needs to be said to the media.

If you point is that you cant hang success or failure on draft picks on the coach, I agree. If you are saying he doesn't have influence, (which I don't think you are) then I disagree. Drafting and scouting is a group effort from what I can ascertain.

Mike Tomlin on late call: “It was time to go to the mattresses”

Posted by Darin Gantt on October 13, 2015



Sometimes coaches rely on game film or great coaches of the past for inspiration.

Steelers coach Mike Tomlin, however, leaned on another classic film, quoting Sonny Corleone last night for his decision to aggressively play for the win.

Asked about his decision to run for the game-winning touchdown rather than kick a potential game-tying field goal on the road, Tomlin quoted a line from “The Godfather.”

“It was time to go to the mattresses,” Tomlin said, via Ed Bouchette of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.

Of course, it was also a pragmatic decision to hand the ball the Le’Veon Bell.

After all, with quarterback Ben Roethlisberger hurt and his kicking position a revolving door of mishaps this year, it’s reasonable for Tomlin to not trust either Michael Vick or Chris Boswell with the game on the line.

“We did what was required to win,” Tomlin said. “Guys just didn’t let go of the rope.”

The Steelers had a timeout in their pocket, but putting Bell in the Wildcat formation and letting him do it himself was still risky, but the kind of risk that players anticipated.

“I think we would have all been stunned if they sent the field goal team in,” tight end Heath Miller said.

Not as stunned as hearing Tomlin quote a movie that was released the year he was born, but stunned nonetheless.

http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2015/10/13/mike-tomlin-on-late-call-it-was-time-to-go-to-the-mattresses/

Random quote off one of the highlights on Youtube:

"Not a Steelers fan, but man I like Mike Tomlin. Idk what it is, maybe how cool he is, but man that guy makes gutsy ass calls basically every week. You love when they work and hate when they don't, but man honestly I think he's a top 5 coach and he's still young af"

Says a lot. Too often people want to blame Tomlin and Haley but they forget how this team has changed as the two have been with the organization.

If this was the Steelers of 3 or 4 years ago, with No Bell, Brown not all there yet, etc, no way Mike Vick has a chance of leading a game winning drive.

Players gotta execute and they did it last night.

by Jim Wexell

The NFL is looking into the 18 seconds which were run off the clock from 2:56 to 2:38 as the Steelers fielded a touchback prior to their game-winning drive. Touchbacks don't require the start of the clock.

"It didn't define the outcome of the game, so I'm moving on with my work week, Tomlin said.

When asked if anyone should be paying attention to the clock to catch such errors, Tomlin said, "We're not going to run around chasing ghosts and working at doing other people's jobs. I'm not going to check to make sure concessions need help. I'm not going to check to make sure the clock guys are managing the clock."

http://www.scout.com/nfl/steelers/story/1598912-tomlin-refused-to-live-in-his-fears

SteelersCanada wrote:

The Steelers have drafted better offensively under Mike than they ever did under Cowher, but it's a moot point because neither make the selections.

Wrong, and wrong. There are quotes from the not-so-distant past that I could dig up, but this article tells the story nicely.
http://www.steelersdepot.com/2014/05/final-say-draft-picks-process-collaboration-steelers-says-bill-cowher/
and this tweet: https://twitter.com/edbouchette/status/412998535202631680

Bouchette has said in his Q&A sessions that Tomlin "Has just as much to do with who is drafted as Colbert is, and maybe more so," so blame can be laid at Tomlin's feet even if dumb luck had anything to do with his (or his predecessor's) failures or successes.

As for Tomlin drafting better offensively then maybe you've forgotten about Ben, Heath, Hines, Santonio, Faneca, Andre Hastings,  and perhaps even Nate Washington and Willie Parker as undrafted signings. Compare that with Antonio, Bell, Pouncy, Wallace, Sanders, and Mendenhall, and I'd say you have a wash at best, with Cowher drafting the most instrumental offensive pieces we've had for the last 15 years. Did I miss anyone?

[quote="Steel Peon"]

SteelersCanada wrote:

Did I miss anyone?

Plaxico Burress, Yancy Thigpen, Eric Green, Bam Morris, and Antwan Randle-El.

Buddha Bus wrote:

Steel Peon wrote:

SteelersCanada wrote:

Did I miss anyone?

Plaxico Burress, Yancy Thigpen, Eric Green, Bam Morris, and Antwan Randle-El.

He also forgot to mention that Cowher didn't want Ben Roethlisberger. None of the success and Super Bowls that followed would have happened without the Steelers forcing that pick against Cowher's wishes.

Cowher was great at building a roster that didn't include a great quarterback. Everyone talks about the great talent the Steelers had, and they did, but they never want to mention the fact that Cowher couldn't spot a good quarterback if he fell on his head from out of the sky. He also didn't have to deal with the added salary cap ramifications of having a high salary quarterback that limits the money spent at other positions. So the people that worship Cowher never mention the additional cap space he had on the rest of the team because he couldn't or wouldn't get a quarterback.

Tomlin has had the advantage of having a great quarterback on his roster when he got here. Tomlin also has the disadvantage of putting that much salary cap space into one player, which weakens the rest of the roster.

The bottom line is that we are lucky to have had both Cowher and Tomlin as our head coaches.

Steel Peon wrote:

SteelersCanada wrote:

The Steelers have drafted better offensively under Mike than they ever did under Cowher, but it's a moot point because neither make the selections.

Wrong, and wrong. There are quotes from the not-so-distant past that I could dig up, but this article tells the story nicely.
http://www.steelersdepot.com/2014/05/final-say-draft-picks-process-collaboration-steelers-says-bill-cowher/
and this tweet: https://twitter.com/edbouchette/status/412998535202631680

Bouchette has said in his Q&A sessions that Tomlin "Has just as much to do with who is drafted as Colbert is, and maybe more so," so blame can be laid at Tomlin's feet even if dumb luck had anything to do with his (or his predecessor's) failures or successes.

As for Tomlin drafting better offensively then maybe you've forgotten about Ben, Heath, Hines, Santonio, Faneca, Andre Hastings,  and perhaps even Nate Washington and Willie Parker as undrafted signings. Compare that with Antonio, Bell, Pouncy, Wallace, Sanders, and Mendenhall, and I'd say you have a wash at best, with Cowher drafting the most instrumental offensive pieces we've had for the last 15 years. Did I miss anyone?

There was never this much offensive talent at the skill positions under Cowher. The skill position players you list were drafted over a long period of time, not in a short period of time.

Being able to draft Brown, Bell, Bryant, Wheaton, Coates, Decastro over a short period of time has made it possible to put together the most explosive offense since the great Steelers teams of the late '70's.

Buddha Bus wrote:

Steel Peon wrote:

SteelersCanada wrote:

Did I miss anyone?

Plaxico Burress, Yancy Thigpen, Eric Green, Bam Morris, and Antwan Randle-El.

Limas M F'in' Sweed!!