Fist off, why did you decide now to write this book?
After I wrote my book on Edgerrin James, I wanted another project to work on. I covered the Steelers as a journalist and wanted to do something on them, so I researched to see if there was a book on Tomlin and saw there wasn’t. I thought that would be a good topic to explore and that’s how I started with “Tomlin: The Soul of a Football Coach“.
I looked at what the best way would be to approach a guy people don’t know well. My chore was to discover who the real Mike Tomlin is – that was my challenge. He wouldn’t do an interview for the book, but there were plenty of people to talk to. Not doing the interview was pure Tomlin – he wouldn’t be in his own biography. So the challenge was to do the research and talk to those he coached, his former coaches, family members and everyone else he was close with.
I notice you early on speak to the fact we don’t know still who Mike Tomlin is. Why is that, do you think?
I can’t get inside his head, but I think to be successful he felt he had to be laser-focused and have no distractions. It’s cliche-ish, but he wanted things to not be about him – to be about the players and Steelers traditions. He didn’t do commercials like you see Andy Reid do now.
I talked to his brother Ed who is 3 1/2 years older than him. He described him as a gym coach. He just loves football and teaching. Maybe it’s just that simple and we make it more complicated. He’s a football coach.
Coach Tomlin is a unique individual in how he approaches leadership and communication. What did you take away from all of your discussions on what made Mike Tomlin who he is today – what shaped his persona and his leadership style?
I think he is driven in large part because he wanted to be an NFL player and that was a failure for him. I think as a coach he’s living vicariously through his players. I think a driving force for him is to be the coach he always wanted to have as a player. In a sense he doesn’t care what people say about him. I mean, I think he cares, but he is driven and focused on getting his team better. I’m sure what’s happening now is eating him up inside.
I think he is in the greatest challenge of his career now. Last year when they started 2-6 – that was a driving focus of my book – to see how he handled that situation. They ended up 9-8 – that was eye-opening to me to see how they ended up. It will be interesting to see how they end up this year.
I just looked it up recently. The Bengals coach is 6-28-1 without Joe Burrow. Tomlin has a winning record when Ben Roethlisberger didn’t start. It’s hard to understand how difficult it is to win in the NFL without that quarterback. He kept that team competitive regardless of circumstances – with Duck Hodges at quarterback!
What was something that you found surprising in your discussions about Mike Tomlin – the man or coach?
The most interesting thing is that the way he is portrayed – a hip guy with sunglasses and a motivator….in talking to coaches when he first started as a coach, they all talked about how smart he is – how much he knew about the game. That’s not brought out as much – his reputation is more about his personality. His football knowledge is brought up less.
Ike Taylor talked to me about how Tomlin talked to he, Troy, Willie Gay and picked their brains to understand their defensive philosophy. But he really wanted them to understand what he was asking for. He did it in a way that made them feel like they came up with the defensive ideas. Ronde Barber credited Tomlin with his Hall of Fame career. The drills he had him go through helped make him the player he became.
As a journalist who covered Mike Tomlin when he first got the head coaching job in Pittsburgh, how do you see him having changed from the guy you covered as a rookie head coach to the veteran head coach he is today?
That’s a really good question. I talk to the people who cover the team now, and what they’ve told me anyway is that he seems to trust his staff more. He was 34 when he got the job – he’s 51 now. But at 51 he’s more like a 34 year-old and at 34 he was more like a 51 year-old.
When he first got there he knew the spotlight was on him. Willie Colon told me he addressed the team when he first got there. He told the team that he was the guy here – that he wasn’t a token Black coach. That he was there to get them to a Super Bowl and that if they weren’t open board, there was the door.
17 years is a long time – he knew from his time in Tampa Bay what great talent was and how to max it out. He doesn’t have that greatness now and I think he’s learning how to adapt to that and how you coach this kind of team. It takes more coaching and patience.
Do you think he has adjusted well to the needs of coaching a much younger team?
When I covered the team they pretty much coached and policed themselves. They shut down the stuff in the locker room like you saw with Pickens and AB. They coached themselves.
He won his guys over though. Some say anyone could have come in and coached that team to a Super Bowl, but I don’t think so. He needed to get them to get over themselves. They had won a Super Bowl then went 8-8. He needed to get them to be better versions of themselves and form that mutual respect. I’m not sure every coach can do that.
He won then with unbelievable players that were professional and driven. I think today’s players are wired differently. They are a different breed and need to be coached differently. He’s learning that, and that no matter what, it’s about the quarterback. If a quarterback is not trusted by the players or coaches, it makes it much more difficult.
You can’t write the story of Tomlin without the acknowledgment of the effects of race and its impact on his and other coaching careers, and I know you addressed this in the book. How do you feel being a Black NFL coach drives and influences him in his approach and decisions?
It’s always been a motivating factor, I’m sure. He knew he had doubters from the start. When he met Ben, Ben told him that the the city and players wanted Russ Grimm or Ken Whisenhunt – that he’d need to win them over.
Think about that. As a 34 year-old coach he didn’t let that faze him. And when he won at the highest level he felt that would change – that he would have won the city over. But that didn’t change as much as I think he felt it would. As a Black man, I’d see it as “What do I have to do?” He never had a losing season.
He had Ben, Le’Veon and AB – but we never really saw them all at their max in the playoffs. We saw bits and pieces of them. I always felt they should have at least gone to a couple of more Super Bowls with those guys. They were so talented but injuries played a big part.
How do you see his story ultimately ending in Pittsburgh – and do you think his legacy is ultimately affected by the past few seasons?
I think he’s a Hall of Fame coach. You can’t erase what he’s done over his 17 years. I learned as a journalist, husband and father that time heals everything. Over time people will look at his record and he’ll go down as one of the greatest coaches in history.
I remember when I covered Pitt basketball under Jamie Dixon in his last years. The masses wanted him gone, but look what happened to the program when he left. It fell apart. People overlook the success and the foundation he built but you look back on it now and you see it.
With Mike – who do you bring in to replace him if you see him go? No offensive whiz is going to come in and do what he wants. That’s not how the organization works.
Can you explain that?
You have to fit the organization’s philosophy. You have to develop your own talent more – you can’t just go get anyone you want. Some coaches would find that frustrating. Tomlin understood that though. Guys took less money to stay in Pittsburgh because of the comradery in the locker room, but today’s players aren’t like that. And frankly, the comradery is not the same there right now. So will guys take less now to stay there for that?
Also, the veterans ran the yard and players had to fit in. Those that didn’t fit in paid the price. Tomlin and the organization trusts and expects players to police each other, but this is a different group of guys now. Younger guys. Will that philosophy work now?
And you also have to deal with the fanbase – they haven’t had a losing season since 2002 – imagine that! But the fans are unhappy. I think it’s fair to say the fanbase can be very spoiled. A new coach will have to be able to deal with that. And the media as well – they can be pretty spoiled. You talk to other teams’ media and they are like, “No losing seasons since 2002? What are you complaining about?”
Can you dig more into the concerns you have over the organizational philosophy with a new coach?
The team is clear at the start about their expectations. When Josh McDaniels got the Denver job he hired the staff he wanted. When Mike got the job he didn’t get to pick his. A new coach will have to come in and accept less control. Not every coach will be ok with that. Mike was – he accepted it. I don’t think a Josh McDaniels would have. Coaching is about ego and your guys and your schemes. Tomlin had to accept that they were keeping a defense that was completely different from the one he ran before and wanted.
If Mike Tomlin reads this book, what do you think he’d say about it – what would his takeaway be, do you think?
I think he’d say “Thank you.” I was tough on him in the book at times. I think he made mistakes in how he handled some players and wasted some years because of it.
But I don’t think anyone talks about his pride, work ethic, and greatness like I do in the book. I think I do a good job of showing who he is and what makes him such a unique coach. So I think he’d appreciate it. I know his brother read the book and liked it a lot.