Steelers Now
PITTSBURGH — The noise around Mike Tomlin and the Pittsburgh Steelers has died down. For now.
Bill Cowher, Tomlin’s head coaching predecessor and the only other person who can truly relate to the team’s longtime leader, doesn’t believe the fanbase’s angst — maybe besides the chants that rained down calling for his job — ever really got to Tomlin.
“I think a lot of times, from the outside, (people) think we hear the noise,” Cowher told Steelers Now on Monday night. “But on the inside, when you’re very laser-focused on what you have to do, working the week to week — and that’s the way the National Football League works — he understands what’s at stake. He understands where he’s at and, more importantly, where they need to be. So I don’t think it really affects him, and I think that’s the way you have to go about this job.”
Cowher, a Pro Football Hall of Famer, steered the Steelers from 1992-2006. He guided the team to its fifth title by winning Super Bowl XL.
By beating the Miami Dolphins in primetime, Tomlin took sole possession of 10th place on the NFL’s head coaching wins leaderboard (191), surpassing Dan Reeves. Tomlin needs three victories to leapfrog Steelers icon Chuck Noll on that list.
As evidenced by the backlash Tomlin has faced this season, namely after falling to 6-6 late last month, it’s not all smooth sailing. There’s a certain pressure that comes with his position. Tomlin said last week that he’s “been in the hot seat for 19 years.”
“It’s about the tradition, the history of the organization,” Cowher said. “The responsibility that you have, so I think that, in itself, when you understand what it does for the city of Pittsburgh, what the Rooney family means to the city of Pittsburgh — and to be able to hold up those standards — is really what the job is really all about.
“I think you can’t take that responsibility lightly, and I think that that’s what we’ve kinda (gotten) in charge of. I think we feel like that’s our obligation and duty.”
This article originally appeared on Steelers Now: Bill Cowher Gets Honest About Immense Pressure Steelers HC Mike Tomlin Faces
