Steelers Now
During an appearance on the Nightcap podcast with T. J. Houshmandzadeh, former Pittsburgh Steelers outside linebacker James Harrison revealed Mike Tomlin’s biggest flaw.
“With Mike, the biggest thing I guess that I like about him is he is a player’s coach,” Harrison said. “And the thing that I dislike about him is he is a players’ coach to a point of, sometimes it can disrupt because it goes maybe a little too far with allowing certain things with certain players. And then it becomes an issue with that player.”
Harrison makes a good point, as things have gone a little too far with star players in recent years, mostly at the wide receiver position — Antonio Brown, Chase Claypool, Dionate Johnson and George Pickens, to name a few.
Harrison also reiterated that he didn’t like how Tomlin wasn’t up front with him late in his career. Harrison ended his career with the New England Patriots in 2017 after basically forcing his way off the roster. The Steelers finally had enough and released the franchise legend.
“The biggest thing was, you ask a tough question and get a tough answer,” Harrison said. “I was asking tough questions and I wasn’t getting an answer. If you want to sit me here and just have me here as a security blanket, say that. I’ll sit back and do whatever it is. The biggest thing of asking a tough question and getting a tough answer, that didn’t come true to me.”
In February, a Fox Sports survey revealed that the 2025 draft prospects wanted to play for Tomlin the most among head coaches in the NFL. Tomlin’s ability to relate to players and earn their respect has been a mainstay for him throughout his coaching career.
“We thought this one would be close, but we didn’t realize it would be quite this close. Heading into the final two prospects, there was a three-way tie. The Steelers’ Mike Tomlin pulled out the close win, getting nine votes to edge out the Lions’ Dan Campbell and the Chiefs’ Andy Reid with eight each,” Fox Sports wrote of the 40 players that they surveyed.
“Three coaches got two votes each: the Eagles’ Nick Sirianni, the Dolphins’ Mike McDaniel and the Raiders’ Pete Carroll. Four others got a single vote: the Rams’ Sean McVay, the Falcons’ Raheem Morris, the Vikings’ Kevin O’Connell and the Texans’ DeMeco Ryans.”
Tomlin received an A from Steelers players in the latest NFLPA report card, which was released in February. Tomlin ranked seventh in the NFL in the coaching category on the report card.
Tomlin is one of the most respected head coaches in the NFL, but his approach of being a players coach has backfired in recent years with some players.
This article originally appeared on Steelers Now: Steelers Legend James Harrison Reveals Biggest Issue with Mike Tomlin
