Steelers' Head Coach Mike Tomlin Displays Why He Is One Of The Best In The NFL

Pittsburgh Steelers' Head Coach, Mike Tomlin, has been considered one of the best head coaches in the NFL for many years now. While Steelers' fans may be frustrated with the recent lack of playoff success, it is no question that the fans are lucky to have him coaching in Pittsburgh. One of just three Steelers' head coaches since the 1969 season, Tomlin has never had a losing season in his NFL career. 

Various players have praised Tomlin for his coaching ability since he took the reigns in Pittsburgh back in 2007 and a recent video uploaded to the Steelers' YouTube channel of Tomlin giving a motivating speech to the team shows why he is so well respected through out the league. The themes of this speech were players continually being able to improve and what are the reasonable expectations, which is something most Steelers' players have been able to do throughout their career in Pittsburgh.

"You need to continually be a guy on the rise. That is a reasonable expectation. As opposed to just coming in here putting in time. The things that made you viable in the past aren't going to be the things that make you viable moving forward."

Tomlin expects every player to be a better version of themselves each season which, in turn, will lead to better overall team success. This speech shows that if you don't improve at your job in Pittsburgh, there will always be a guy behind you looking for an opportunity to step up and take it. 

Tomlin Emphasizes Steelers' Need To Eliminate Mental Errors

The Steelers' last couple seasons have been dictated by mental errors which shows when you take a look at winnable games that were lost by one possession or less. In 2022, the Steelers' had a chance at making the playoffs going into Week 18 when they would have already secured their spot in the postseason had it not been for mental errors that occurred in winnable games earlier in the season. 

The Steelers lost one possession games to the New York Jets, New England Patriots and the Miami Dolphins that all came down to simple mental errors. These could have been interceptions, turnovers on the final drive or lapses in coverage on defense. Had the Steelers been able to pull out some of these victories, there is no doubt they would have been playing in the postseason and Tomlin emphasized that point to the team. 

"We expect you to be significantly better. [If] you're a young guy, we might have tolerated mental errors a year ago, we'll have less tolerance for it moving forward. It's just a reasonable expectation."

The Steelers' had nine turnovers across those three winnable games in which they ended up losing with six of them being interceptions thrown by rookie quarterback, Kenny Pickett. Pickett surely was paying close attention to this speech given by Tomlin as he knows if he limits mental errors, the team has a better chance of winning football games. 

Tomlin understands how competitive the NFL is and how everyone in it needs to continue to push themselves to get better at their job. He ended his speech by being transparent about the competitive nature of this business and how every Steeler needs to focus on themselves to improve the team as a whole.

"Lets be real transparent about expectations in this business, about how competitive it is. I never want you worrying about people on the outside or even the man sitting next to you. This is a man versus himself battle."

This speech should excite all Steelers' fans. With every player challenging themselves to be better than they were a season ago, the sky is the limit for this team in 2023. We can expect players to improve at their position which, in turn, will lead to a more competitive camp for the Steelers, putting the team in a good spot to start the season off on the right foot. This speech exemplifies everything Tomlin has always stood for. 

"The standard is the standard." 

What do you think of Tomlin's speech Steeler Nation? Let us know in the comments below!

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