Pittsburgh Steelers Head Coach Mike Tomlin has become very well-known for his different sayings about facing adversity. The certified leader learned early on in his career that facing challenges as a team helps the individuals grow to help form a better collective. In his career that started at the NFL level in 2001 as a defensive backs coach for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, there's one season in particular that stands out for different obstacles that his team faced, and that was in 2019.
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Steelers' Ben Roethlisberger is sacked by the Seattle Seahawks in a game in 2019 that he was forced to leave with an injury.
Pittsburgh got a rude awakening to start the 2019 campaign. The team traveled to Foxborough for the first Sunday Night Football game of the year against the defending Super Bowl champion New England Patriots. The Patriots dominated the game winning 33-3 with the Steelers producing only 308 yards of offense and finishing a putrid 3 for 12 on third down.
Things went from bad to even worse during the team's Week 2 game hosting the Seattle Seahawks at Heinz Field. Pittsburgh held a 10-7 lead going into halftime with James Conner scoring early in the second quarter to cap a drive that had started on their own 13-yard line. Chris Boswell added a 41-yard field goal with 2:32 left in the half to make it a three-point lead as the Seahawks missed a 59-yard field goal to end the frame.
Legendary quarterback Ben Roethlisberger started the game and attempted 15 passes in the first half, but when Pittsburgh's offense took the field for the opening drive of the second half, it was 2018 third-round pick Mason Rudolph under center. Under the circumstances, Rudolph managed to play well, completing 12 passes for 112, with two touchdowns and an interception. Rudolph helped draw the Steelers within two points after completing a pass to tight end Vance McDonald with 5:37 left in the fourth quarter, but Seattle was able to kill the rest of the clock and win 28-26.
L3 Leadership
Pittsburgh Steelers Head Coach Mike Tomlin joined the L3 Leadership podcast to talk about adversity and his work with Man Up.
The bigger news for the Steelers though was that their star quarterback was going to need season-ending surgery to fix the elbow he'd tweaked during the game. Tomlin recalled to the L3 Leadership Podcast what followed for the team in the wake of losing their offensive leader.
"We got faced with a lot of challenges from a player availability standpoint and it took us awhile to gain traction and find a new normal," Tomlin said. "The challenges we faced in '19 and specifically in terms of what I faced in terms of sheepherding, or leading the group through the things we faced was an awesome growth experience for me professionally."
The team managed to cobble together an 8-8 record after starting 2-4, with a mix of rookies, Rudolph and Devlin Hodges playing quarterback.
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Steelers quarterbacks Devlin 'Duck' Hodges and Mason Rudolph held down the fort at quarterback in 2019.
Steelers' Tomlin Explains The Key Difference Between The Business And The Game Of Football
As a head coach in professional sports, ultimately what defines your success is winning. You might've heard at least once or twice somewhere that Tomlin has never had a losing season since taking over as head coach in 2007. He accumulated an impressive 163 wins in 16 seasons, which ranks third in active coaches, behind only Andy Reid and Bill Belichick. In his eyes, that means he's been taking care of the business side of the game he adores.
"I tell my guys all the time 'Football is the game and our business is winning,'" he said. "Sometimes when you're not handling business, you can hate the game of football and I never want our guys to hate football. I've got a love affair with football. Sometimes when I'm not winning enough, it's not as fun."
The other main component for Tomlin as a coach he said is the education aspect. Like any good teacher, he said as a coach, you have to have a lesson plan to follow. Tomlin said it was Rod Marinelli, who was the defensive line coach when he was with the Buccaneers, that really instilled the professional aspects of coaching in him.
As he prepares for another season with its own new challenges, the veteran is ready to embrace them. He knows that by besting the challenges, his team will get closer to the ultimate goal of winning another ring.
What do you think about Tomlin's mindset on facing adversity? Comment below!
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