Pittsburgh Steelers Head Coach, Mike Tomlin missed the infamous Friday Night Lights practice this week in Latrobe for the first time in his 17-year tenure as the team's leader. Tomlin was given the honor of bestowing a gold jacket onto a former player during his induction into the Hall of Fame. That player was Ronde Barber, a former defensive back for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
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Steelers Coach Mike Tomlin got his start as the secondary coach for Tampa Bay
During his career with the Bucs, Barber earned a handful of accolades including being named an AP First Team All-Pro three times in his career, all of which with Tomlin as his defensive backs coach. The pair also won a handful of big games together, none bigger than Super Bowl XXXVII. Barber finished his career with 47 interceptions and 28 sacks, which still leads the NFL in career sacks by a cornerback.
The two share more than just a Super Bowl victory, however. Both Tomlin and Barber are Virginia natives who would be considered by most of their peers as two of the most consistent ironmen in the NFL. Barber has an NFL record of 215 consecutive games started at the cornerback position, while Tomlin is in the heart of a streak of his own with 16 consecutive winning seasons as a head coach.
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Ronde Barber receives his gold jacket from Mike Tomlin and John Lynch
When Tomlin was hired as the defensive backs coach for the Bucs in 2001, he was coaching guys that were either older than him like safety John Lynch, or just three years younger, like Barber, so in a sense, they got to grow in the game together. It didn't take long for the Tomlin effect to show in Barber either. In 2001, Barber had one of his best statistical seasons in his career, finishing with 71 tackles and tied for the league lead in interceptions with 10. Barber had nothing but high praises when asked about his former coach during the Hall of Fame Game Thursday night.
"His influence on me is without words," Barber said. "He transformed me into the player that is now standing in Canton and get ready to get a golden jacket. There’s a lot of ways I could go about it, but really he empowered me and went about methodically making me that guy. I love him to death. We’re best friends still to this day. I can’t wait for him to get here. He’s coming over here from Pittsburgh. He’s one of the guys I’m looking forward to the most sharing this weekend with."
Storybook Ending For Steelers Coach and Former Player
On Friday night, they did just that, as Barber was announced and walked across the stage, he was first greeted by former teammate and current San Francisco 49ers GM Lynch who removed the blue jacket Barber was wearing so that Tomlin could then welcome Barber into football royalty with a shiny new Gold Jacket. There was nothing but smiles and cheers all around as Barber raised his hands and blew a kiss to the crowd. He will be officially inducted into the Hall of Fame Saturday by his twin brother and former NFL running back, Tiki Barber.
Awesome stuff, here. Mike Tomlin and John Lynch presenting Ronde Barber with his gold jacketvhttps://t.co/AUdNg765pB
— SteelerNation (@SteeIerNation) August 5, 2023
Even years after coaching those Buccaneer teams, Tomlin still uses those days as an example of the type of coach he is today. In a 2021 Zoom interview, Tomlin was asked about his relationship and how he approaches coaching a guy like Minkah Fitzpatrick.
“When you’re coaching players like that, they bring the best out in us,” Tomlin said. “I learned the skills to coach Minkah down there in Tampa coaching John Lynch, Gold Jacket John Lynch, and Ronde Barber. Right? When you’re 28, man, coaching 29-year-old John Lynch, you know, and Ronde, shoot I played college ball against Ronde. The level of preparedness that you have to be ready for. It brought the best out of us, and it probably accelerated my growth and development. And it really made me view the game from a different perspective."
Brian Cassella / Chicago Tribune / TNS
Steelers safety Minkah Fitzpatrick celebrating after a tackle in a Nov. 8, 2021 win over the Chicago Bears
What's next for Steelers Head Coach Tomlin?
Ironically, Tomlin heads into year 17 facing his former team in Week 1 of the NFL preseason. On August 11th, the Steelers face off against the Buccaneers in Tampa, FL. Heading into the final two years of his contract, Tomlin looks to keep one streak alive, but break another, as he'll look to have another consecutive winning season.
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