Steelers' Mike Tomlin Gave One Reporter A Verbal Beat Down Over "Obscure Stats"

Pittsburgh Steelers Head Coach Mike Tomlin is well known for his quick wit and quippy one-liners. We have all heard "squirreling those nuts" or "never say never, but never." He is also renowned for his calm demeanor. While those who watch regularly can tell when he is annoyed, he doesn't usually lose his cool like former Head Coach Bill Cowher was known to do. Tomlin is a highly competitive, no-nonsense type of coach. 

Tomlin is often described as a "players' coach," which means he is better able to see things from the player's point of view. He uses his knowledge as a former player to help drive his decisions. He understands what the player is actually going through on a daily basis and it makes him more empathetic. While some paint this as some kind of weakness, Tomlin's current and former players sing his praises.   

Tomlin uses his quick wit to deal with the media during press conferences. He always answers questions, but he rarely gives them the dirt they are looking for, instead taking a very politically correct road where he praises the opponent and states the team is in a constant state of evaluation. However, he appeared to be quite annoyed with one reporter at a recent press conference and it showed. 

Christopher Carter writes for the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette and hosts a podcast called Locked On Steelers. Carter asked Tomlin at his pregame press conference prior to the Steelers flying west to meet the Los Angeles Rams about the Steelers secondary. He noted that the defense has given up the 8th most yards to receivers in the NFL so far this year and wondered what had to change to limit the opportunities for opposing offenses. Apparently, Carter touched a nerve, because Tomlin was quite short. 

"I'm not concerned about obscure stats like that at this juncture. Keep watching. Seriously. Like you can (waves hand dismissively), seriously, I am really not," said Tomlin.

While Tomlin may play his cards close to the vest most of the time, occasionally a chink in the armor shows and that is what happened here. Tomlin is clearly irritated at the question or at the implication that the secondary is not performing as well as it should. He leveled off and finished out the comment with a more typical Tomlin response.  

"My objective is to win and if we're gonna win consistently, we'll address all the little tidbits and things of that nature. It will get cleaned up with a bigger volume to study, with a bigger volume of tape and games. So we're just working on doing what it is we need to do to win this week and if we do those things enough, continually, we will address all of those tidbits."

It's not to say Tomlin has never been annoyed with the media before, it is just not his usual demeanor. Generally speaking, he manages to keep his tone and facial expressions neutral. Back in August, Tomlin was aggravated by media questions regarding Kendrick Green. Green had a disastrous rookie season as the starting center and then sat on the bench his second year. He was traded to the Houston Texans prior to the start of the 2023 season and unfortunately suffered a season-ending injury. 

Steelers Secondary Concerns Are Valid Ones

While Tomlin might not like being asked about the secondary, the concern Carter brought up is a valid one. This is especially true as they head out to meet the Rams who have multiple receiving weapons including Cooper Kupp and Puka Nacua. 

Fans are understandably concerned and are hoping that rookie Joey Porter Jr. sees an increase in the amount of his playing time. He was graded by Pro Football Focus as the best cornerback following the Week 5 games with a 91.3 score. Of course, the amount of snaps he has played has been limited, although slowly increasing each game. He had 28 snaps against the Baltimore Ravens. 

The majority of the secondary veterans including Patrick Peterson, Levi Wallace, and Chandon Sullivan have been inconsistent. While Damontae Kazee and Keanu Neal have performed slightly better, it's nowhere near where they need to be to stop the Rams receivers. We also cannot ignore that the secondary owes the Ravens receiving corps an Edible Arrangement for all the drops they made. 

That leaves everyone wondering what Tomlin, who is a defensive guru in his own right, will have up his sleeve for the Rams. The Steelers cannot count on dropped balls to be able to win.

Do you think Carter hit a sore spot with Tomlin, or do you think it just came off the wrong way? Click to comment below!

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