Steelers' Mike Tomlin Highly Praised By Lions Star For Keeping Controversial Situations In-House: "You Would Never Know"

The Pittsburgh Steelers are one of the most well-respected organizations in the NFL, and that is also the case for the entirety of the sports world. A large reason for that is Head Coach Mike Tomlin, who is one of the most consistent and polarizing figures in sports. He is also the longest-tenured head coach in the NFL currently, and that has a lot to do with his consistent success over the years (although some fans in Pittsburgh might not agree with that). Tomlin has kept Pittsburgh competitive through times that would be a rebuild for most franchises, and that is a large reason for the Steelers being so highly regarded.

Tomlin is well known as a "players coach." That is something he is referred to as often by former and current players, and it is a big reason so many players in the NFL want to come and wear the black and gold. Tight end Darnell Washington was recently on the St. Brown Podcast, where he spoke with Detroit Lions wide receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown. Tomlin came up during their conversation, and St. Brown spoke about how good the coach is at keeping things in-house for Pittsburgh.

"I feel like he does a good job keeping stuff in-house," St. Brown said. "A lot of like the 'bad stuff,' stays in the building. You would never know what's going on there unless you play for the Steelers. I've had a few teammates that played for Pittsburgh and they were telling me some stuff, I'm like 'D**n, I would have never knew that.' He does a great job keeping stuff in-house."

Tomlin is typically pretty short with the media, and he does a good job of keeping things from getting out. Very rarely are there major stories of dysfunction or anything of the sort coming out regarding the Steelers, and a big reason for that is Tomlin handling everything in the proper way. The entire time St. Brown was discussing this, Washington was nodding along and laughing, as if the tight end has seen some crazy things go on behind the scenes.

St. Brown said he has heard things from some of his teammates that have also played in Pittsburgh, and the most obvious name that he could be referring to would be Allen Robinson II. Robinson was with Pittsburgh during the 2023 season, and he then signed with the Lions at the start of the 2024 season.

The 2023 season was definitely dysfunctional for Pittsburgh, and Robinson was there for all of it. Kenny Pickett lost his starting job at the end of the season after suffering an ankle injury and Mason Rudolph eventually came in and played well. There was a bunch of controversy around the way Pickett handled everything, with it even being reported that Pickett may have refused to dress and be the backup to Rudolph once he returned to full health. There was drama surrounding that instance, and there is a chance St. Brown was able to hear all about that.

Steelers' Biggest Stories May Have Been Passed Along To Amon-Ra St. Brown

St. Brown was also teammates with Cam Sutton, and Sutton saw a lot more go down in Pittsburgh than Robinson did. Sutton was in Pittsburgh from 2017 through 2022 before going to Detroit, and he saw the careers of both Antonio Brown and Le'Veon Bell in Pittsburgh up close. Both of those stories were huge as Bell held out for an entire season. Brown grew unhappy with the Steelers requested to be traded, and there was rumors swirling that he and Ben Roethlisberger had issues towards the end of their time together. 

There are plenty of things that went on behind the scenes in Pittsburgh that St. Brown could have been referring to, but either way, Tomlin deserves some credit for not allowing anything to get too far out of control.

Do you think Tomlin deserves praise for how he's handled the Steelers' locker room over the years? Comment below!

#SteelerNation