The Pittsburgh Steelers and rest of the AFC North were given some distracting news back in June when it was announced that the division would be featured on an in-season version of Hard Knocks. One of the more exciting realities to come out of the news for not just fans in the Steel City, but football aficionados around the league, was the opportunity to see Mike Tomlin up close. He has been criticized in recent years due to the lack of playoff success for his teams, but is constantly being praised by former and current players. He has been a star on the show throughout the first two episodes.

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Steelers Head Coach Mike Tomlin roams the grounds at St. Vincent College while his team practices during 2023 training camp in Latrobe, PA.

In a recent article written by Elise Devlin, Jayson Jenks, and Mike DeFabo of The Athletic, it was detailed that the Steelers' head coach is not afraid to let players know when they mess up. Specifically, he will blatantly call someone out if that guy had a poor performance in a recent game.

"On the other hand, he is a master of the callout, unafraid and totally willing to put his players in check at any moment and in front of any audience," the trio wrote. 

That was evident in the second episode of Hard Knocks. Tomlin began a scene talking about how important it is to distinguish the difference between football as a job and a career.

"We talked about it last week man, you had an opportunity to be the best in the world at something," Tomlin said. "I'm saying that these are not jobs that we hold. These are careers, and there's a difference between a job and a career. Make sure you're treating your career like a career."

The powerful words come with a different outlook on how the coach looks at his players and staff, and what they are all doing on a day-in and day-out basis. Shortly after, Tomlin could be seen and heard heavily criticizing someone. While a player isn't mentioned, it certainly seemed as if he was giving someone a little bit of a hard time about a recent outing.

"He went through the week. He covered his assignments. He didn't detail his work. He didn't put himself in position to maximize it, and that sh*t comes at a cost. You don't get do-overs, man. You don't get an opportunity to run this stuff back, man. Do you treat your stuff like a da*n job or a career?"

It's easy to speculate, but no easy task to pinpoint which mysterious player Tomlin could have been calling out. The Steelers had just played the Cincinnati Bengals before filming, and cornerback Joey Porter Jr. was flagged six different times. Additionally, the last time Pittsburgh took on the Browns, a team that it was preparing for in the second episode, Dan Moore Jr. and the offensive line allowed three sacks to Myles Garrett in the first half.

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Steelers offensive lineman Dan Moore Jr. (#65) walks alone on the field at St. Vincent College during a 2022 training camp practice in Latrobe, PA.

Tomlin's reputation for calling players out in a big room makes it easy to assume that he was referring to game film and putting someone on the spot during the team meeting. 

It's always possible that he could have been referring to something completely different as it wasn't fully transcribable, but all the signs point to the coach letting the team know that a certain player may have treated his stuff like a job rather than a career in whatever film he was referring to. Someone squandered an opportunity, and Tomlin wanted the whole team to know that he noticed.

Steelers Are Gearing Up For Brutal End-Of-Season Stretch

The final four games of the regular season will be no easy task for Pittsburgh. Fans will have the pleasure of getting to watch it unfold throughout the AFC North Hard Knocks series, and while a playoff appearance seems to be almost a lock entering Week 15, the black and gold faithful are desperate for a home game in the postseason for the first time since 2020. The Steelers' master motivator in Tomlin will be at the forefront of the team attempting to reach all of its preseason goals.

Jordan Schofield / SteelerNation (Twitter / X: @JSKO_PHOTO)

Pittsburgh Steelers Head Coach Mike Tomlin looks on while his players stretch during training camp at Saint Vincent College in Latrobe, PA in July 2022.

Do you think that Tomlin was calling out a specific player in the team meeting that could be watched on Hard Knocks? Let us know in the comments below!

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