By: Bill Washinski
SteelerNation.com
WHEN THE STEELERS WAY DOESN’T WORK
An Analogy to the Dark Knight Rises
In the movie, The Dark Knight Rises, Bruce Wayne is held prisoner in a pit in which escape is possible, but requires an intensely challenging climb. Mustering his courage back after a brutal defeat at the hands of his enemy Bane, Bruce scales the wall, driven by determination to overcome his uncertainty until he reaches a ledge. As the other prisoners cheer him on, Bruce sees he must make a difficult leap to the final ledge from which escape is possible. He lunges forward with all he can muster but falls far short of reaching the ledge and plummets to the ground, saved only by the safety rope around his waist.
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Seemingly undeterred by this failure, he resolves himself to try again. A fellow prisoner, a old blind man who was familiar with the only escapee from the pit, a young child. He tries to engage Bruce to help but the attempt falls on deaf ears. Bruce now is busy strengthening his body fueled by anger until ready to try again. Determined to not let doubt stop him again, Bruce aggressively but recklessly engages the climb. However, in his haste, he loses focus and fails again, once more saved from the deadly fall by the rope.
Though still determined yet obviously frustrated in his failure, the old man finally has Bruce’s full intention. He tells Bruce that he cannot make the climb because his own fear has prevented it. Bruce firmly disagrees, strongly conveying he is not afraid of dying. In fact, he is fully willing to embrace it if it means he can escape and confront his rival. This revelation is what exactly what the old man was waiting for as it made Bruce realize his conundrum. The very reason Batman lost his fight to Bane is the same reason he's in this prison and has failed to escape. He has failed because his real pit is within himself, he no longer fears death, he fears living. For how does one move faster, try harder, push themselves to limits without fear? Bruce realizes that he must once again truly face his fears to become Batman again, but is unsure of how, so he asks the old man. He responds to make the climb as the child did, without the rope, then fear would find him again. Finally Bruce understood. Escaping meant embracing the challenge of his responsibilities as there was too much at stake. While dying valiantly would still be dying, it takes real courage to live. So when it came time to scale the wall, he declined the rope. It was no longer about trying to make the jump from the ledge to escape. With everything at stake, his commitment must be absolute. He would make the jump because he must make the jump.
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Embracing the challenge when you feel fear is the real test of character and courage, and while this theme played out well in a story on screen, it is every bit the same in real life.
FINISHING FIRST IS NOT THE GOAL
The Steeler Way
Bill Cowher is a well-earned Hall of Famer who coached the Steelers for 15 years, and let’s not pretend that for a great deal of that time there wasn’t a lot of calls for him to be fired. There was a large contingent that sided with Tom Donahoe in the Cowher vs. Donahoe power struggle. True enough, losing 2/3 AFC Championship games at home and failing to win a Super Bowl after 6 consecutive playoffs is more than enough to get a lot of great coaches fired. There are a lot of them coaching even now.
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Mike Tomlin has been under fire just the same since day one and even winning a Super Bowl in his 2nd season did not silence his critics, although his job has never truly felt in jeopardy. The criticism has justifiably spread to Offensive Coordinator Randy Fichtner, as well as several of the offensive lineman as perhaps this is the worst running game we’ve ever seen. There is a sizeable reality with Tomlin vs. Cowher, perhaps it stems from Tomlin winning a Super Bowl early while Cowher was on the cusp for years, was willing to make changes and tough choices – which meant firing assistant coaches and coordinators when their style wasn’t working. Tomlin has never fired a Coordinator in his 14-year stint. Art Rooney II has come down and informed Bruce Arians and Dick LeBeau they weren’t coming back, but with Tomlin, is it possible that with the success the team has had, that players and coaches feel “too safe”?
So the danger is finding a comfort zone when you should be pushing your boundaries.
The Steelers Way is to give players and coaches a chance to work through adversity. This stability provides the opportunity to improve, master their craft, gain trust in each other. They don’t often give up on players quickly which gives a player or a coach a blueprint or plan for success. The Steelers Way is about doing what others will not do -- and the opportunity to learn from failures to come back stronger.
So if finishing first isn’t the goal – what is? Seeing the big picture. There is no one magic bullet. Hard work, preparation, determination, and persistence to continue working to a plan must be present, that way when the opportunity comes, you know how to handle it. But it is a commitment just the same, an absolute. There are times in life where you make no mistakes and still lose.
"Finishing First" is a snapshot in time. It does not last. For every challenge you overcome, there will always be one. No one I have heard speak ever was more clear about this than Chuck Noll. It's not hard to find a clip of him being interviewed after winning the Super Bowl and being asked what he was doing next. "Prepare to do it again next year."
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THE PROBLEM—DO TOMLIN'S COACHES/PLAYERS REALLY FEEL FEAR?
Failing with Courage vs. Succeeding with Fear
Mike Tomlin is not an X’s and O’s coach. His style is to provide a vision and drive the players to see that vision become reality. Although a gifted orator, talk means nothing if it’s not backed up.
Tomlin arguably coached the most talented Steelers team since the 1970s with the core of the 2014-2018 laced with incredible talent. Those Steelers teams had success in winning games, divisions and in some cases, setting NFL records. But they never achieved a greatness past their own individual accomplishments. They unquestionably felt safe in their production and did not dig in to find that extra something that dared them to be great. In the end, they were exposed for what they were, a team that lacked heart and unity. But how much was on Tomlin for not getting more out such a stacked group?
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The 2020 Steelers 11-0 start was not a group that shared that mentality. This team has gone after it every single week with everything they’ve had. Twice Covid disrupted their habit just as they were finding their rhythm. They’ve been brutalized by injuries over the last three weeks. Nonetheless, the warning signs of offensive line difficulties were surfacing two months ago, particularly with Chukwuma Okorafor and Matt Feiler. The mental errors that were being made earlier in the year have not improved. The question must be asked, did they get too comfortable with themselves? Are they focused on what their assignments are each week and how hard are they really working to improve. And when Diontae Johnson and Eric Ebron look in the mirror, is there a healthy dose of fear of losing their place since they maintained their spot despite their drops? Do they truly take to heart Mike Tomlin’s threats of replacement or do they see them as empty?
In many ways, this is a crossroads for Mike Tomlin. He can truly be acknowledged as a great coach, perhaps even a Hall of Fame level coach, based on how this team responds down the stretch run.
WHAT ARE YOU PREPARED TO DO?
And then ask yourself, how much farther than that?
No one would accuse Mike Tomlin of lacking conviction, but is he willing to take a deeper look inside? To push a different button to take an approach that grabs the attention of the team so as not let a season that began with so much promise become lost to disappointment?
Remember when the 2005 Steelers were 7-5 and Bill Cowher wiped the slate clean by listing only the next game? Every man from Joey Porter to Hines Ward had to look each other in the eye and take responsibility. A team that was Super Bowl or bust could not afford to lose even one more game. It was a true reality that they were a Super Bowl caliber team that was about to let Jerome Bettis end his career in disappointment. That team came together because they understood what was at stake.
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Ben Roethlisberger must face his longest standing teammates and fellow captains Cameron Heyward and Maurkice Pouncey in the eye just as the veterans did 15 years ago and realize that they set the pace for the team and may not get this opportunity again.
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So the question really is this: Can this 2020 Steelers team face each other and look deeper into themselves and find what they must find in themselves to finish the quest they started?
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