Peter King/SI Feature Article on Coach Tomlin

[alittlejazzbird]

It's quite long, so I'm not going to post the text, but it's an excellent article and well worth your time to read...here's the first paragraph:

Peter King: Third Man In
He's just the third Steelers coach in the past 38 years. And he's only 35. But as Pittsburgh's players have already learned, Mike Tomlin is a no-nonsense motivator in the mold of his two predecessors
Posted: Tuesday May 15, 2007 10:55AM; Updated: Tuesday May 15, 2007 10:55AM
************************************************** *****************

One night last week a family new to Pittsburgh -- husband and wife, three kids ages six years to 11 months -- walked into the neighborhood bistro La Tavola Italiana atop Mount Washington for dinner. The husband had been there before. He moved around the place in a comfortable, self-assured way and recognized the Sicilian cook and owner, Carmela Giaramita, right away. "Mom!" he said affectionately, then bear-hugged her. She wasn't really his mother but had been so accommodating and friendly in his previous visits that he felt a kinship.

"Such a nice man!" Giaramita purred. "And what a beautiful family!"

New Steelers coach Mike Tomlin, 35, was seated at a corner table with his wife, Kiya, sons Dino and Mason and baby daughter Harlyn. Tomlin had his usual, Pasta alla Ben, a fusilli-and-sausage dish named after quarterback Ben Roethlisberger, who introduced him to the place in January.

"It's starting to feel like home here," said Tomlin, who in 12 seasons as a college and pro assistant had lived in six cities. ....

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/200...521/index.html

[rbryan]

Sounds good so far, I'm liking what I hear about Tomlin more and more, but all the Peter King articles in the world won't make a difference if the team doesn't win. (Actually, it makes me kind of nervous that King is pimpin him) Thanks for the link though, cause I wasn't gonna run out and buy this months SI.

Please tell me he wasn't on the cover. lol

[tony hipchest]

At defensive meetings each day, Tomlin put two pages on the overhead projector. One was the Loaf Chart, which totaled the number of plays on which each of his players had dogged it during the previous practice. Tomlin preached accountability. The other sheet was called the News, which singled out players for mistakes such as jumping offside or dropping an interception or looking half-asleep. "I'm not telling a story," Tomlin would say, "I'm reporting the news."

"You definitely did not want to be in his newscast," Smoot says. But midway through last season, he was. Eight games into the second year of a six-year, $34 million free-agent contract, Smoot was not playing well: no interceptions and just one pass breakup. Tomlin opened a midweek defensive meeting by saying, "We're going to have a change at cornerback. Cedric Griffin's going to replace Fred Smoot, and if Fred does not come and compete for the job, Cedric's going to be the corner the rest of the year."

great article. and of course a great article wouldnt be a great article w/o a few h. ward soundbites.

There is an adjustment process, to be sure. The News was published at each of the first two minicamps, and some veterans have felt the sting. "Some guys don't like it," says wideout Hines Ward, the MVP of Super Bowl XL. "I made it at our first minicamp for spiking a ball and trash-talking. Spiking's going to be a penalty this year if you do it on a play that isn't a touchdown, and he pointed out what I did in front of the team." Roethlisberger said Tomlin put him in the News last weekend for not having as good a practice on Friday as he'd had in the first set of practices last month. For Tomlin, not much has changed -- he has already called out the Steelers' two biggest stars.

"Everywhere I go," says Ward, "people will ask me, 'What's the coach like? We don't know much about him.' I tell them, 'We're still trying to figure him out too.'"

and this is probably the best quote from tomlin yet:

Noll didn't lose sleep over what his players thought of him, and you get the feeling Tomlin will be like him in that way too. "You know what's funny?" Tomlin said late last Saturday, not sounding at all as if he thought it was funny. "People keep asking the players what they think of me. It's irrelevant. Their job is to play. My job is to evaluate them."

[fansince'76]

There is an adjustment process, to be sure. The News was published at each of the first two minicamps, and some veterans have felt the sting. "Some guys don't like it," says wideout Hines Ward, the MVP of Super Bowl XL. "I made it at our first minicamp for spiking a ball and trash-talking. Spiking's going to be a penalty this year if you do it on a play that isn't a touchdown, and he pointed out what I did in front of the team." Roethlisberger said Tomlin put him in the News last weekend for not having as good a practice on Friday as he'd had in the first set of practices last month. For Tomlin, not much has changed -- he has already called out the Steelers' two biggest stars.

Good - looks like there will be hell to pay for boneheaded penalties, unlike last season.

[Edman]

http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/news/story?id=2870161

Tomlin isn't afraid to blow the proverbial whistle first thing in the morning, either. Players have learned that it's rarely good to be featured in Tomlin's version of the morning news.

Before practice, the coach prints out "headlines" regarding the previous day's workout and puts them on an overhead projector for everyone to see.

"If you're not up to his standards, you're going to be on the news," said backup nose tackle Chris Hoke. "That's what he does, he puts it up there and says, 'The News,' and everyone holds their breath like, 'Here it comes.' You're hoping you're not going to be up there."

Ward found himself in the headlines one morning for spiking the ball after a catch. A new NFL rule prohibits spikes except after touchdowns.

"You don't want to end up in the headlines," Ward said, laughing. "He's not calling anyone out, really. It's just the facts. If you loaf on a play, you end up in the news. If you fumble a ball, you end up in the news. If you throw a pick, you end up in the news. He calls it like he sees it."

[HometownGal]

Great article - thanks ALJB.

I enjoyed the entire article very much, but this quote stood out and I couldn't be happier with Tomlin's 'tude -

Noll didn't lose sleep over what his players thought of him, and you get the feeling Tomlin will be like him in that way too. "You know what's funny?" Tomlin said late last Saturday, not sounding at all as if he thought it was funny. "People keep asking the players what they think of me. It's irrelevant. Their job is to play. My job is to evaluate them."

Whip 'em into shape, Coach Tomlin!

[fansince'76]

Originally Posted by HometownGal

Great article - thanks ALJB.

I enjoyed the entire article very much, but this quote stood out and I couldn't be happier with Tomlin's 'tude -

Whip 'em into shape, Coach Tomlin!

For such a young dude, Tomlin certainly has an old school mentality - I think it's great.

[Stlrs4Life]

Pretty neat logical way of teaching. Tomlin might have some military experience.

[Stlrs4Life]

Nice read, I too am nervous about King writing good stuff about us.

My favorite qoute of the article is:

"You know what's funny?" Tomlin said late last Saturday, not sounding at all as if he thought it was funny. "People keep asking the players what they think of me. It's irrelevant. Their job is to play. My job is to evaluate them."

[lilyoder6]

i do like at his does that.. very interesting and funny at the same time