r/nfl • u/Autocrat777 Lions • 10h ago
Mike Tomlin's interpretation of players-only meetings: "I think you're dead"
https://www.nbcsports.com/nfl/profootballtalk/rumor-mill/news/mike-tomlins-interpretation-of-players-only-meetings-i-think-youre-dead618
u/Pocatanic Bills 8h ago
This is in response to the Cowboys having a players only meeting by the way, he's calling Shotty dead
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u/hartsbreastmilkstash Steelers 8h ago
Worked for the Knicks this year. Idk if it works in footballs though
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u/Pizzaplan3tman Steelers 5h ago
I think it’s different in basketball because you only have 12-16 guys on a roster really. Football is 53 guys not counting practice squad. Thats a LOT more voices going off. Football it’s a death sentence because if vibes are that bad it’s unlikely you’re gonna get that many people with that many agendas on the same page. Especially in the NFL that’s so sink or swim. A lot of dudes probably quickly going into I’m worrying about my next contract fuck these guys. Plus the NFL is a lot less games. Not much time to turn things around.
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u/Megatron_McLargeHuge NFL 2h ago
Also offense and defense are basically different teams and could be blaming each other.
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u/violynce Packers 6h ago
they hit a rough patch around february(?) had that meeting, things looked dreary, but they hit it off and never looked back. crazy to witness.
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u/CthulhuBathwater Packers 7h ago
If it works, let's hope it works AFTER this week's game.
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u/LeoFireGod Cowboys Colts 5h ago
The mega cope I have is that the Shadow Dc we just brought in was our current Dc’s mentor and we will actually have a competitive pass rush against yalls tragic line
The reality is that our Defense is Swiss cheese and love gonna hit atleast 3 40 yard bombs lol.
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u/dathomasusmc 2h ago
The Jaguars players used to do this pretty regularly. They still sucked ass for a decade.
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u/FreyaStarfall Buccaneers 7h ago
The Bucs had a players only meeting before the Cowboys game. Personally still not convinced anything will change because Bowles is still the coach but maybe the players carry him to more wins than I thought a week ago
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u/sluggerrr Cowboys 6h ago
Depends on when baker gets back, feels like your defense is pretty good, but yeah those decisions like not taking the field goal gave me ptsd of the Ravens game, Schotty and Bowles trying to outdo each other
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u/RepresentativeYam390 Cowboys 7h ago
Schotty will die when his contract runs out, no way Jerry’s going to pay a buyout
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u/SevroAuShitTalker Broncos 9h ago
I fuckin love non-coach Tomlin
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u/Cheese0089 Steelers 8h ago
He's so much happier
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u/CheezyBeanBurrito Eagles 8h ago
Can you blame him? Now he’s only getting stressed from his own mistakes instead of dealing with an entire NFL Franchise level of stress.
It’s gotta be like going from ER doctor to working for a boner pill company
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u/Outrageous-Machine-5 49ers 7h ago
Bro just gets to spout Tomlinisms all day without dealing with all the personalities in the locker room and pressure in the front office
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u/SRSgoblin Steelers 5h ago
I wish your comment ended with "and things of that nature." I chose to read it at the end anyway.
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u/IhamAmerican Steelers 4h ago
Sean McVay once said that after he became a HC, Tomlin asked him is he was ready for the tube of shit that was going to pour on him. In the same podcast where this quote came from, Tomlin said that's the thing he doesn't miss at all. He actually seems to be very happy away from coaching and I love that for him
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u/RoundTiberius Packers 8h ago
working for a boner pill company
Well you could probably say playing all that Minecraft has got him bricked up
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u/unimpressed822 Cowboys 7h ago
"i used to try and extend the lives of my patients, now i just extend penis."
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u/basics Falcons 8h ago
Even if you are really passionate about it, being an NFL coach does seem like a really stressful and often thankless job.
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u/bimp_lizkit_1 Vikings 4h ago
Kevin O’Connell had a recent quote about the stress as a head coach, and how the happiness from a win is a 3/10 and the affect of a loss is like thousands/10 lol. Which tracks of you look at the teams subreddit for the past two seasons.
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u/Amonamission Lions 8h ago
Dude speaks his mind, and sometimes his mind is thinking the same shit we’re all thinking.
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u/Impossibills Bills 8h ago
I think he's awesome, but at the same time I wish we saw this version as a coach. And a little happier Tomlin I think would be an incredible coach
He may have been this behind the scenes a bit, but he always seemed so straight serious when talking to media
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u/TheRemonst3r Ravens 8h ago
Gotta be hard to be happy when you know in a couple hours some diva WR is gonna shit on your day. Man deserves some kind of award for some of the characters he had to deal with during his tenure.
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u/Advanced_Claim4116 Steelers 7h ago
His job as head coach isn’t to be entertaining or give his unfiltered opinions in public. It’s to avoid distractions, lead his team, and win games…
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u/KeepGoing655 49ers 3h ago
Especially with the Steelers of all teams. Being only the third coach in 40 years right behind Noll and Cowher comes with insane expectations that few if any other teams have at all.
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u/Impossibills Bills 7h ago
That's not what I'm saying. I think he would have be a better coach if he loosened up a bit, and if we saw this version of him
Don't get me wrong, he's very good. But younger players don't respond well to the "hard ass" attitude anymore
NHL coaches are dealing with this. It's a different era of players now. You don't need to be their friend but you don't need to stomp on them either
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u/Advanced_Claim4116 Steelers 6h ago
He received an A rating each year the NFLPA released their player grades on each team. The locker room was devastated when he announced his resignation, dudes in tears (including Aaron Rodgers). There are literally dozens of testimonials from players about how much he meant to them and times he helped or looked out for them (Ryan Clark in Denver is a particularly dramatic example). You’re just wrong, as any sane Steelers fan could tell you. He was a players coach, great teacher, and an extraordinary leader of men who chose shit coordinators, had no coaching tree to speak of, and a rigid and outdated defensive scheme.
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u/jfudge Packers 5h ago
You don't need to be a Steelers fan to identify that take as crazy. Two super bowl appearances (and winning one), and to never have a losing season, is like top of the top level coaching in the history of the NFL.
Claiming that he would have been a better coach "if he was more fun" is straight up lunacy.
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u/Advanced_Claim4116 Steelers 5h ago
I’m just saying there’s a not insignificant amount of the fan base that thought he could do nothing right and we’d have won a bunch more SB’s over the last two decades if not for him. Source: I live here.
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u/SwissyVictory Bears 6h ago
How do you know he wasn't this version of himself behind closed doors?
Also whatever he was doing was clearly working, and he succeeded with a lot of players nobody else could manage.
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u/Impossibills Bills 6h ago
Did you read what I said, I said he may have been this behind the scenes...
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u/Drakengard Steelers 8h ago
Enjoy this version of Coach T while you can, but I worry they're going to try to clamp down on him making comments like this in the years ahead.
Love it.
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u/casually_furious Dolphins 8h ago
Not if it makes them a lot of money.
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u/Pocatanic Bills 8h ago
Networks are like Sean McVay, they play scared and end up losing even when the win is handed to them
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u/casually_furious Dolphins 8h ago
It seems like the biggest reason they still have an audience is inertia.
Fuckers.
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u/Martian_Buddy Raiders Eagles 7h ago
That and just buying out any competition once it gets big enough.
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u/Trumpets22 Vikings Vikings 3h ago
I genuinely have no idea why they have any audience outside of the window of the game.
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u/casually_furious Dolphins 1h ago
Old people who may or may not have fallen down and can't get up, or have forgotten what a remote is for, or who have thrown their remote away because some bot in Irkutsk or somewhere equally godforsaken told them that Bill Gates will use wireless 5G technology to implant chips in their brains, or something even more absurd, I dunno.
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u/ExcellentPassenger49 7h ago
What about matt eberflus' leadership council? Were we double-tap dead
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u/EnterTheCabbage Bears 7h ago
Even the leadership council wasn't as bad as when the Boylan Bulls engaged in some light mutiny.
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u/ExcellentPassenger49 7h ago
Dam you. I honestly forgot about Boylan's existence.
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u/HertzWhenEyeP 7h ago
You know you've done something very, very wrong when the sight of Fred Hoiberg brings shouts of joy
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u/Nyte_Knyght33 Texans 7h ago
100% correct.
Every time I hear about my team having a "players only meeting" it's a huge red flag.
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u/songssohiaa Dolphins 3h ago
Ya just like when my girlfriend was constantly having staff only meetings with Chad that I wasn't allowed to attend. Jokes on them though, their company was so cheap they would always send them to Motel 6's and shit rather than a reputable meeting spot.
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u/bcbill Browns 3h ago
Ohio State had a players only meeting after they lost to Michigan in 2024. It certainly worked in that instance. Different level, same sport
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u/PliableG0AT 49ers 2h ago
Only one I can remember and it sorta fighting the ship was the Edmonton Oilers a few years ago. think they made it to the Stanley cup finals, or the western conference finals after a real bad early season.
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u/Acasts Commanders 7h ago
Eagles did it when they won the Super Bowl
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u/Beauyakasha 5h ago
I think it really depends on the roster and the coaching staff. It makes complete sense that a player's coach like Tomlin who reportedly has always been well liked by his rosters doesn't believe in player's only meetings. It's doubtful that his players ever felt a disconnect (or even professional distance) from the coaching staff. I think it can be useful for some rosters, especially coaches that rely more on their captains to police the locker room.
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u/EtchAGetch Patriots 7h ago
We can’t recall ever hearing about a players-only meeting during Tomlin’s 19 years with the Steelers. Which may be one of the reasons why the Steelers never had a losing season in nearly two decades with Tomlin at the helm
No, jackass. The reason why they havent had a players-only meeting is because the Steelers never had a losing record on two decades. Causation vs correlation.
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u/malibubleezy Cowboys 6h ago
Jeff Fischer also went 8-8 all the time..And the clapper.
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u/Mr-R--California Rams 5h ago
It’s Fisher. Why does everyone try to add a damn C to his name. The man loves fly fishing in Montana
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u/malibubleezy Cowboys 5h ago
Probably because it's been 15 years since the original dead spin was posting about him and I haven't seen it spelled out since then.
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u/problematic_glasses Lions Patriots 6h ago
but what if the players-only meeting is to plan a surprise party for the coach???
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u/silliputti0907 Cowboys 6h ago
The players wouldn't hold the meeting if they didn't think it was necessary. This team has lots of new faces and has rookies and backups playing big roles because of injuries. Fingers crossed, it light a fire and allows them to hold each other accountable.
Cowboys are also adding a veteran assistant coach, and Shotty stated they are going to shake up the depth chart. We also haven't seen Porter play a full game; half the secondary is hurt.
I'm not delusional to think this defense is going to be good. However, there is optimism for it to become a more competent unit.
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u/myserg07 Cowboys 5h ago
That last paragraph would pretty much fit every one except maybe 3 of the last 20 years I’ve been a fan of this franchise. Rooting for this team is just hell honestly.
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u/silliputti0907 Cowboys 5h ago
It's a bit entitled imo. We have been mediocre at worst. Not bottom dwellers and a poverty franchise like others. It's frustrating, but other fans have it worst.
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u/myserg07 Cowboys 5h ago
Completely disagree entitled is this team’s leadership being ok with mediocre year after year. Jerry got his bowls and is alr in the HOF and is content to rake and the cash while pretending to want another chip.
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u/AyKayAllDay47 NFL 2h ago
America's team (as in being the "best mediocre team" since winning their last Superbowl!)
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u/mcmnky 5h ago
WOW! TFA is pretty extreme.
"Really, why would the players, students, workers feel compelled to come together in the absence of those who are supposed to be directing them?"
As if a player's, student's, worker's only function was to follow directions. How would they know what to discuss without someone directing them?
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u/ND7020 Seahawks 9h ago
If it did occur, I’d like to not hear about it,” Tomlin said. “The fact that you hear about it is what makes it BS.”
That makes sense!