"As long as my wife lets me"

[antdrewjosh]

Mike Tomlin will coach Steelers 'as long as my wife will let me'
by Bryan DeArdo
11 hours ago

Mike Tomlin sees himself potentially coaching the Pittsburgh Steelers for a quarter century when it's all said and done.
In a candid interview with NBC's Tony Dungy, Tomlin was asked how much longer he plans to coach the Steelers. Tomlin in the midst of his 11th season as Pittsburgh's head coach, compiling a 126-67 record during that span that includes a victory in lwoB repuS XLIII.
“As long as my wife will let me," Tomlin said when asked how much longer he'd like to coach the black and gold.

Does that possibly mean 20 years as the Steelers' coach?
"Sure."
Twenty-five years?

"Sure.
"It’s a great place," Tomlin continued. "It’s home. My oldest child was in kindergarten when we moved here. He’s an 11th grader now. It’s home for my kids.
"My wife started a business here. She’s got retail space here. We’ve laid down roots here. That’s an awesome thing. I got an appreciation for it. I love what I do. I really haven’t even pondered how long, and that probably just gives you an indication of where my mindset is. I haven’t even begun to think about that."

While he hasn't thought about when he may retire, Tomlin has thought about some of the things outside of coaching that could make things more complicated moving forward.
"I do think about natural things. This is a challenging profession and my kids are at a stage in their lives where they need to be supported by me," Tomlin said. "It’s easy to support them now. They play football and basketball now; Friday is the best night of the week.
"They live here. They live under my roof. They’re easy to support in those ways. As they leave the house and go to college, I think often about that."

Tomlin then reflected on his time as an assistant coach under Dungy in Tampa Bay, when he watched a fellow assistant's son play in his final college game on TV the night before a Buccaneers' game. Instead of watching his son play in person, the Tampa Bay assistant coach was watching the game in a hotel, a memory that has left in indelible mark on Tomlin.
"My kids play sports," Tomlin said. "That would be tough for me. So those are kind of the variables, obviously none of those professionally related."
While he has given no thought about how much longer he'll coach, Tomlin has had time to reflect on the biggest thing he's learned during his first decade-plus in Pittsburgh.

“I think you gotta have a definitive plan, but you better be light enough on your feet to adjust to circumstances that are gonna arise," Tomlin said. "And they are gonna arise through a variety of ways.
“I think more than anything when I think about the last 11 years for me, I need to have a definitive black and white plan, (but) I don’t need to be so married to that plan where I can’t adjust to things that come up.”
Tomlin also admitted that, while Pittsburgh can be a tough place to coach, he absolutely embraces the opportunity to coach in a city that has extremely high expectations for their football team.

“If you hate (the high standard), you’re gonna hate life in Pittsburgh," he said. "It’s not for everybody. Thankfully, it’s for me."

 

[antdrewjosh]

Can a mod edit that to As please

 

[Drink IRON City]

Like it or NOT, he is here for the long haul. As long as the wins add up he will be here as long as he wants but like any NFL franchise if the losses start to pile up, then he will be gone just like the rest of the losing coaches. 3-4 losing seasons and there would be very strong departure cries.




Salute the nation

 

[kev4heels]

Like it or NOT, he is here for the long haul. As long as the wins add up he will be here as long as he wants but like any NFL franchise if the losses start to pile up, then he will be gone just like the rest of the losing coaches. 3-4 losing seasons and there would be very strong departure cries.




Salute the nation

Tomlin isn't perfect. However, I just can't see the angst over him. The guy has NEVER had a losing season.
How many coaches can say that?
His players will run through burning buildings for him. Don't get it...

 

[Drink IRON City]

Tomlin isn't perfect. However, I just can't see the angst over him. The guy has NEVER had a losing season.
How many coaches can say that?
His players will run through burning buildings for him. Don't get it...

Like it or not............ WOULD that be better for you??? I've had my doubts on coach tomlin and justifiably so. It's how he loses and prepares for games. His persona doesn't compliment coaching other than lackidazical. If you can look past some of that you can see he has his stregnth too. He also has a HOF QB that has bailed him out for a long time. Drop Ben and put Joeseph Flacco in and you would see exactly what I'm talking about. Unfortunately Ben will be gone in a year or three and we will see this theory play out. Am I rooting against CMVT,.....HELL NO as I want him to be as successful as absolute possible. The "angst" you refer to will dissipate with a SB win and a change of persona, meaning he stops losing to lesser talent and start maximizing the talent that he has.





Salute the nation

 

[BLITZ]

figure ut hw t beat the Pats and then stay as long as you want

 

[Steelerfan]

Tomlin sucks.

 

[Coach]

As long as my wife lets me? Someone lost their man card.

Real answer, I'll be exposed as soon as Ben retries.

 

[slashsteel]

I think we put sometimes some unfair expectations on Tomlin I know I have. We want rings. We have the most as fans we want our team to continue holding the lead while adding more. He has grown on me, even through his weaknesses.

Not easy beating the cheats, as they cheat. That is for other threads, but those ******* haven't stopped. No way I believe otherwise. It shows on the field, with how people call it "adjustments" when they miraculously have no down years. We have kicked this horse and identified it. Some people will call them great, but if you cheated every single day of your existence, you would look better in many of eyes.

Only way I clear them? is a lie detector given to Billacheat. We know the NFL wil never do that, ol protecting their so called image transvestite transformers. I know the answer to those questions, it would only confirm it with the doubters. Who think that coach is the cream of the crop.

A lot easier attacking a opponent knowing their plays and tendencies.

Anyways Mike knows they are the elephant in the room. And knows it isn't a easy win. It is mission difficult though, not mission impossible.

Kick that elephant Mike, show it whose boss. ( for the challenged taint type people, no don't go kick a real elephant you idiot)

 

[MT~Forged]

Until he shows that he can have his team prepared for the games against bottom feeders, I will still be against him.

 

[slashsteel]

Until he shows that he can have his team prepared for the games against bottom feeders, I will still be against him.

Jville isn't a bottom feeder.

The Bears beat the Panthers, Steelers, and Ravens.


Not a bad year so far.........

 

[antdrewjosh]

Tomlin on scripts, saving timeouts, Cam


PHOTOS: My Cause, My Cleats
Q. Let's start with the practice of scripting plays. Please explain what that means to the average fan?

A. Often times, teams script plays to gather information, to see certain things from themselves and from their opponents at the early stages of games. They would like to see how the opponent responds to personnel groups and personnel changes within certain situations. They want to see how they match up with certain personnel, with certain anticipated personnel vs. the opponent's anticipated personnel. And sometimes, they just want to be thoughtful about being versatile, or showing a variety of types of plays at the early stages of games. So the coordinator will take the thinking out of it and script some of those things.

Q. How many plays are usually in a script?

A. It depends. Most scripts are usually from 10-to-15 plays, but it doesn't mean they're played out over the course of 10-to-15 plays in a game. If you have a 10-play script, it may take 16-to-18 plays to get through it, when you take out the situational football aspect of it, (because) any short-yardage play wouldn't be included in the script, nor would any third-down or possession-down play. Often, you'll watch offenses push through the first quarter on scripted plays on first and second downs.

Q. Do you ever practice the scripted plays in the order you plan to run them during a game?


A. Certainly. I don't want to make it sound like it's exclusive to offensive football. Defenses have a script as well. Given certain circumstances, if they run this personnel group out there, then this is what we're going to call in this order, in an effort to show variety on the other side of the ball.

Q. It's the fourth quarter vs. Green Bay. There is 1:20 left in a tie game, and the Packers have the ball on their 18-yard line. On first down, Brett Hundley is sacked by T.J. Watt. What was your thinking in not calling a timeout there?

A. I just wanted to see how they wanted to play the circumstances. I'm always working a hold on the timeouts, because if we got the ball back I wanted to have at least one, so we could have the full field at our disposal, as opposed to having to work the sidelines. If we have to work the sidelines, when we got the ball back we don't get that play in to Antonio Brown. As difficult as it was to get the ball in there, if we had to work the sidelines, it would've been next to impossible.

Q. Generally speaking, is it better to have your timeouts saved for offense?

A. I do. And in that particular circumstance, I thought it was imperative we hold onto those timeouts, or as many of them as we could, so we could have the full field at our disposal in an effort to move the ball down into field goal range, and we didn't have to run out onto the field in a may-day-like field goal attempt. I knew it was potentially going to be a long field goal, and I didn't want to add sugar on top with a may-day-like scenario where you had to run the field goal unit on from the sidelines. Those were the two main reasons why I was really working to hold timeouts.

Q. Six of your games so far have been one-score finals, and you're 5-1 in those. Are there advantages to a team that's involved in a lot of close games, and what might those advantages be?

A. I think you get real comfortable with communicating, and communicating things that need to happen in those circumstances. I know when we're in those circumstances, and we've been in them enough this year, no one is looking around and wondering. It's normal communication. Guys do a good job of having necessary conversations and staying focused on the task at hand. More than anything, the more exposure you have to the moment, the more comfortable you get in the moments. And not comfortable in the ways that you and I would think normally of comfortable, but comfortable in that you know what has to be done and you understand your role within that and you understand the level of communication that needs to be had.


Berry takes us to the land down under
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Q. Going through those situations successfully, does a confidence build and is it significant?

A. Confidence is a byproduct, and it is significant, because what we're talking about is a collective confidence. Football is the ultimate team game, but a lot of time the athletes have individual stories of success that have gotten them to this point. That collective knowledge, that collective knowing that you can come together and get the job done, that's what makes football so challenging and so rewarding at the same time.

Q. Do teams do research on officiating crews and then ever use that as a kind of scouting report to have some idea of what can be expected from a particular crew in a particular game?

A. Yes, I just think that's part of today's NFL. We know who the crews are prior to the game. We have a pretty good history of their track record in how they call games, not only in 2017 but in recent history. We generally have a pretty good idea of our shared history with particular officiating crews. It's just part of normal business.

Q. Is that information just for the coaches, or do you share that with the players?

A. Oh, no, we share that with the players. That's an important element of it as well.

Q. A couple of weeks ago - after the Tennessee game - you said this at your news conference: "Thought it was significant also that [Chris] Boswell hit on a 50-yard field goal. We've been challenging him to produce for us and in those opportunities and moments. I thought that was a big one at the end of the half that he was able to give us an additional three points with the 50-yarder." Against the Packers, Boswell kicked a 53-yard field goal at the end of the game to win it. How do you go about challenging a player the way you described there?

A. We just enjoy talking about the elephant in the room. We've talked openly in team settings, particularly team settings geared toward special teams that the trend in the National Football League is that it's commonplace for starting-caliber kickers to bang 50 percent from 50 yards or better. We highlighted some of the guys we compete against - like Justin Tucker in Baltimore who does - and we've been openly challenging Boswell to live up to that standard. He hadn't been. We openly talk about it, but it goes beyond that, We take those challenges to the field. When we have field goal sessions we make sure there are some plus-50-yard kicks in all of those, and it captures the team's attention. And I think that's all geared toward making sure that he understand that we need him, we rely upon him, and he's as much a part of the team in terms of the things he does as Le'Veon toting the football. I think he embraces it, I think he enjoys being a part of it, I think he loves being challenged in that way - openly by me and his teammates - and as you can see, he has been delivering.


HIGHLIGHT: Heyward smothers Hundley for a loss
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Q. I know your preference would be that Cam Heyward would be unable to play in the Pro Bowl because of another commitment, but does he deserve to be voted to the Pro Bowl?

A. He does. He's playing at a Pro Bowl caliber level. It's always an interesting thing in today's NFL with half the teams being 3-4 teams and half the teams being 4-3 teams, because the reality is that your 3-4 defensive ends get slighted because they're described as defensive ends, and Cam Heyward is an elite interior rush-man. He's a defensive tackle from a Pro Bowl standpoint and should be treated as such. Geno Atkins often goes to the Pro Bowl as a defensive tackle. He's a top-flight interior guy from Cincinnati that we're playing this week, and I think he's got six sacks. To put it into perspective, Cam Heyward is an interior rush-man and we realize his sack total. But he always gets categorized as a defensive end because of the scheme in which he plays. It's really the same issue that 4-3 outside linebackers have. You could be a dominant 4-3 outside linebacker, with 130-some tackles but not a lot of sacks. But if you get a 3-4 outside linebacker who has 10-11 sacks, he's going to go at the outside linebacker position. So 4-3 outside linebackers and 3-4 defensive ends often get slighted because of numbers and the things numbers may tell people regarding the Pro Bowl.

Q. There was only one personal foul called in the first meeting of these teams. What kind of game do you expect on Monday night?

A. I don't know, because I coach one team. And so, I generally go into these things knowing what to expect from my group and anticipating the unexpected from the other. I think that's just the appropriate approach to take when you're in my position. I expect our guys to be singularly focused on playing hard and winning. This is AFC North ball, this is Monday night ball. We respect all of those things. We'll be excited and hopefully play well.

Q. We've often heard it said after games between bitter rivals that the officials took control of the game. What does that mean?

A. I have no idea. I think that's just one of those commentary clichés that really doesn't mean a lot. I imagine at some point it was significant. I don't know what it means anymore.

 

[antdrewjosh]

2017-11-12 7:00 AM | Bob Labriola
Tomlin on QB sneaks, blitzing, man-to-man


PHOTOS: WWII veteran visits Steelers practice
Q. Based on the rules as they are today, are there any protections in place for the quarterback on a quarterback sneak?

A. There really aren't. If you cut through it with a fine-tooth comb, I'm sure there's some language there that you can interpret in such a way. But it's a close-quarters football play. It's a situational football play. I think everybody in the game, everybody surrounding the game, understands the risks associated with it and the risks associated with utilizing it.

Q. When you say close-quarters, do you mean it would be a quicker whistle from the officials, a quicker un-piling of the bodies?

A. You won't see anything in the language of the rules relative to that, but there are nuances of the game, understandings within the game in terms of how the game is administered.

Q. It's assumed by fans that the execution of a quarterback sneak is a simple matter. It is in fact simple, and what are the execution requirements for it to be successful?


A. There are a lot of complexities to it. I think just on the surface, you have to find the soft spot (in the defensive front) and the soft spot moves based on the front. The way the defensive linemen are employed has a lot to do with it, and the more the defensive linemen pack into the center or the core, the more difficult it is because your soft spot is more lateral. Often you think about images of quarterbacks taking sneaks and you see that lateral step, and then they get vertical. Well, that's what they're doing - they're searching for that soft spot in the front where they can get the necessary push to get across the line to gain.

Q. Is it a visual search the quarterback is doing (for the soft spot), or is it all based on the blocking call and the defensive front?

A. It's a purely visual thing. The blocking schematics are virtually the same regardless of what you see - it's a wedge-like concept offensively. It's up to the quarterback to visually find the soft spot and make that element of it happen.

Q. A few weeks ago, Todd Haley said in an interview that the reason the Steelers don't use Ben Roethlisberger on quarterback sneaks is because it was a general staff decision "not to let people earhole the quarterback in the side of the head." Is that accurate?

A. Yes. And also we have guys who are compensated, and compensated well, to run the football. And we're going to let those guys do it - guys like Le'Veon Bell and James Conner.

Q. Staying with short-yardage/goal-line situations for the offense, since players are coached not to use their head, does that make it more difficult for offensive linemen to come off the ball in those kinds of situations and move the defensive players off the line to create space for the ball carrier?

A. Not at all. The coaching point, or the emphasis, is about pad level. And really it always has been about pad level. There are axioms relative to the game in those circumstances that hold true. Low hat and inside hands win. Your helmet and head is attached to your shoulders and so forth, so there is helmet contact in those close-quarter combat things, but the verbiage the coaches use - and to my knowledge coaches always have focused on using, at least as long as I've been in the profession - is pad level and hand placement.


Prisuta's Plays
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Q. It always seems that in short-yardage situations, both teams put their big people into the game and pack the formation in tight. Is that the best way to go about succeeding in that situation?

A. You always, regardless of circumstances, try to make defenses defend the field vertically and horizontally. If there is grass to be defended, they have to be responsible for it, and if you're not thinking in that vein then you're probably off the mark. It doesn't mean you're not going to run the ball downhill on the interior portion of an offensive formation in a third-and-half-a-yard situation, but you'll sense from us that we're thoughtfully non-rhythmic in such instances and globally speaking we're going to ensure that people are prepared to defend the field, both vertically and horizontally, in all circumstances.

Q. I saw a stat last week that had the Steelers as the team with the fifth-lowest blitz percentage in the league, and you're on pace for 52 sacks this season. Is that a good combination?

A. Yes it is from our perspective, but you also have to ask yourself how people define blitz. Some people define blitz in different ways, and so the studies can be misleading. Blitz can be defined as rushing more than five people. Sometimes blitzes are defined by who comes, linebacker people or secondary people. We try to do a thoughtful job of coordinating how we come, and often we have blitzes that might not be categorized as blitzes based on who is doing the research.

Q. On offense, you seek balance in terms of runs and passes, but on defense do you also seek balance in terms of blitzes and four-man rushes?

A. It is that same balance, and you have to be able to do all things well, because sometimes you're going to be in a circumstance where you have to lean on some aspect of it more than others. That's why we take that approach offensively. We step into a stadium on some weeks and people are committed to minimizing the run, and so we don't mind throwing the ball up and down the field on them. The same thing on the other side of it. If defensively they want to play seven-on-seven football, we don't mind pounding them out with the run. Same thing on the defensive side in terms of who we employ to put pressure on the quarterback. We have to bring four, we have to bring five, we have to bring three, we have to play man, we have to play zone, we have to play bogus man, we have to play bogus zones. We strive for balance so we can do all of those things to an acceptable level, because in certain instances, whether we want to or not, we're going to have to lean on all elements of that package to get us out of stadiums.

Q. Generally speaking based on what you see from opponents as you're studying video during the normal preparation process, do NFL defenses nowadays utilize zone coverage more often or man-to-man?

A. I think they fall into one or the other, and I think it's 50:50. If you really want to put it layman's terms, all you have to ask yourself is: where do they spend their money? If they spend their money on the secondary, they're probably a man-coverage team. If they spend their money up front, they're probably a zone-coverage team. It's as simple as that. And the really great defenses have high-priced players at both spots - think Von Miller and Aqib Talib in Denver.


PHOTOS: Make A Wish
Q. What are the components necessary for a defense to be able to play man-to-man? What do you need from the pass rush? What do you need from the linebackers?

A. You need the pass rush to be able to contain and constrict the pocket. There are dire consequences when the quarterback gets out of the pocket when you're in man-to-man, much more so than zone. In zone there is always a help element to it. The quarterback breaks contain and the play gets extended, in zone you can fan the field and you still have a chance to get people covered up. If you're playing man-principles, if that ball doesn't come out on time, there are dire consequences for that.

With the linebackers, in man-to-man, their responsibilities are no different than the front or the coverage, depending on how you're employing them. If you're asking them to rush, then they have the same responsibilities as the defensive linemen. If you're asking them to cover, they have the same responsibilities as the secondary people. So there really is no different set of circumstances for the linebackers.

Q. In man-to-man, is it a situation where certain defensive position players cover certain offensive position players, or can you mix-and-match?

A. It's always matchup related, ideally. Certain people cause certain problems. That's why in certain weeks, you'll hear people asking how you're going to cover certain tight ends. Because those unique tight ends, those vertical-threat tight ends, those big basketball players, if you will, they're often too athletic to be covered by linebackers and too big to be covered by safeties. That requires some discussion, some smoke-and-mirrors at times. It's very much a matchup game.

Q. Is it a matchup game for the safeties?

A. Very much so.

Q. Does each safety match up on someone, or is there a chance for a guy to play centerfield?

A. There is always flexibility, and there are different ways you can do it. It's really fielder's choice in that regard. More than anything, you try to work to the skill-set of your players. The matchups in terms of their skills relative to the other players' skills. Who you choose to free up could be defined by their ability to QB-key and cover distances and so forth. There are a lot of variables in it, but you have a lot of opportunities to change, not only week-to-week but in-game.

Q. Is it possible to play one coverage all the time, week in and week out, and be successful these days?

A. Those days are over. (Laughs) Those days of Jack Ham defending the slot are over. People work too hard and too long and there's too much technology. The volume of film and your access to it, and your ability to prepare based on that access has changed the game from that perspective over the years.

Q. How many (coverages) do you need in your repertoire to get through a game when it's a playoff-caliber opponent?

A. You never really know until you're there, but you better have enough. And that's different from circumstance to circumstance. It's based on the quarterback. It's based on the volume of offense your opponent has. It's based on a lot of things.

 

[thesteelcity]

If CMT got fired, I truly believe he would be hired in 24 hours by a team like the Giants, Bills or Jets. No, he's not perfect, but he a quality person and coach that wants to succeed.

 

[antdrewjosh]

Tomlin on blocked PAT, Cam Sutton, LeBeau

Q. On the return of the blocked extra point in Indianapolis, if Jesse James or Jordan Berrycommitted a penalty, like grabbing the facemask, to get the returner on the ground before he crossed the goal line, what happens next?

A. The Colts obviously don't get the points, and I would imagine the penalty would be assessed on the subsequent down, which would be the kickoff.


Tunch's Keys to Steelers vs. Titans
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Q. When an extra point attempt is blocked, and under the assumption the snap and hold were executed properly, what usually has happened to cause it?

A. It's usually a pad-level issue that creates a penetration issue. Ultimately, it usually comes down to that. You have to get penetration to get a block if operation is not an issue. Usually that penetration is created by a pad-level issue.

Q. Can a kick be blocked off the edge in the NFL?


A. No. Unless your operation time (snap-hold-kick) is below the line, that's not happening.

Q. The Jesse James-Jordan Berry hustle play was the second time this season the special teams have had to respond to a potential disaster scenario, and both times the disaster was averted. Can that response be practiced?

A. We talk about it, but some of those things in the manner in which they unfold, you can't practice them. It's really just football character being revealed. I don't want to take anything away from the men you mentioned. Those efforts are extraordinary, and they're to be highlighted. Whether it's Jesse James or Jordan Berry, or Vance McDonald in Chicago - significant, significant contributions to our efforts, and they're to be highlighted.

Q. Is it something to be reviewed in the classroom?

A. Certainly. If you analyze the play, as soon as the kick got blocked, both Jordan Berry and Jesse James got vertical, and they got vertical and they found the ball as they got vertical. If you just find the ball right there, you're going to be in a chase. Both guys got vertical, got out of there, got clear of the trash, and then they found the ball, and that put them in position to get into the pursuit angles that allowed them to finish the play.

Q. This is the last time we'll have a chance to talk until you have to make a decision on Cam Sutton. How would you assess his progress since he returned to practice?

A. I like what I've seen from him. The first component of it is his health, and his health seems to be above the line. The second component is his ability to stay wired in and learn and stay up with things while he hasn't been a physical participant. And he has proven he's been on the screws in that area as well. His above-the-neck game has been acceptable. We have an option or two there, which are good things for him and for us.


Sensabaugh embracing 'next man up' role
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Q. Have you made a decision on Sutton yet?

A. No, but we will at the 11th hour. We like what he's done. He's put himself in a position for us to make a decision, and so he has done all of the things he has needed to do.

Q. When it comes to the performance of your offense, are you still at a point where you believe the answers can be found in continuing to work on what you've been doing vs. changing some things?

A. I'm still fully committed to what we're doing, who we're doing it with, and how we're doing it. A lot has been written and said about our progress or lack thereof, but the reality is we're a 7-2 team, we're finding ways to win games. I think we also should remind ourselves that six of our nine games have been in hostile environments and what that does for offense, and particularly what that does for offenses in situational football. So I look forward to a bunch of home games down the stretch, in terms of the perspective and maybe the perception of our offensive performance.

Q. Could you elaborate a little bit on the impact of road games on situation football?

A. The crowds wake up on third down, and the inability to communicate makes those downs more difficult. The reality of it is six of our nine games have been in hostile environments, and so on the road across the National Football League you don't convert as many third downs as you do at home, you don't have as many red zone conversions on the road as you do at home, regardless of all other circumstances. So when I look at what we've done offensively, I realize we can be better, but I also realize some of the variables at play that maybe we aren't considering or talking about. So I'll continue to watch. I'll remain committed to our approach and the people we're doing it with.

Q. During your weekly news conference, you talked about going against Dick LeBeau, now the Titans' defensive coordinator. When you were hired by the Steelers in 2007, what went into your decision to retain LeBeau here as the defensive coordinator?

A. Really, it was an easy decision for me. They were having a lot of success, and they had great continuity. I had gotten to know Dick when he was the defensive coordinator with the Cincinnati Bengals and I was a young secondary coach at the University of Cincinnati. He and his staff taught fire-zones to me, because I had watched it from afar and developed an interest in learning it. The Steelers at that time had what I considered to be some of the best 3-4 personnel in football, so there was nothing broken, there was nothing that needed to be fixed. It was just whether or not we could work together, and he's a very reasonable man. He's the best. It was an easy decision to come to, and we had a lot of fun together.

Q. Your first NFL job had been under Tony Dungy, a Tampa-2 disciple, and so you didn't believe that was a better way to do it?

A. At day-zero, you decide what kind of a personality you want your team to have and then you build from there. That building includes personnel to match that vision, and often when you change course there are steps backward in that. There was no need to change course. There was no need for steps backward. We had great continuity. We had a clean schematic approach, we had personnel that fit, and we were having success. It made the decision an easy one.


PHOTOS: Make A Wish
Q. How familiar were you with the defensive personnel here and how Dick LeBeau was using those players when you got hired by the Steelers?

A. Very. I don't have a lot of hobbies, and NFL personnel is kind of a hobby of mine. Being a guy who had come up through the ranks, in the NFL at least, as a 4-3 guy, I was interested in the mystical. And from that standpoint, the 3-4 was mystical to me. I studied 3-4 teams in the offseason. I studied the men who employed those schemes, the coordinators. I studied the body types they employed within those schemes. Coming to Pittsburgh, I knew that Casey Hampton was a unique nose tackle who was tailor-made for the scheme. I knew that Aaron Smith was a unique end who was tailor-made physically for the scheme. I knew those things, I knew some of the edge people. I was extremely comfortable.

Q. If you were asked for a scouting report on LeBeau as a coordinator, what would it be?

A. Fundamentally sound. Appropriately aggressive. And light on his feet, meaning he has the ability to adjust in-game. It's reflective and representative of him at every turn.

Q. Titans quarterback Marcus Mariota played in a zone-read offense in college, and this year he has 181 yards rushing, a 5.7 average and three touchdowns rushing so far this season. On one of those kinds of plays, what is Mariota looking for or who is he looking at when making the decision whether to hand the ball to the back or pull it out and keep it himself?

A. He's generally reading the end of the line. They usually have a couple of those plays ready week-to-week, and they're often very different. What we're looking at on tape won't be what we're defending in-stadium, but in concept it will be. So from his perspective Mariota will have a similar read. He'll read the end man on the line of scrimmage and determine whether that guy is in a close-position, in terms of pursuing the run, or if he's in a position to play the quarterback. Then he'll either give the ball to the running back or pull it. He'll pull it a couple of times a game to make sure people are playing responsibility football. He's the type of athlete who can make a splash play out of it - shoot, he went 30-plus yards for a touchdown vs. the Texans. So we're aware of it. We better respect it, but we're a group that tries to take a fundamentally sound approach to defense anyway. We believe opportunities like this against guys like him and schemes like this are just an opportunity to prove that.

Q. What are you telling your guys in terms of handling that kind of play?

A. That we're going to play rules and responsibility football like we always do. His abilities and the schemes they employ are just an opportunity for us to highlight what we do on a day to day basis. If you want to be great on defense, you have to be fundamentally sound. You have to have dive-quarterback-pitch. Guys who are in their mid-40s like me and grew up in this profession, all defensive teaching started there: dive-quarterback-pitch. We all come from a wing-T or wishbone background. I was a left halfback in Little League.

Q. Is it as simple as telling one of your outside guys - say, T.J. Watt - that if that play comes to your side, your guy is the quarterback?

A. It goes beyond telling a guy, like T.J. Watt, "You have the quarterback." Each defensive call that we have has forcing units, people who set the edge for the defense, and those people may change. But those are the people we're talking to in terms of those responsibilities and how we want them to play the ends of the line of scrimmage. Sometimes we'll play it soft. Sometimes we'll play it in a hard chase. Those are decisions we make schematically in order to play the chess match with them as well.

 

[Ron Burgundy]

If CMT got fired, I truly believe he would be hired in 24 hours by a team like the Giants, Bills or Jets. No, he's not perfect, but he a quality person and coach that wants to succeed.

Like I say, you can name 25 HC's that are worse but you can't name 5 that are better.
For better or worse.
Just that he does boneheaded **** at least once a game and often more that leaves us scratching our head and throwing things at the TV.

 

[Omar10213245]

Fire Tomlin, hire Grimm

Hee hee heeeeeee....