Mike Tomlin talks Aaron Rodgers ‘BROMANCE’ and recruiting him to the Steelers | The Pat McAfee Show

Mike Tomlin talks Aaron Rodgers ‘BROMANCE’ and recruiting him to the Steelers | The Pat McAfee Show

Ladies and gentlemen, a Super Bowl champion, a future Hall of Famer, the head coach of the Pittsburgh Steelers, Michael. How you doing? I’m sweating my ass off. Yeah, coach, you can you can use this one if you want to. Uh, coach, first of all, thank you so much for stopping by. [Music] [Applause] Man, how do you not love that? I know. It’s real. It’s very real. When you were hired as a head coach 45 years ago, um, you look the exact same. Shout out. I guess cliches are real in certain things. Yeah. Yeah. Yes, that is that is a real thing. I I’ve aged, you know, like a grape over the last few years. Um, you knew what Pittsburgh was. I think you knew what it was. But the way you have embraced this city, we see you at Penguins games. I think you’re even stopping by Pirates games. I feel like you call yourself a Yinszer and consider yourself a Yzer. What is it like to be a part of this every single year? And is it like a perspective putter about how great these fans are every training camp? I’ll tell you this first, it it never gets old, you know. Um, I have the same level of excitement that I had in ‘ 07. Probably even more so to be quite honest with you. Um, I love being a Pittsburgger, man. Um, my my [Applause] kids grew up in Pittsburgh. They call Pittsburgh home. I’m proud to call it home. Um, I drink the Kool-Aid. Yeah, absolutely. And with that Kool-Aid, you understand the city. You understand the expectations. I’m not going to say anything you probably don’t know. It got loud there for a little bit and obviously you were asked by Kyle Bran about winning having a winning record every single year and you had a great line something along the lines like these guys were uh in baby seats I think whenever they were in car seats whenever you were growing up. It did get a little bit loud. Do you hear that stuff? Do you block it out? How much does that affect your day-to-day life or how you go about your business? You know, I hear it but I don’t. Um because you know I’m here to win. you know, um I share the same sentiment, the same level of pissed offness, you know, um that’s just who I am. And so like I don’t take it personally. It’s motivation for me. Um I’m here to deliver for them. Omar Khan, vastly different than Colbert seemingly from the outside looking in. What are your thoughts on it? Because Tone and I have chitchated about how this is so abnormal. First of all, you’re not going to like that this is going to happen because it was probably a very difficult decision because you know the personally. We just mentioned it. you firing a coordinator mid-season never happened in the history of the Pittsburgh Steelers. Okay, that was a big conversation for us in the offseason, free agency, never really a thing for the Pittsburgh Steelers. This year, making moves, bringing in obviously Aaron Rogers who you recruited, sorry, texted uh for a couple of months. How does it feel this way of doing things versus maybe what it had always been with the Pittsburgh Steelers? You know, I’m not resistant to change. I don’t think you can do what I’ve done as long as I can do it being resistant to change. And so I try to be open uh to doing things differently, to taking a different approach. Uh it’s refreshing for me. Um I’m excited by it. Um certainly um made moves that we deem necessary in the effort to position ourselves to be what they need and want us to be. Yeah. AJ has a question for you, coach. Coach Jaylen Ramsey, Darius Slay, obviously your back end. Like let’s say for Jaylen, I’ve heard you guys call him like a Swiss Army knife. He can do anything. What is he going to bring to the defense? I for me me as a fan of watching I love physical corners and they obviously can play every position back there but I love dudes that can get picks and are physical and not scared to tackle and they seem to thrive in that role and that’s I feel like he’s going to be very physical here. There’s no question man. He brings a demeanor man that’s contagious. Um he’s his versatility obviously you guys will see today but his attitude, his approach to business man, his professionalism like this guy’s as impressive in the classroom as he is on the grass man. I’ve been I’ve been blown away by his approach to the business. That’s awesome. Debbot has a question for you, coach. Yeah, coach, you’ve been here obviously a very very long time. We’ve all been in locker rooms and now we’re in the media now and sometimes you say, “Oh, maybe that coach has and you I’ve heard it now. Maybe that the the words are getting stale with the team. How do you keep it fresh? How do you evolve when you are the leader in the face of a franchise and standing in front of those guys for such a long time? Cam was here 15 years, TJ Nine, like how how do you do that? That’s a tough thing to do.” You know, for me, I I try not to focus on me, to be honest with you. Uh my job is to be what they need me to be, and their needs are ever changing because of the makeup of the group changes, the places they are in their careers as individuals. And so for me, I probably avoid being stale, at least from my perception, uh just by simply focused on being what they need me to be and working to meet their needs. Gotcha. Ty has a question for you, coach. Coach Pat mentioned it a little bit earlier. What was that kind of recruiting process like with Rogers? We’ve had him on the show several times or you know for the last several years and he always talked about how much respect he had for you and kind of we’ve seen the clips of you giving him that rise winking at each other calling the timeout when he was trying to maybe get you. But what was that recruiting process like? It was kind of a bromance. You know what I mean? You know for me man I was just excited to get to know the guy um on a personal level and so um that’s how I viewed it man. We had some cool and interesting conversations about football, about life, um about where he is, uh in his career and what he was potentially looking for. Um you know, I I I slow roasted it, if you will, man. I didn’t try to microwave it, um because I didn’t feel like that would be effective uh anyway. And so I just enjoyed getting to know him over the course of those conversations and I just felt like um if we did it and did it consistently and they lay a nice foundation for our relationship when we started working together. What are your uh expectations for him as a human? Did you lay all that out as a player, as a guy in the locker room? Do you have all those conversations? And why was Aaron the guy that you wanted for this particular team? You know, just through our conversations, man, he expressed his desires and they they are in alignment with with mine. And so those come to Jesus conversations weren’t even necessary, man. He’s here and here uh in a mindset that’s aligned with us. He’s here and here to win a world championship for this group. Um and and he wants to impart wisdom and share his experiences with young players, man, and give back to the game. And so that’s just a beautiful place to be. And and those guys are good guys to work with. We were on a plane earlier today flying in. uh high and high just uh thinking about it all. You know, Aaron when he went to the Jets, we talked about this. Any legend that starts at a new place, a lot of brand new eyes watching you for the first time, your practice habits, how you do in practice, how you go about operating, how you communicate, you got to like reprove yourself. Aaron doing that for a first ballot hall of famer, I assume, is something that has driven him in these practices. For you two though with Aaron, is there the similar thought like, “Hey, this is Aaron’s first time experiencing my [ __ ] as a head coach too because there’s rare fight air that you two are breathing that not a lot of people in the history of football breathe.” I like I like the responsibility of having to deliver for him. You know what I mean? Just the the energy and the charge I get for preparing uh messaging and things of that nature. But not only him, but guys like Jaylen Ramsay and other veteran guys, man. Um, uh, I’m I’m sensitive to the delivering of the message, man, and and making sure they understand how we go about our business, the things we value, and how they can be a part of it. Is there any [ __ ] he’s done yet that make you go, “Oh, okay. Yeah, that’s the Aaron Rogers that uh that’s the guy. Is there any of that?” Hey, I like to know look passes, man. You know, we we’ve seen a couple of those just about every day. Um, but man, the way he interacts with the defensive leadership, man, the way he competes with them and challenges them, it’s a breath of fresh air, man. We just feel like we going to be positioned to be really good because of that iron on iron, that competitive spirit, the things that are happening dayto-day, man. And he’s a central part of that. On that note, Tone has a question for you. Yeah, coach, with with all due respect to everyone who has played quarterback since seven, they’re a Steelers, so we love him forever. Uh, but does it feel different when you look across and and you see eight? Like it I mean, Kaboli said this is the most crowded it’s been in the last 15 years here if like to him, but like so it feels different to the fans. Does it feel different to you when you look over and you’re like, “Okay, since then, that’s Aaron Rogers.” You’re damn right it does. It feels pretty good, too. Yeah. Um, you know, just the possibilities, man. Uh, to have a guy like that, man, uh, in your huddle, in your locker room, a part of your group, um, it certainly gives us all great confidence. Yeah. I’m trying to remember one of your hard every Hard knocks was awesome. I want to let you know that. I think we talked about it while it was happening about all the good [ __ ] that you were giving away for free. Basically, we’re hearing motivational speeches just being dropped, gems being dropped, people write books with all of the oneliners that you were doing. Are we coming up with those still every single day? Is there new [ __ ] coming out? Is there more to Tomlinisms or is it all basically like a pool that you kind of pull from? If that makes sense. You know, I don’t chase it. It just kind of happens. Of course. Yeah, there’s one right there, by the way. Yeah. Yeah. That is that is bar after bar after bar. Uh I wish I got a chance to play for you. You told me in warm-ups. I’m going to get you when you’re old and cheap. Damn right I did. Did you Did you have those conversations with Aaron, too, throughout his career? Uh I wish I had. I wish maybe I’d have got him sooner. All right. Have a great practice. We appreciate you. Congrats on all the success. These people love you, man, man. Thank you guys. Ladies and gentlemen, cut my I appreciate you so much. Good luck. Good luck this year. Congratulations. Thank you, coach. Thank you. Appreciate you. Ladies and gentlemen, that’s coach Mike Tomlin and there’s a man standing off camera that I don’t know if he’s ever done an interview before. I don’t know if he gets any requests. Special teams coordinator for the Pittsburgh Steelers. The ends are Oh my god. Tattoo on the outside of the shin. Good. I love you, man. I love you, man. Hey. Hey. How about this? Hell yeah. How about this here? Hey, we got a local guy big time. He comes back to Pittsburgh to do a live show for us. Tell him he come home for us to do this show. Hell yeah. Mike, that’s your money. That’s you. He don’t need a damn mic. I appreciate you doing that for me. That was not needed. How about this local guy comes back to coach special teams for the Pittsburgh Steel? for all of us. And he chews through 200 pieces of gum every single game. Danny Smith is here, ladies and gentlemen. Hi, Danny. We have like 2, three minutes. I know you love doing media and uh this is something you really enjoyed. You had the I don’t know if it was the best unit in the NFL last year, but we looked up stats. You got a lot of number ones and a lot of top 10, a lot of top fives. Special teams is something that is respected here in Pittsburgh cuz it’s a football town. How many years have you been here now? Uh, this will be 13th. 13th year for you here as a Pittsburgh Steeler. How do you feel about this particular team? How’s the energy? You know, I mean, it’s an honor to I don’t know if his mic’s on. Did you turn it off? Give him that other one. Give him that other mic there, AJ. Right next to you. Right next to you. Try that one. Jesus. Try that. There we go. Come on, AJ. I don’t think you’re m It’s an honor and a privilege, man, to come back to your hometown and coach this, okay? and to clean up. We were number one. And that ain’t me, man. That’s the players that I coach, okay? They come out with rankings and that. I got good players, man. This organization will supply you with people. You got to know what you’re doing. You got to give them direction. And these players will work their butt off if you know what you’re doing. And really, it’s a credit to our players. I got good players, man. I got good players that work their butts off. Those of you watch practice, you see it. And uh it’s an honor and a privilege to be a part of it. this year. Is there a different buzz with how much Omar Khan and the front office have gone allin with this particular team? Have you thought about that? And do you think, you know, I I get puzzled in the media when I watch some of this stuff. Uh they say like, “What coach is on a hot seat? What about Man, I’m on a hot seat every day.” Okay. Look at it like that. I’m on a hot seat every day. This stuff changes so quickly. So, I don’t feel no heat, no pressure. I put the pressure on myself. I expect us to win and I expect us to win it all every damn year. And I don’t change. Yeah. AJ has a question for you, coach. Coach, what are you trying to in training camp right now today? First day of patch, what are you trying what are you looking at to see some guys maybe that you haven’t seen tested yet, you know, and you did it, you know, for a living. Uh we got a we got a movement, you know, um who moves, who could cover in space, who has some agility. Uh there’s no real game planning at this time. Uh so you don’t really get to mentally check on them, but you get the physicality of it and the physical part of it with the change of direction, the hand placement, the foot uh work, you know, the pad level and things like that. So I’m consistently constantly watching other drills too along with my own to evaluate them. Yeah. Can you talk about how guys need to get a heads up that the way they’re going to make it in the league is through special teams and your messaging to them for that? It’s changed a lot, you know, over my years, but uh our head coach heads up, you know, Mike T does a great job. Mike T is great with me supplying me time, supplying me players. Okay, then it’s up to me to get it done. And that’s as simple as I can put it. But a lot of guys, that’s the only way to make it. I tell them all the time. I say, “Okay, I want you to be the starting linebacker. I want you to be the starting running back. Damn, I want to be the head coach.” But that ain’t happening. Okay, I ain’t the head coach and you ain’t the starting running back. So, we got a pretty good job. I’ll take care of Debbie. That’s what I tell. That’s a great message. That’s a great delivery. Hopefully, they get the point. Go ahead, Debb. Hey, I I was blessed to play with some great uh special teams coordinators, Scotty O’Brien in New England, uh McMahon in Indie. How have you you’ve been doing it a long time and Pat just mentioned you got to relate to the entire roster, but how do you get that juice? How do you bring that same juice every day, you know, and you know, you there’s some great names right there, man. They’re predecessors that helped pave the way for me. I mean, they really are. And and I and I respect them so much. And it just it’s a mindset, you know. It’s a mindset. You got to come out all the time. And you know, if if I supply the energy, man, they’ll follow. If you let players mill around, you played one of them. If the other players mill around, they will. Okay? How am I going to ask them to give energy if I don’t? I just that that’s the way I coach. You know, I really believe in that what I tell them all the time. I want you to know what you’re doing and why you’re doing it. Then you’re a better player. Coach, why’d you have Antonio Brown in the fourth quarter return punts whenever you’re up 21 points with 6 minutes left? Let me tell you, let me tell you. Let me tell you a quick story. Please do. Pat always brings this up on the times that we got him. He don’t ever bring up the time he got me. Yeah. Yeah. Thanksgiving, baby. Okay. Thanksgiving. Yeah. A lot of people. Yeah. You ruin my damn dinner. I can’t even eat it. I go home from India out of my damn stomach. I’m puking on the damn bus on the way home. I can’t eat Thanksgiving dinner. Okay. Cuz he runs a fake cuz he got big balls and will do things like that. Okay. And he’s faking fake fake. Throws a pass for a first time and it’s on me. So, there’s two sides to those sto coach. Yeah, coach. Uh, before you uh show fakes to the team, do you have to run them by coach Tomlin and what’s that meaning like? I can’t even when you’re running fakes. Hey, when you try to run a fake or do something, running them by coach Tomlin. What is that like? I’ve always said this, like when I was young in the NFL, I have a good arm. You You saw that. You experienced that. I’m also punt pass and kick champion here for the Pittsburgh Steelers. Troy Paulo is showing up over there. Feels like you guys had film or practice. [ __ ] you. Now, with that being said, uh always had a good always had a good arm. Always had a good arm. When I was young in the NFL, I wanted to run more fakes. I’m like, “Hey, I’m watching these punters throw these balls and everybody’s talking about how athletic they are. I could just let me spin one here. Let me do it.” And uh I Ray Rich Ley who was the head coach and Jim Cwell is the head coach. Special teams is Ray. He said, “So, let me get this straight. We’re going to take Pton Manning off the field.” Okay? We’re going to take Pton Manning off the field. We’re gonna take uh Reggie Wayne off of the field. We’re gonna take Dallas Clark off of the field. We’re going to take Joseph Adai off of the field. And then we’re going to have you do the offense for us. That makes sense. And if it doesn’t work, they’re going to go the other way. Usually good teams don’t do a lot of trickery [ __ ] Now, you do your own [ __ ] Returns, fakes drawn up. What are those conversations like with Tomlin? And how aggressive do you think you guys are compared to the rest of the NFL? It’s a great point. And and Pat, the way I do it is this, man. There are fakes and there are trick plays. And the way that I define that is this. A fake is something that we see that we want to take advantage of. Okay? We saw something on tape. They’re weak over here. They don’t cover this or they don’t like we were going to do against you for Troy Paul ruined it all when I was going to score touch. But I knew I knew cuz so we we covered that stuff and we didn’t let it get away with it. Now trick play is I come out with some crazy formation or something and I’m trying to trick you and sometimes the trick’s on me. Yeah. Okay. For real. And that’s what it is. If I don’t know where you’re going to align and things like that, it’s a trick play. And I believe in fakes. I don’t believe in trick plays. Got it. Okay. So, with that in mind, we cover that stuff. Okay. And we’ll challenge each other on that. I’m talking about players, coaches, everything. If the players are comfortable and confident in running, it takes a situation to get it. We’ll go in the game with all the fakes, okay? That don’t mean we’re running one every week. This ain’t a trick of dick and le. You don’t win like that. Okay? You got You got to beat them. You don’t You got to beat your opponent, okay? We got to do field position. We got to block kick. We got to return balls. We got to do those things to win. Okay. But every now and then, like a Pton Manning and the names that he’s mentioning, we try to steal a possession. You know, it’s like a turnover. You can’t give Pton Manning the ball all the damn time. You can’t give Joe Burrows all his reps. You can’t give those guys all their reps. Uh, last thing I would like you to hit upon, and I assume if you didn’t, they would talk [ __ ] about you. Can you tell me about Boss Johnson and Coun, your kicker, punter, long snapper? You guys got dog. You got dogs across the board. That is a comforting feeling, I assume, for we’re we’re good there. I mean, we really are. And uh Boss is special. Uh nothing is too big for him. He wants the big kick. Uh he gets pissed off when we don’t do the 56 57 in that range. So I’ll piss him off in practice. I’ll put the ball at the 35, which would be a 53 yard field goal, and I’ll call for the punt team. And he calls me every name in the book. Okay? And I always say, “Hey, just heads up here. Watch. Watch balls. Watch his balls.” And he ain’t paying attention. He’s walking. And I said, “All right, balls on the 35. It’s fourth and three. Let’s go. Let’s go. Punt p. What do you mean punt? I’m picking.” And he goes crazy. So that’s good to see. So he got, you know, he’s good player and he’ll be good. We got a punt battle. We got a punt battle. We got a punt battle. Cam is a great punter. Okay. Cam has got credentials. quarters come in last year and did a great job. We got a battle in camp, man. We really do. They are great players. They are great guys. They are great teammates. They are great workers. Uh they’re they’re two good players, man. They’re two NFL punters and I’m blessed to have them both. Hell yeah. And at a long snapping, you know, Christian is as tough as it gets. Okay. He’s a DK. We got other people in there. We’re going to have competition in there and things like that, but Christian don’t miss snaps. Christian don’t miss games. And you know how that is. You know, when you got the continuity, you should be better. We got comp continuity. We will be better. [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music]

Head coach Mike Tomlin and special teams coordinator Danny Smith join The Pat McAfee Show live from Pittsburgh Steelers training camp.

0:00 Pittsburgh Steelers culture
3:33 Adding Jalen Ramsey
5:00 Recruiting Aaron Rodgers
10:05 Danny Smith stops by
16:00 Running fakes on special teams

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