Mike Tomlin shocked the world when he stepped down as the Pittsburgh Steelers’ head coach, despite rumors of his departure swirling beforehand. He held that title for almost 20 years, and he became a fixture in the NFL. He felt it was time for the two sides to part ways, though. Players didn’t see it coming, with one report indicating that Joey Porter Jr. was hyperventilating when Tomlin delivered the news. However, Porter set the record straight, refuting that report.
“Whoever said I was hyperventilating on the [internet], on my life I was not,” Porter said recently on The Blueprint Podcast. “There was someone who came on the [internet] and said I was hyperventilating. I was sick, I ain’t even gonna lie. Definitely shed a tear, but hyperventilating is crazy.”
Porter’s sadness over Tomlin leaving is understandable. While the whole team loved their coach, Porter’s relationship went a little deeper. Tomlin and Joey Porter Sr. are close, which means their families often interacted together. So the younger Porter saw Tomlin as an uncle long before he played for him.
Porter is entering a contract year, making this season highly important for him. He was solid last year, looking like he could be a legitimate No. 1 corner. Therefore, if he doesn’t get an extension this offseason, he could earn a big payday next year.
Tomlin stepping down likely added uncertainty to Porter’s future in Pittsburgh. Their close connection probably helped the young corner end up with the Steelers. At the time, it was unclear who the team’s next head coach would be, or what kind of defensive system he’d want to bring in.
Porter offered more details on what he did after Tomlin dropped that bombshell, too.
“That shit definitely blew me. Nobody expected that. I didn’t even do eval meetings, I went straight to the car. That shit blew my whole day.”
Considering that almost the entire coaching staff was let go after Tomlin stepped down, Porter likely didn’t miss much by not having an end-of-year evaluation meeting. The Steelers have a brand-new defensive coordinator and defensive backs coach. They’ll likely do things differently from Porter’s previous coaches.
While things hadn’t been great for Tomlin’s Steelers recently, he still brought the organization success. Porter isn’t the only one who will miss him. However, the world doesn’t stop spinning. The Steelers are entering a new era, and Porter is one of their best young pieces. Things will be different this year, but hopefully, he can continue on an upward trajectory.