The Pittsburgh Steelers of the 2010s were one of the most talented teams in recent years to have never accomplished anything. The side was chock-full of All-Pro talent on offense, ranging from Ben Roethlisberger to Antonio Brown to Le’Veon Bell. They also had some holdovers from their dominant defenses of the late 2000s, such as Ryan Clark.
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Brown became arguably the best receiver in the NFL. During his prime from 2011 to 2018, the Steelers won 82 games, the second-most in the league. However, Steelers HC Mike Tomlin never found postseason success with the ‘Killer Bees’ (as the quartet of Brown, Ben, Bell and Martavis Bryant was known). They won just three playoff games over that eight-year span.
There’s no doubt that, toward the end of that run, Bell and Brown’s antics contributed to the shortcomings of that uber-talented group.
Their issues only really bubbled to the surface just before their departures in 2019, however. Clark (who played with Brown from 2010 to 2013) said that the wideout, in particular, hadn’t been a good teammate for some time.
However, it was Tomlin’s masterful man-management skills that allowed the positives in Brown’s character (talent, work ethic) to shine through while minimizing his negatives. Until, of course, the head coach couldn’t minimize them any longer.
“[Mike Tomlin] has this incredible ability to allow you to be yourself within the time. Bro, Antonio [Brown], and this is just being honest, he was not a good teammate. But he worked his butt off individually.”
“Coach Tomlin was able to say, ‘Okay, I’m gonna box that, and allow that to affect the team. But I won’t let the negativity to affect the team on the field,'” Clark said on an episode of Green Light with Chris Long.
Mike Tomlin kept the wild ‘uns in check
Brown never really had any on-field issues while with the Steelers, so it seems Tomlin’s approach largely worked. Especially when you consider that after he left Pittsburgh, not only did his personal life take a dive, but with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, his antics eventually affected the team directly. During a game, he stripped off his jersey and ran off the field shirtless and smiling — never to be seen on an NFL field again.
Tomlin definitely kept those wild characters in check. So, while the Killer Bees era in Pittsburgh was ultimately disappointing, it could have been a lot worse without someone as calm, cool, and respected as Tomlin at the helm.
That’s why Clark says he still can’t believe Tomlin has yet to return to a Super Bowl since that 2010 loss to the Green Bay Packers.
“I just expected that—when we walked off the field, we were the last two people to walk off the field, after the Super Bowl in 2010-2011—if you would have just told me he’d never get back to another one, by this point. I would have thought you were out of your mind. And I also said that he still has it, I just think he needs his Andy Reid run somewhere.”
Here’s some context to decode what Clark means. Tomlin remains a great coach, like Andy Reid in Philly. But he just might need a fresh start elsewhere to thrive again. Reid found that spark with the Chiefs after leaving Philadelphia.
Tomlin could rediscover his early-career success by following a similar path.
