Mike Tomlin’s love affair with the game of football, the why in getting Aaron Rodgers, a reload on defense, new toys for the 2025 season and explains his addiction to winning that keeps him coming back.

When MIke Tomlin wants to sit down and chop it up, you soak it in and try to take in all his words and wisdom. In this can't-miss 2025 training camp special —Ryan Clark, Channing Crowder, and Fred Taylor—make their annual trip to Latrobe for a powerful, wide-ranging sit-down with Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin, just weeks away from one of the most anticipated seasons in franchise history. Tomlin pulls back the curtain on what it’s like coaching Aaron Rodgers, now in black and gold and laser-focused at another shot at a Super Bowl. From the moment Rodgers walked into the building, the standard didn’t change—it elevated. Coach T talks leadership dynamics, the merging of legacies, key pick ups adding star power on both offense and defense and how he's building a locker room that can support both the present and the future. It's a true Sunday service with Coach's honesty and gems dropped as the guys go deep into what Rodgers still brings at age 41, the lessons learned from past seasons, and why this year may look a little different but rooted in the same core principles. Tomlin also reflects on his longevity in the league, the evolution of his leadership style, and the pressure—and privilege—of chasing greatness in a city that demands it. His love affair with football and what drives him each day is shared and he even reveals some secrets that will make the football world say- ohhh now I get it! Tap in now for the full conversation with Mike T as the guys peel back the layers of one of the most respected figures in sports. Video version available on our Pivot YouTube and don't forget to like and comment! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Speaker names marked ? are inferred from speaking time and the show’s known hosts — they are not voice-verified.

• 0:00Speaker 00

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• 0:09Speaker 01

  My boss asked for results, so I opened my dashboard for the only positive sounding metric I had. Impressions.

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• 0:30Ryan Clark?

  When Mike Tomlin wants to sit down and chop it up, then you sit your butt down and you chop it up. Coach has a huge smile on his face. It's probably because of the new roster additions, but I think it's also the challenge of leading them. And he hears it, right? The outside noise about playoff failure. And listening to his answer, he really couldn't care less. This offseason, it was important for him to know Aaron Rodgers' why. And he chuckles to himself now when DK Metcalf zooms past him on the practice field. And he's like, oh, yeah, DK plays for us. And then he laughs when he thinks about the sibling-like rivalry between Jalen Ramsey, Joey Porter Jr., and Darius Slay, his three top corners. And then he gets excited when he thinks of the prospect of seeing those three men lock up man to man.

• 1:15Ryan Clark?

  He gets it. His team needs to win, and they need to win big in the playoffs. And he thinks that this roster has everything it takes to do so. The Pivot Training Camp tour stops in Latrobe, Pennsylvania, where they treat us like family, mostly because we are. Oh, wait. If you, like me, wondered why they didn't draft the quarterback earlier, let's just say Mike T. might have known a little something. Now, sit back and enjoy this special Sunday conversation with Channing Crowder's favorite head coach, Mike Tomlin.

• 1:45Mike Tomlin?

  How's Jordan doing, man? Good. He's doing well, Coach. Good. Tell that dude I said what's up. I will, man. Man, it was so. He'll appreciate that. It was so funny to do that night before the pro day dinner with him. I felt bad because I was, I ain't get other kids enough time. Me and him was just, you know, reminiscing.

• 2:03Ryan Clark?

  He said that he was sitting next to the other players and they were like, hey, man, that's Mike T. And he was like, shit, that's like my uncle.

• 2:10Mike Tomlin?

  All right, hey, what you doing, bro?

• 2:11Fred Taylor?

  I was in that field though, like seeing him around here, running around and then now he...

• 2:14Mike Tomlin?

  It's surreal, man, like.

• 2:16Fred Taylor?

  Any other guys, any other players in the league that been around here?

• 2:21Mike Tomlin?

  JPJ?

• 2:21Fred Taylor?

  Well, well, yeah.

• 2:22Ryan Clark?

  Yeah, you got Joey out there.

• 2:23Mike Tomlin?

  Yeah.

• 2:24Fred Taylor?

  That's something.

• 2:25Mike Tomlin?

  Like, I remember AB brought Shiloh here one day. Shiloh, Deion's boy, was probably about 16, 17. And JJ and all them was lined up going after him. You know what I mean? And just funny, just the small football world, man.

• 2:41Ryan Clark?

  It is, Coach. Well, Coach, thank you, honestly, for always taking care of us, man. It's the, I say, I said it to you on the field, I didn't care if you didn't have no good players. We coming to Pittsburgh just to spend time with you, man, just to show people and get the opportunity for them to know you in some of the intimate ways that we do. So, we just really appreciate you.

• 3:00Mike Tomlin?

  You guys will always have my support, man. I mean that, like, I just, I just love it. It's organic, man. Y'all have too much fun to be working. You know what I mean? You know how it is, man. You can sense what people that work together genuinely care about each other and enjoy each other's company, man. That's, that's why y'all so successful. You, you feel it.

• 3:19Ryan Clark?

  You are like the picture of stability in this sense, in the longevity that you've had as the head coach of the Pittsburgh Steelers, but also in your consistency as a person. And that used to sort of mirror the organization and the way y'all did business. This was the most unlike Steeler offseason that I've ever seen, I've ever been a part of. When you add the Aaron Rodgers and the DK Metcalfs and the Jalen Ramsey, these players who've already been established, but now you add them to this team, what sort of, I guess, challenges and coaching challenges does that present? Because I know you love those things.

• 3:57Mike Tomlin?

  We went out and acquired some guys that are leaders. And they're capable leaders, certainly. They got NFL experience, NFL experience at a high level, but I got to have an intimate relationship with the leadership. And so although they're not new to this game and they're new to Pittsburgh and so man it's just it's a challenge from a coaching perspective in terms of selling our values, how we build and engineer victory, how we go about our day-to-day business. Like, like I gotta do a really good job of communicating and a component of communicating is listening, particularly when you're dealing with grown men, man, and grown men that are dynamic players and capable leaders. It's always been fun for me, man. I think a destination camp kinda helps that, you know.

• 4:41Mike Tomlin?

  I catch them in the evening in informal time and we sit down, we might chop up football, we might chop up life.

• 4:47Fred Taylor?

  Right.

• 4:48Mike Tomlin?

  There's no shortcut to what I'm trying to get done with them in a very, you know, quick manner, if you will, because like I said, man, I just, I wanna support their leadership, I wanna enhance their leadership and, and I want them to feel comfortable and comfortable doing so. And so, man, we gotta work at it.

• 5:06Fred Taylor?

  You brought in former champ, well, champions, obviously, some guys have won Super Bowls, Pro Bowlers. With the way you've built the roster this past offseason, what's the message behind that? Is it championship or bust, or is that always the message?

• 5:20Mike Tomlin?

  No, that can be the message because it is always the message, you know. You, you know, man, there's a winner trait in sport. And when you've been a part of it, man, it changes you forever. And as many, as many guys as you can have with that experience, man, I just think, I think it positions you to push through adversity that we all know is coming. Not even the old guys, man, we got two rookies in Will Howard and, and Jack Sawyer that were captains of a national championship team at Ohio State.

• 5:49Fred Taylor?

  Right.

• 5:50Mike Tomlin?

  Like, that winner trait is worth his weight in gold, man. You carry it with you forever, you feel it in their presence. And so, no question, that's something that, that was really in the front of my mind in terms of kinda putting this group together.

• 6:04Channing Crowder?

  Coach, when you pick up guys, like you saying, Pro Bowlers like that, do you celebrate or you just get to work? Like, we got DK, okay, now he can go to the X. Or you be like, goddamn, we got DK.

• 6:15Mike Tomlin?

  Hey, it, it's a little bit of both and a little bit of both continually. You know what I mean? Like, the other day, he went by me on the sideline and I was like...

• 6:26Mike Tomlin?

  DK play for us.

• 6:29Mike Tomlin?

  You know what I mean? And, and there are all those moments, like continually. Like when he, when he does something that, you know, like, ooh, man, you know? It's fun, but certainly it requires some work and some, and some strategy, man. These are dynamic guys and it's my job, man, to put them in a position to be successful and their talents to show. Jalen Ramsey is an example of that, man. I've been blown away by his versatility, man, his football intellect. Like you cannot, you cannot put this guy in a position that he's not on the details. And you know how sometimes, man, communication tells you everything? Man, we're in our first walkthrough and, and he's moving from free safety to nickel to outside corner.

• 7:12Mike Tomlin?

  And his communication is not lacking in any way as his formations adjust. And playing a variety of positions in one walkthrough. And it just kind of speaks to how talented he is. We know his physical talent, but this guy's football intellect is on the ceiling.

• 7:27Ryan Clark?

  Coach, you know, when you build a team, you start to build the teams to play against the best teams that you have to face. The teams you compete with to win championships, you know? In basketball, people started building teams to beat the Golden State Warriors, right? How do we match up against them? Even in your own division, you have a team like the Cincinnati Bengals who can just flat out throw it all around the yard. If you don't have people that can cover them. You have Joey Porter Jr., who's the one. You bring in Darius Slay, who's been the one throughout his career. Jalen Ramsey is still one of the best corners in all of football. Was there a focus in saying, we need to make sure we can cover guys this year? And what was your thought in bringing all them together?

• 8:07Mike Tomlin?

  You hit it on the head, you know, man to man, we gotta be able to do that. We gotta be able to match up on people. And, and with that collection of guys that you mentioned, I feel like we could do it against anybody. Uh, no disrespect to Cincinnati or anybody else that has an elite group. But that's just the level of confidence that we have in that collective. Coupled with the fact that we got big time talent up front and we got a lot invested in it in terms of our rush. Your ability to, to cover people man to man does nothing but help your rush. You know, we can't be good on defense. We gotta be great on defense and being able to match up and play man to man is a major component of that in today's game.

• 8:45Ryan Clark?

  Coach, what do you say to people that are? Arguing the point that even though Mike Tomlin hasn't had a losing season, team hasn't won a playoff game since 2016.

• 8:57Mike Tomlin?

  I say nothing, you know? We got resumes, we all do, and we gotta stand on that. I live a life, man, where I don't seek comfort, I don't make excuses. You know, engaging in that discussion to me is excuses. I don't live that life, man. Like, I pour everything I got into what I do, man, and when the dust settles, it settles, and I keep it moving. And so, you know I don't care a whole lot about what people have to say.

• 9:23Ryan Clark?

  I do.

• 9:26Mike Tomlin?

  I don't, like, respectfully, I don't. Some people, you know, some people talk, some people watch, some people do. I'm glad I'm a doer, I'm glad I live in that world. I love the kitchen, I love competition, I love it when it's hot, I love the challenges that our business presents. Like, that's just the life I choose to live, and I understand the things that come with it, man, and I'm OK with it.

• 9:50Fred Taylor?

  Coach, going back to Jalen real quick. I know the old, still away, trust me, I've played against you many times. I know the shit that comes from this one. Jalen and Calvin Austin, the camp scuffle. Was you back there snickering? Like, did you have a little devilish smile on your face? Because Jalen come with some shit.

• 10:07Mike Tomlin?

  I was laughing because Jalen was laughing at Calvin. You know, and I'm like, Jalen, man, don't laugh at that little human, man, he mean it, man. Like, you really pissed him off, he trying to squabble with you, and you laughing.

• 10:22Fred Taylor?

  But you gotta love when veterans come, they trying to get the best out of these guys, right?

• 10:26Mike Tomlin?

  You know how it is, man, in team development, man, it's gonna be brother against brother. Like, it's a component of it, we gotta compete, we gotta compete our ass off, man, but we gotta do it with an understanding. And sometimes, man, winning and losing, man, people, you know, people do what comes natural. And so, I view it all as an opportunity to teach and to learn, and I see it as part of the process, but sometimes it's funny.

• 10:51Ryan Clark?

  When we saw DK, I was like, we gonna jump him.

• 10:56Mike Tomlin?

  Nowhere they fight one-on-one in their zone. Hey, don't let RC fool y'all, man, they ain't fight fair a whole lot. Like, if you was fighting anybody in their group, you was fighting the group.

• 11:07Channing Crowder?

  Y'all would jumping people out of there? Hell, yeah.

• 11:09Fred Taylor?

  That's why we ain't gonna have too many fights.

• 11:10Channing Crowder?

  Hey, ain't no one on one.

• 11:12Mike Tomlin?

  No, no square ones.

• 11:14Channing Crowder?

  No square ones.

• 11:15Mike Tomlin?

  At all, at all.

• 11:17Channing Crowder?

  And Coach, with your, with your style, they call it old school. The longest tenured head coach and all that stuff, and you are a very physical team. And a lot of teams got, they more, get more graceful, spreading out and all that stuff. And you sticking to your guns. And now you looking around the league, Coach, with the Eagles, the Lions, they coming back down to what you been doing for 20 years. Physicality. Have you ever thought, like, if you gonna say, you know what, we might need to push some more receivers out here? Nah, nah, nah, never mind.

• 11:44Mike Tomlin?

  You know, it's funny, like, I hate the fact that I'm so old that I could see cycles. But I see it. It's a cool thing to see things come back around. You know, quarters is back in a big way. You know what I mean? Like, just schematic concepts. Like, everything kind of moves in cycles, man, and, and it's a blessing, man, when you been at it so long that you can feel that. And I feel that in a lot of ways, man. But certain hills I'm gonna be willing to die on. I'm gonna be light on my feet, you have to be, man. You gotta be open to change and doing things differently, man, if you gonna do something at, at a high level for a long time. But it's also some things that's gotta be non-negotiable. And for me, the construction of physicality, man, is non-negotiable, man.

• 12:29Mike Tomlin?

  I'm doing these dudes a disservice if I don't create an environment where they show that component of their game, or develop that component of their game, or prepare them for what I know is waiting for them in stadiums. Like, I'm not in the hope business, I, I hate hoping. And I think sometimes when you don't prepare them, you, you hoping for performance, man, and, and, and I gotta lay my head down at night.

• 12:49Fred Taylor?

  Coach, you, you, you mentioned certain hills you're willing to die on. We saw you walking down that hill right there, and we got at you a little bit.

• 12:57Mike Tomlin?

  Hey, man. Hey, man. Hey, I'm 50-plus years old, man. I got my comfortable, uh, Hoka's on. Like, like, y'all come back 10 years from now, I'm gonna have like some white mall shoes on.

• 13:11Fred Taylor?

  But that's exactly the thing, though. Like, you say you're willing to die on certain hills, and I take that, you keep coming back. You ain't even old, man. Like, most coaches started out at this, oh, this age, right? But you keep coming back. Why you keep coming back? Every year, new camp, new, new you, new fresh, new everything.

• 13:29Mike Tomlin?

  Man, I ain't gonna kid you. I got a love affair with this game. Like, it, it's, it's a real personal thing for me. I just love football. I love every component of it. Every component of the journey, man. I'm excited, uh, every year because of that, man. I just learned so much in this game. And like a lot of guys, I'm sure y'all feel the same way. Like, when I was young, man, football was the only thing that was black and white, man. Like, life choices was, was, was gray. Like, like, football made sense. Like, I learned discipline and, and a lot of things through my experiences in football, man. And so, I mean that when I say it, man. I got a love affair with this game, man. You know, I couldn't imagine doing anything else.

• 14:14Speaker 00

  Are your ad campaigns lighting up the dashboard, but not the pipeline? That's bull spend, and marketers are calling it out in Dashboard Confessions.

• 14:23Speaker 01

  My boss asked for results, so I opened my dashboard for the only positive sounding metric I had: impressions.

• 14:31Speaker 00

  Cut the bull spend. See revenue, not just reach. LinkedIn delivers the highest return on ad spend of major ad networks. Advertise on LinkedIn. Spend $250 on your first campaign and get a $250 credit. Go to LinkedIn.com/campaign. Terms and conditions apply.

• 14:44Ryan Clark?

  Coach, you mentioned on the field, uh, Chan brought up how much the younger coaches... Have an affinity for you. How highly they speak of you, the respect that they show you. And it seems like that's a respect given because there's a mutual level of kindness and there's a mutual level of conversation and giving that you share with those dudes. That's not always the case. You know, I remember walking in the DB rooms and having older safeties that would make fun of me because I was smart or that wouldn't help me with certain things. And when I got older, I said, "Hey Troy, you know, one night I'll take the young boys. The next night you take the young boys after practice so we can teach them different things."

• 15:26Ryan Clark?

  You seem to really reach out and be a part of helping young coaches continue to develop, continue to mature. Why is that something that seems important to you in that way?

• 15:37Mike Tomlin?

  You know, for me, it's about helping them, but it's also just giving back to the game. It's the right thing to do, I think. Like, these head jobs, man, they lonely jobs. It's certainly my job to beat them. But I think extending a welcoming hand or chopping it up with them formally, informally, doesn't lessen that in any way, man. It just feels like the right thing to do. I've been where they are. I know what that feels like. And so, like, it's just something over the years, man, I've just felt moved to do, to be welcoming. Like, we're in a small fraternity, man. There's 32 of these jobs on the planet. And so, I've been at it for a while, as you mentioned. And so, I just want to be approachable. I want to be welcoming. And then we kick the ball off.

• 16:23Ryan Clark?

  Hey, you know, Ra said, "Hey Ra," you know, he always, every, coach, every time, every time we get around Raheem, he does a Mike T impersonation. Every single time.

• 16:34Mike Tomlin?

  Hey, there's no better example of that. Like, I love Ra. Ra's my brother. I would literally give him the shirt off of my back, but I forget I know Ra when he's standing on that other sideline.

• 16:48Ryan Clark?

  And you go get after.

• 16:49Mike Tomlin?

  I clicked back in after. Oh, man, all the best, man. To your family, man. Tell Nick I said hello.

• 16:55Ryan Clark?

  How's the wife? I dang near forgot I knew you.

• 16:59Mike Tomlin?

  Yeah, it just, it just is what we do, man. But like, the fellowship is real. I want to be a component of it. It's OK to be a component of it. It just feels like the right thing.

• 17:10Ryan Clark?

  You had, did you have people when you got in, Coach, that did that sort of thing for you? That showed love to you?

• 17:17Mike Tomlin?

  Man, it was done to me, man, in so many ways. I'll never forget my first combine. I'm walking through the RCA Dome at the time, man, and I run into Shaq Harris and Doug Williams. And they said, "Come on, young fella. You going to lunch with us. You can't talk, but you going to lunch with us." And I did, you know? And Ray Bob, Ray Rhodes. And I sat there at lunch, and I just, I just soaked it up. Like, that fellowship, man. Like, I got Terry Rabisky, who is here today, visiting for a few days. Man, I just got so much love for that generation of Coach, man, that came before me, that trained my ass,

• 18:01Mike Tomlin?

  to be quite honest with you. That, you know, we all need that big bro. Like, even where I am today, man. That's why I enjoy bringing a Coach like that around, man, because I just, you know, I got enough people laughing at my jokes. You know what I'm saying? I need somebody to tell me where my slip is showing. You know, somebody to put their hand on my shoulder. And I just always have been, been open to that. That's why I always sought wise counsel and assistance, man. Guys like J.D. and John Mitchell, man, Richard Mann. I just love being in the presence of life wisdom, football wisdom. I see the value in that.

• 18:42Channing Crowder?

  Your longevity, but you know what the Steelers are gonna be. Y'all gonna have a badass edge rusher. Y'all gonna have some big boys way back to C-Hamp.

• 18:52Channing Crowder?

  All them boys, like back when we played, you gonna have some badass front seven. And you gonna have some guys that can cover on that air. Then you gonna have Troy's and Ryan's. Like, does that gain the respect from these coaches? Because, Coach, I know exactly how your team's gonna look every year. The name's gonna change, the number's gonna change. But I know exactly how the Pittsburgh Steelers are gonna look.

• 19:11Mike Tomlin?

  It's really fun, man, when you could draw parallels to the process. Like, when you're looking at one, and you're like, mm, this the next Lamar Woodley.

• 19:22Channing Crowder?

  Yeah.

• 19:23Mike Tomlin?

  Right here. You know, you just see the pieces. You remember how you put it together a generation ago. Like, we developing a talented, young offensive line right now. We've invested ones at tackle, uh, two ones over the last three years. Uh, we got a second-round center going into his second year. That is a young group, man, that I'm watching grow and grow together. They gonna be in each other's weddings. They gonna be the godfather to each other's kids. But if you think 15, 16 years ago, I put a group together, like Marquise Pouncy, David DeCastro, Marcus Gilbert, in a very similar way. I could see what these kids can't see. Like, and that's why I tell them, like, y'all gonna be godfather to each other's kids. Y'all gonna be in each other's weddings, man.

• 20:08Mike Tomlin?

  Like, we building something here. And it's been done before, and I think sometimes, particularly in tough days, that it's good to get that history lesson, to know that they not walking on unpaved roads. That there's a vision. It's been done and done before, and they capable of doing it. I put, I put up a graphic, man. I showed them, you know, the nine Pro Bowls that Pouncy had, the six, the six, the six Pro Bowls that DeCastro had, the two Pro Bowls that Villanueva had. I said, now go to work.

• 20:41Mike Tomlin?

  You know what I mean? And so it's fun just to kind of provide that perspective and feel that and to have a business model.

• 20:48Ryan Clark?

  Yes.

• 20:48Mike Tomlin?

  That's real and you believe in. It helps you when you're shopping for the groceries.

• 20:54Ryan Clark?

  Right. Coach, those groceries are to protect a very important person here. No, I remember sitting in the draft. There's a video of me at 21 because I wanted y'all to get a quarterback. I can be honest, right? And y'all didn't and I threw a fit. You know what I mean? A lot of Steelers fans were mad at me. Some agreed with me.

• 21:11Mike Tomlin?

  And you don't care?

• 21:12Ryan Clark?

  I don't, Coach. And I don't, I don't.

• 21:14Mike Tomlin?

  I just want to say that.

• 21:15Ryan Clark?

  And at the time, I was like, Coach must know Aaron is coming. I was like, he has to know this. And Aaron does become a Pittsburgh Steeler. And I've seen so much mutual respect. I remember Aaron sent us home. Your arm around my shoulder pads is the last two people that walked off of the field at AT&T Stadium years ago. When you think about that relationship of head coach, quarterback, it's all important. But it's also important that you not only respect each other, but you believe in one another. What gives you the belief in Aaron Rodgers that he's the right person to lead the Pittsburgh Steelers back to where they belong and that's championship caliber?

• 21:56Mike Tomlin?

  Here's why. You know, this dude been doing it 21 years, man. Four-time MVP, all of that stuff like, like, I just wanted to know why. Why does the fire still burn? What is his agenda? Those are some of the conversations that we had in the spring, man. And I just got real comfortable with, with his why, man. Like, all he wants to do is win. All he wants to do is have fun within the game. He want to be a component of the process of development for young players. Like, everything that we talked about through our conversations in the spring, I'm watching him live out right now in this training camp setting. I believed him when he said it, but it's fun to watch it play out. I think that's why I'm excited. I think that's why I was comfortable.

• 22:40Mike Tomlin?

  And you're right, I knew something.

• 22:42Ryan Clark?

  I knew it. Coach, I used to be on TV, I was like, he has to know. And you know, I have to be very careful about what I say because people think I just text and call you all the time and ask things and I don't, right? So I was like, I was like, I

• 22:57Mike Tomlin?

  You don't have to, you know me.

• 22:58Ryan Clark?

  Yeah, I was like, I know him well enough. He's the smartest person I know. And I was like, he knows something because he don't even, he wouldn't move like this and leave the draft this way if he didn't know.

• 23:11Mike Tomlin?

  It's the what Mike T doing.

• 23:12Channing Crowder?

  Exactly what Mike T wants to do. That's my answer every time.

• 23:16Fred Taylor?

  Probably just tell about a week ago, I asked him a question. I said, if you had three players that you have extreme bias towards that you want to see do well? And one player that you kind of secretly rooting for to do well? That's what he said first, Aaron Rodgers.

• 23:31Ryan Clark?

  Why? Because if Aaron Rodgers does well, he does well.

• 23:34Fred Taylor?

  Obviously, yes. But people want to pit RC against Aaron, right? But RC is a truth seeker. Like, he's fair, he's unbiased, and people might not love it, but he has a job to do.

• 23:48Mike Tomlin?

  Yeah.

• 23:48Fred Taylor?

  And Aaron can tell you, because Aaron's a, he's gonna be, he's a Hall of Famer and all that good stuff. But he can tell you, when I'm playing well, yeah, I probably won't say it. Well, when I'm playing bad, I'll let you know. And that's, that's, that's the honesty we want from those guys, that transparency in the leadership. You always say, we're not gonna apologize for the standard, right? Is that standard? Is that the same?

• 24:11Mike Tomlin?

  It better be. Like, that's gotta be one of the hills that you're willing to die on. I think that's why, you know, we are still a nation, man, uncomfortable with our present state. Because these particular recent seasons, man, hadn't ended in the manner in which we like or accept or embrace. But 2025 is a new year, man. I got some new toys.

• 24:34Mike Tomlin?

  You know what I mean? And so I see you as stadiums.

• 24:37Fred Taylor?

  Why didn't you draft me, Coach? Goodness.

• 24:40Ryan Clark?

  Hey, Coach, we, hey, we appreciate you as always. Tivian fam, thank y'all for pivoting with us, man. Love you so much, Coach.

• 24:47Mike Tomlin?

  It ain't nothing but love, and you're right, like.

• 24:52Mike Tomlin?

  He's a mutual combatant, right? Like, like, he loves it. He loves being in the eye of it. Like, like, don't let him fool you. Like, not only does he not mind it, he loves it. He loves it.

• 25:07Ryan Clark?

  Don't tell these people my secrets.

• 25:09Mike Tomlin?

  Because, because he got a good mouthpiece. Like, like, he's thoughtful. Stuff doesn't spill out of his mouth. And, and then there's a component of him where if he gets beyond that, he's really comfortable with that, too.

• 25:18Fred Taylor?

  Yeah.

• 25:19Mike Tomlin?

  You know? And, and that, that's the side of him that he don't mind showing from time to time.

• 25:23Fred Taylor?

  In other words, you're saying he want all the smoke.

• 25:26Mike Tomlin?

  It's so funny. I'm like, I'm like, sometimes I'm like, no, RC. No, no, oh, he going there.

• 25:33Ryan Clark?

  Hey, hey, I told, I told him the story, Coach. When you called me in that little office, I said, hey, man, don't throw them rocks at the tanks, man. He was like, hey, he was like, RC, you gotta chill out.

• 25:42Mike Tomlin?

  Man, he, he want it. He want it all the time. He want it. Oh, please, thank you.

• 25:49Fred Taylor?

  We can't go get no lunch, Charles, nowhere else, Coach. Man, we appreciate it.

• 25:52Mike Tomlin?

  Man, y'all always home here.

• 25:55Ryan Clark?

  Coach, people still talk about the conversation we had at your house that time. People still come up to me and tell us that, like, he's like, that's one of the best things I've ever seen. They love it, Coach. Like, I've had coaches that say, we made our entire staff, like colleges, high schools. We made our entire staff watch that sit down together.

• 26:15Mike Tomlin?

  Like, you know me, sometimes I got an agenda, and that was kind of my agenda, man. Like, we don't take enough responsibility as coaches, man. Like, there's so much specialization in our business, man. There's so many damn coaches and analysts and all of this stuff, man. Like, the generation that raised us, man, they coached every damn thing.

• 26:32Ryan Clark?

  Yeah.

• 26:33Mike Tomlin?

  They took responsibility for everything. You on the field, you off the field, they, they just trained you. Like, and I just, I want, I want to be a one-man crusade for that. Like, let's own everything. Let's raise these dudes. Like, they need it, man.

• 26:47Ryan Clark?

  Coach, you don't realize how many coaches talked about that particular thing, though? When you talked about running from coaching?

• 26:52Mike Tomlin?

  Yeah, man.

• 26:53Ryan Clark?

  So many coaches have, like, had that conversation with me.

• 26:56Fred Taylor?

  Blame the kid.

• 26:56Ryan Clark?

  About what you said, yeah. They had that conversation.

• 26:59Mike Tomlin?

  Like, that's bullshit.

• 27:00Ryan Clark?

  Yeah, man.

• 27:00Mike Tomlin?

  That's bullshit. And there's so many places to hide, man. We gotta tell the truth, man.

• 27:04Fred Taylor?

  Uh, the one thing sticks out with me, I think you said it, what was it? Um, don't live in your fear. Yeah, you have to be that way.

• 27:12Mike Tomlin?

  You're damn right.

• 27:13Ryan Clark?

  It's hard though.

• 27:13Mike Tomlin?

  You know how it is, man.

• 27:14Ryan Clark?

  People don't want to be laid naked in front of folks. You know what I'm saying? Like, they don't want to say... Because like, when you're coaching a team and you're being your authentic self, now you're open for whatever. And people are so scared of criticism. They're so scared to say, "No, this is my decision. This is what I believe, and I'm standing on it." That now, they hold themselves back from actually helping a player be better.

• 27:36Mike Tomlin?

  Yes. Yeah, they like...

• 27:38Ryan Clark?

  Now it's your fault.

• 27:39Mike Tomlin?

  They trying to insulate themselves in case shit don't go right.

• 27:42Ryan Clark?

  You know what I'm saying? I don't want to tell you this, because if it go bad, then I told you, I'm gonna let you go by yourself.

• 27:46Channing Crowder?

  Say, a lot of people don't have the security. They easier to be.

• 27:51Ryan Clark?

  Did you see Ra lineup on Drake London yesterday?

• 27:54Mike Tomlin?

  Tell him stop that.

• 27:57Mike Tomlin?

  I just, I didn't see it till this morning.

• 27:59Ryan Clark?

  Yeah, Coach.

• 28:00Mike Tomlin?

  I'm mad at Drake for doing it to him.

• 28:01Ryan Clark?

  He dead wrong for that, Coach.

• 28:02Mike Tomlin?

  He dead wrong for that. But Ra shouldn't be standing in front of that man either, man. Like, run up on people. He run up on about six people he was there.

• 28:11Mike Tomlin?

  And that's what happened.

• 28:12Ryan Clark?

  We'll see y'all that later, Coach.