Mike Tomlin: Pittsburgh Steelers Training Camp talking about Russell Wilson, Justin Fields, leadership, getting back to the Super Bowl, Coaching trees, legacy & 2024 NFL Season Preview

The Pivot Training Camp tour is in full swing as we visit NFL cities sitting with players and coaches around the league bringing you exclusive interviews and sideline conversations to get you ready for the football season. In partnership with Fanatics, we are pumped to drop this episode today! You already know this is one of our favorite stops of the year, the land of The Pivot colors, but long before the black and yellow belonged to us at The Pivot, it was RC's legacy in Pittsburgh and anytime we get to go back, it's always a time to be had. With a roster full of talent and star players, sitting with anyone would be a great show but we couldn’t pass up the opportunity to chop it up with the man himself, the one, Mike Tomlin!! Heading into another season as Head Coach of the Pittsburgh Steelers, Mike T gives us some insight to his thought process around training camp, paving the way for other coaches in the league and how loving football has kept him at the top of the game for 20+ years. No losing seasons, 2 Super Bowl wins, what’s The secret? Be open to change, willing to adapt and appreciate the people around you. While the biggest questions around the Steelers as the season kicks off is who will be their starting quarterback with the signing of Russell Wilson and Justin Fields, two talented and highly successful play callers, Coach Tomlin is more focused on the men they are and the leadership qualities each exemplifies. Football creates tough situations and Tomlin says it's his job to prepare players to handle business between the white lines, be ready to fight the fight and find ways to get through the difficult times as a team. Tomlin shares how coaching helped him become a better parent and now parenting has helped him become a better coach as players on his team are more the age of his own kids and he’s able to adjust to changes and better equip himself for being there for his players as he tries to bring out the best in them. 2024 goal? It's about winning. Tomlin knows the feeling of winning a Super Bowl and wants the guys in the locker room like Cam Heyward and TJ Watt, who have earned that championship feeling to be able to feel what it's like to have confetti rain down on them and set the tone for younger guys too. New episodes drop on Tuesdays at 12 p.m. ET and Fridays at 3:30 p.m ET on YouTube, with audio available on all streaming platforms including Apple, Spotify and Amazon. 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.

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• 0:30Ryan Clark?

  Someone, please call 911.

• 0:34Channing Crowder?

  Why is that?

• 0:35Ryan Clark?

  You don't hear it?

• 0:38Channing Crowder?

  Oh.

• 0:39Ryan Clark?

  That's what I've been singing.

• 0:40Channing Crowder?

  Oh, you were singing the song?

• 0:41Ryan Clark?

  Backstab was early.

• 0:42Channing Crowder?

  Oh, I'm like, why is he coming up with all these random songs?

• 0:46Ryan Clark?

  Feel my body getting cold.

• 0:49Channing Crowder?

  Man, who plugged in? Who plugged in the bass speaker?

• 0:52Mike Tomlin?

  Man, what is up? Get down there and be around them players, man. You know how you doing. What's up?

• 0:57Ryan Clark?

  It was so good to see y'all had TP out here, Coach.

• 1:00Mike Tomlin?

  Hey, not only that.

• 1:02Ryan Clark?

  How much does Pi look like TP, though? How much does Pi look like TP?

• 1:06Mike Tomlin?

  Hey, man. We had him and the boys. And, man, they was here for about a week. And you know how TP is. I was so excited about getting him and Mink together.

• 1:16Ryan Clark?

  Right.

• 1:16Mike Tomlin?

  But they the same dude.

• 1:17Ryan Clark?

  Nobody talking.

• 1:18Mike Tomlin?

  And so it took like four days for them to warm up. Hey, yeah, good to see you. Awesome, man. So much respect for you. It took them about four days to get beyond that.

• 1:26Ryan Clark?

  Yeah.

• 1:27Mike Tomlin?

  Before they got to start vibing. It was time to go before it got hot. You know what I mean?

• 1:32Ryan Clark?

  Hey, but you know TP, though, man. I just love seeing him back, though. Seeing the boys back like that.

• 1:38Mike Tomlin?

  Dude, it was awesome, man. They ball boyed, you know?

• 1:40Ryan Clark?

  Yeah.

• 1:40Mike Tomlin?

  It was good, man. It was good. How you doing, man?

• 1:43Ryan Clark?

  Good, Coach. How are you, man?

• 1:44Mike Tomlin?

  Man, good, man. Hey, man, congrats on y'all's success.

• 1:46Ryan Clark?

  Appreciate you, man.

• 1:47Mike Tomlin?

  Y'all killing it. What we doing today?

• 1:48Ryan Clark?

  We just chopping it up, Coach.

• 1:50Mike Tomlin?

  All right, let's do it.

• 1:50Ryan Clark?

  This is just, we just hang out.

• 1:52Mike Tomlin?

  Yeah, let's do it.

• 2:27Ryan Clark?

  I do have a question that I wondered just from my perspective, Coach. Oh, first off, this is Mike Tomlin for those who thinks that he needs an introduction. Channing Crowder, Fred Taylor, Ryan Clark. This is the pivot of part of Fanatics. Coach T, you've accomplished so many things, right? You just signed a new extension. What is it that keeps you so motivated to keep doing this job?

• 2:50Mike Tomlin?

  I love what I do, first of all. Just the vocation of coaching. You know, I got into coaching, man, because as a young man, the coaches in my life, man, were kind of an inspiration for me, a blueprint for me. It wasn't just about the sports that they coached, man. They were like leaders and I wanted to emulate them. And so that's always been my mentality about what I do. I love working with young people. Those challenges are ever-changing and so it's fresh. When I coached you, I was a big brother type. Now I'm coaching my son's friends, you know? And so the perspective or the lens in which I see it has evolved and that keeps the challenges fresh, man. I'm having fun, man. I love it.

• 3:35Channing Crowder?

  Coach, we talked to a lot of guys. You know, we do the training camp tour and we talked to a bunch of dudes, some ex-players too, talking about it. Well, man, I feel like an honorary member of the Steeler family. And I know so many, get from some C-Hamp, RC, Troy, Peasy, Pot, Footy, all them dudes. And it's that certain type of guy that you know plays here. And they saying these kids changing now. And you've been coaching 30, so you know that old way of football and in the new way. Is it, what's the transition for you with these new type kids, social media type kids? These guys are different, bro. They really are.

• 4:06Mike Tomlin?

  It's different. And I don't resist that. I acknowledge that. But it doesn't necessarily mean better or worse. It's just their experiences are different and so they're gonna be different. Like, the things that we think about when we think about this time of year, two-a-days, man, these guys have never been through a two-a-day in their life. Like, today's player, two-a-days were outlawed when they were in high school. They didn't have two-a-days in college. They had mandatory off-days in training camp, like, settings. They've come into the league under these circumstances. And so to think that these guys are gonna be ready for morning 9:00 or 7:00 and the afternoon team run. No, man, they have not grown up in the game like that.

• 4:51Mike Tomlin?

  And so, you know, I don't judge them because of the differences. These dudes have the same appetite that you guys had. And if put in them circumstances, I'm sure they would swim in them waters. But they're brought up in a different time and a different environment. Like, I know your boy. If your boy was brought up in a football environment like you and I was brought up in, he would swim in those waters. It's relative because they all got the same experience. And so I really try not to judge them because their experience or lens in which they see the game is different, maybe, than mine, and I just work with them.

• 5:26Fred Taylor?

  Coach, you ever spend some time in Kansas City, like, way back in the day?

• 5:30Mike Tomlin?

  No, uh-uh.

• 5:31Fred Taylor?

  Well, there's a person out there that kinda looked like you, Funny Marco. You familiar with him?

• 5:36Mike Tomlin?

  Uh-uh, no, I'm not.

• 5:38Fred Taylor?

  Yeah, RC had him on his show and he put up a paper and said, "This guy right here."

• 5:43Ryan Clark?

  I ain't never seen you, Coach.

• 5:47Fred Taylor?

  It's hilarious. Man, we always appreciate you welcoming us here, like, extended family. We just visited sometime on this training camp tour in Atlanta with Ra. And I told him, I said, "Coach, I know you've seen the schedule. I know you know what Week 1 is. Are you excited about Week 1?" He was like, "I've seen it," but he tried to dumb it down a little bit. He said, "But I know my big brother's ready for it." So how excited are you for Ra, number one? Because last time we did this with you, you said of the 32 coaches out there, some guys aren't getting a fair shot, basically, because he's good enough. You haven't been around a coach better than him that doesn't have a head coaching job, basically. How excited are for you to see him back in the driver's seat?

• 6:32Mike Tomlin?

  Man, I can't express the words.

• 6:37Mike Tomlin?

  To illustrate how excited I am for him. Like I said the last time we talked, I've believed that for the last number of years, man, that he's quite simply the best coach in football without a head job. And so I think he's deserving of the opportunity. I'm excited for him doing it in familiar territory around good people. But all that being said, man, he had nameless gray face on week one.

• 7:01Mike Tomlin?

  And he knows that.

• 7:03Ryan Clark?

  He has some good Mike T impersonation though. He's like, good.

• 7:08Mike Tomlin?

  This guy, we worked together years ago. I used to always give him the post-practice meeting. You know, for me, I probably never told him this, but I was working on my staff management skills just in a small group. You know, I was a secondary coach, he was my assistant. And so I took his growth and development personally. And so I always gave him the young guys' post-practice meetings. And I'd be sitting in my office next to the meeting room, kind of doing cards for the next day or whatever. And he did, he would like do that meeting in my voice.

• 7:45Mike Tomlin?

  Like, he's so talented of an impersonator, man. He could go for 30 minutes, man, in my voice.

• 7:51Ryan Clark?

  Just be you the whole time.

• 7:51Mike Tomlin?

  The whole time. And I'm just, and even I had to acknowledge, like, okay, that does sound like me.

• 7:58Ryan Clark?

  He was spot on, Coach. A part of the game evolving, also your tenure has evolved. You know, you started, like you said, you were a big brother. You've obviously changed in kind of the perspective you could see the game, but also the game has changed from your roster standpoint. When you got us, Coach, we were like veteran Grizzly. You had to bring along the offense. And then obviously you had the Killer Bs and Ben was the leader. You've gone through two different sets of quarterback rooms since then. And I'm not asking about who starts, I don't care about that. What are some of the challenges that are different from having Kenny Pickett, trying to raise him and figure out between he and Mitchell Trubisky, who would be the starter? And now having a veteran like Russ, who's very accomplished?

• 8:42Ryan Clark?

  And then also Justin, who's the talented young guy? What are those evaluations like each day?

• 8:48Mike Tomlin?

  Integrating them into Steeler culture is a very different challenge based on their experiences, as you mentioned. Like Kenny, it was about his transition to the professional game. And and obviously, that's a lot of things associated with that. With Russ and even Justin, you know, I'm not introducing them to the National Football League. Those guys have gotten out of their cars on Sundays, man, as franchise quarterbacks and walked into that tunnel. They know what that is about, but it's important that they understand what we do here and how we go about business here and what it means to be a quarterback here. And so particularly in a training camp setting, man, I do 30 minutes with them every morning

• 9:32Mike Tomlin?

  to talk about the challenges of the day, to review what transpired yesterday in an effort to be a component of their leadership acclamation. I'm not just gonna sit on the side and and hope they're the leaders that we need them to be or hope their natural leadership skills evolve in the ways that we want them. Man, we're just talking about a myriad of issues, man, how to stay a step ahead of of the group. If I if I need them to lead, then they need information. And so I talk to them about a staff emphasis of the day in a training camp like setting. I talk to them about offensive leadership based on when things go well, we have a great day. When things don't go well, it really kind of mirrors what I need from them during the course of the season

• 10:15Mike Tomlin?

  as we face positive results, negative results, etc. And so, man, we're really locked in on that now. I respect their experience. As you mentioned, man, Russ has been around the block and back, but it's his first lap in Pittsburgh. And so we're not taking anything for granted from that perspective. Man, there's no shortcut to it, man. We gotta spend time. And destination camps like this, man, allow us to do that. We all bring bags, right? And so part of them excelling here, man, is me gaining an understanding of what's transpired with them in the other places they've been. And so sometimes, man, we're just talking. You know, a cup of coffee in the morning, I'll broach a subject, you know, some component of leadership of quarterback play,

• 11:00Mike Tomlin?

  and then I'll just, you know, kick it around the room and let those guys talk about their experiences. Management of receivers, you know, guys that can be a distraction to the unit, what have you. You know, coaching, accountability, tape review, different environments that they've been in, confrontational, non-confrontational. I just want to get an understanding of the ground that they've covered because in a lot of ways, man, it affects how they acclimate.

• 11:32Fred Taylor?

  Right.

• 11:32Mike Tomlin?

  And not only them, but Kyle Allen too is new to us. And so I've had fun, man, spending time every morning with those guys.

• 11:39Ryan Clark?

  Mike T, how does that happen though? Right? Because we listen to coaches so many times talk about the X's and O's. Right? But as a head coach, it's a relationship job. What are your thought processes when you say, okay, when it comes to these two dudes, the X's and O's matter, but the leadership of the Pittsburgh Steelers in particular is important, and this is the way I'm going to approach it?

• 12:02Mike Tomlin?

  Football being the ultimate team game, we talking about capturing that you can't measure, right? But we all know it's what gets us out of stadiums. Right? When it really get thick, right? The X's and O's are the X's and O's. Everybody got guys that can play. Assuming that everybody's done their due diligence, they ready for the moments. Man, it's that, it's that glue stuff. It's that 30 minutes every morning, you know, spending time together, gaining an understanding, knowing each other's strengths and weaknesses, what we fear, what we hunting, to best utilize the pieces, man, to get through the sticky moments. That's the only way to do it, man. That's the only way I know how to do it, and I know we better work at it. I know we better work at it just like we work at assignments,

• 12:47Mike Tomlin?

  particularly in a setting like this, man, because it's the National Football League, man. It's gonna be thick moments.

• 12:51Fred Taylor?

  Yeah.

• 12:52Mike Tomlin?

  We gonna be up against it. Everybody's gonna be up against it. And I'm not hoping we work our way through it. I'm gonna construct, I'm gonna construct an environment that, that builds us to work our way through it. You know what I mean?

• 13:06Fred Taylor?

  Coach, most, most times, teams, teams look to avoid the media circus, but you've always done a great job with the media. You, you, you, you've always struck me as a man who never flinch. Like, you're precise, you show extreme conviction and poise just across the board, even when you're on the sideline. The, the decision this offseason, you brought in Justin and Russ. Knowing a lot of media attention was gonna follow that. What went into pulling the trigger in that? Was it just simple as opportunity? Or what was behind it at the end of the day?

• 13:41Mike Tomlin?

  No question, an opportunity to acquire the talent. But man, this is professional football and we trying to be world champs. And based on my experience, I know whether you want media attention or not, if you going down that road and going down that road the way you want to, media attention gonna come with it. Mm-hmm. You know what I mean? I love visitors, man. Like, I love the fact that y'all here today. I want y'all on the sideline when they warming up and stuff. Because if you been in the Super Bowl, right?

• 14:11Fred Taylor?

  No.

• 14:12Mike Tomlin?

  Everything. Hey, Coach. Everything outside, everything outside that white lines, right? Ain't nothing normal about it. Yeah. But that, inside that white lines is business. Yeah. And so, like, again, I'm not hoping that this group is in position to experience those things. It's my job to ready this group. And so, I've learned over the years, man, to embrace visitors, to extend courtesies to them, it's the right thing to do. But it also just teaches our guys that there's a certain amount of fanfare that comes with what we do. But we professionals, man. We could chop it up. Bret Michaels was here the other day. Hey, but step across that white line, man, we got team run. You guys are here today.

• 14:56Mike Tomlin?

  Man, they can enjoy the knowledge that you guys can share with them and get, meet you guys, but we step across that white line, we got business. Because that's what Super Bowl Sunday is like. It is a circus. Yeah. But it's business waiting for us on the other side of that white line. And so, I see it all as prep in my mind. And that's how I talk to the group. Right at the outset of this, I said, we gonna have some unique visitors in training camp. Man, enjoy them, get to know them, partake in it, learn from them. But it don't affect our business. We've had Jason Kidd in already. Just cool people, maybe from different walks of life, man. But, but kick butt in whatever it is they do. It's something to learn from that. And so.

• 15:40Mike Tomlin?

  It's just some things that I try to be intentional about, you know, when we're in a setting like this. But the media storm, nah, I'm not gonna run from it, man. We gotta push through it. Right. That better not be like our biggest problems, man. We gotta beat people. Yeah. And so I'm not gonna allow that to be a distraction. I respect it. I know it's a component of what we do. And particularly if we're doing it well enough, some attention gonna come with it.

• 16:04Channing Crowder?

  Yeah, Coach, we're gonna hit you with that with Reds Daddy on Friday. Y'all know what the Super Bowl's like. No.

• 16:09Mike Tomlin?

  No.

• 16:11Mike Tomlin?

  Excuse me. I told you, come this way, Coach. Yeah, sorry.

• 16:14Channing Crowder?

  But Coach, it's funny because like everybody, even Rob was talking about, he told him Tomlinisms. And like all the stuff you say, the main thing is the main thing.

• 16:22Mike Tomlin?

  Standard is the standard.

• 16:23Channing Crowder?

  Standard is standard and all the words you say. But 30 years, Coach, you're going on 20 years as the big man. Do you ever run out of stuff? Because I done heard the little engine that could story, Coach. I done had some good coaches that gonna tell you, you 30 years in, you ain't never run out of motivation, I would say. X's and O's, X's and O's. But the motivation?

• 16:41Mike Tomlin?

  No, man, you know, because the audience is always changing. And I got sons, man, sons that play ball and stuff. And so that keeps me somewhat connected, man. You know, when I was young, my coaching experience and abilities allowed me to be a better father, helped me in my fathering. And now my fathering probably helps me with my coaching. You know what I mean? From a relatability standpoint. I was thinking about that some this summer when I was chopping it up with my sons, man. I had some parenting advantages because of my coaching experiences when they were young. But now I see the reverse effect. Just being completely engaged with them

• 17:25Mike Tomlin?

  and having to do the things that you need to do as a dad and how they interact and the ways that you gotta communicate with them, I think helps me in my coaching.

• 17:34Ryan Clark?

  Coach T, it's here, it's about winning Super Bowls. And we had so much early success. And then you may have had some teams sort of in the middle of the beginning and now that were more talented than we were in the sense of the dynamic way they could play the game. You've continued to evolve. You continue to field competitive teams. How difficult is it having not reached that pinnacle again since early on in your career?

• 18:03Mike Tomlin?

  Man, it's painful, but man, life is, you know. But it's the quest, man. Like, early on, you asked me, you know, why am I still excited, man? Because, you know, I'm chasing something. You know, I want to get back to that. I want to deliver some real deserving guys that have seen everything this game has to offer other than that, or deserving of that. I want to see Cam Heyward. I want to see that confetti rain down on him. I want to see that confetti rain down on TJ Watt, Minka Fitzpatrick. I want them to experience, to know what being a champion is, man, because they don't realize that they are already.

• 18:44Ryan Clark?

  Yeah.

• 18:45Mike Tomlin?

  You know what I mean? They embody the characteristics that is a champion, and so I want to see them experience it.

• 18:52Ryan Clark?

  Yeah, you know, Coach, I listen to, and you know, in my job, I'm not supposed to be a fan. And I tell people all the time, I'm loyal to people, not places. But this place is different because you're still here, right? And I tell them all the time, it's like, yeah, he's my coach, but he's my friend. And I want to continue to see you do well. But I remember the dude that walked in the door, Coach. He is not this guy. You talked about the way your parenting now informs your coaching, but just in particular, how have you evolved to be able to still enjoy this the way you do with so much of it changing?

• 19:31Mike Tomlin?

  You know, I just decided long ago to not be resistant to change, to not be adaptable. You know what I mean? I never wanted to be the dinosaur, although I'm dinosaur-like now. You know what I mean? To not be resistant to growth. You know what I mean? Like, growth is a lifelong thing, man. And, you know, I want to reflect that.

• 19:56Ryan Clark?

  Do you know you're a star, though, Coach? Like, you're an actual celebrity. Like, Glorilla and some of these people that now come around, it's still the logo, right? It's still a brand. It's the organization. But I don't go anywhere in life and they ask me what it's like to play for the Steelers. It's, what was it like to play for Mike Tomlin? What about the way he motivates? Like, you've now changed from this guy who was just a ball coach to a celebrity, a star. Do you feel that when you move around?

• 20:28Mike Tomlin?

  I do, man, but just by nature, I resist it. Because to your point, man, I'm doing the same things that I've always done. But the perception of me, I guess, is what has changed. But it doesn't mean that I need to embrace that or run to that. I probably run from it, man. That's something that I never envisioned. You know what I mean? Like, I'm intentional as hell when it comes to my business. Always have been. Plan for everything. Even back when Raheem and I were together. You know, I'd be like, hey, man, like, let's pay attention to these itineraries, man, that John Gruden is handing out on weekends because we're gonna be head coaches, man, and just put this in your head coach notebook.

• 21:12Channing Crowder?

  Wow.

• 21:13Mike Tomlin?

  You know what I mean? Um, I always was intentional. And so how he managed players, how he managed staff, anybody that I've worked for, Brad Childress, Tony Dungy, all of that. Um, always had a plan in mind, but I never thought about or contemplated that component of it. And so, you know, my natural instincts is to be resistant. It's silly to me, kind of, at times because I'm a football coach. You know what I mean? Um, and it's just not my style.

• 21:44Channing Crowder?

  Yeah.

• 21:44Fred Taylor?

  Coach, I think, uh, the good people of La Trobe, last night we were coming in, we saw Arnold Palmer Road or Drive or whatever. I can see a, a, a name, a road named after you in the future.

• 21:55Mike Tomlin?

  Man, that's funny.

• 21:56Fred Taylor?

  No, no, I'm serious. Some are even Pittsburgh in the city out here. But, uh, when, when we were sitting with Rod, we asked him to build sort of a, a, a Mount Rushmore plus one defense, right? So basically, it's on every level, DN, D tackle, linebacker, cornerback, safety. Give me, can you build me your all-time defense, a player from each one of those positions?

• 22:19Mike Tomlin?

  Wow.

• 22:20Fred Taylor?

  I mean, you've been around for a while, so you've got a lot of knowledge and a lot of greats.

• 22:24Mike Tomlin?

  Ain't, ain't no doubt.

• 22:25Fred Taylor?

  Could be players you coached or not.

• 22:28Mike Tomlin?

  Man, you know, I try to be respectful of the guys that I hadn't seen. And so, you know, I'm a big football historian. And so, I'm always hesitant in those discussions, man. Because guys like Deacon Jones, man, deserve consideration in discussions like this. Right. When I was a young assistant with the Bucks, man, Deacon came in and spent a week with us. And he was Sapp's hero. Sapp would be on my Mount Rushmore along the front lines. But I saw the admiration that he had for Deacon Jones, man. Like, you know, Sapp doesn't show deference to anyone. Y'all know Sapp.

• 23:12Mike Tomlin?

  But Sapp was deferring to Deacon Jones for a week. And it was a cool thing to see. He little broed him, and there was a reverence there that, that when you're around it, man, you just appreciate it. And so, like, the guys I, like, the guys I named, the guys I've been around, like Warren, like Derrick Brooks, like TP, like John Lynch, who are all Mount Rushmore types. Rhonnie Barber, we just put a gold jacket on last year. As I say their names, I'm interested in the names that they say. Mm-hmm. In an effort to continue to educate the next generation, man, to appreciate the shoulders of the people that we standing on.

• 23:56Mike Tomlin?

  And so, I always think about that when I'm thinking about questions like that. Because obviously, I want to say the bear, you know, Warren, we call Warren the bear. But I just remember the reverence, man, that he had for Deacon Jones. Like, and it makes me want to say Deacon Jones. You know what I mean? And in the memory of his legacy in this thing. Like, like LT, who's from around my way, is the physical blueprint a generation later. Yep. That dude had the measurables, the height, weight, speed of first-rounders today. Yeah. You know what I mean? And so, like... I'm just always respectful of the historical component, man.

• 24:38Mike Tomlin?

  And I'll always say unpopular names, names that maybe a lot of people don't want to remember or don't remember at all. Because I just got so much respect for the game and the people that have laid the foundation for us, man. Like, I remember my first combine, one of my first combines, me and Raheem are walking through the old dome, RCA Dome in Indy. And we run into Shaq Harris, man, and Doug Williams. And they take us to lunch with them. And that's one of the few times where Raheem won't say nothing. Like Raheem was quiet. Like, shut up. Like, let's listen to this. You know what I mean?

• 25:21Mike Tomlin?

  Like, to get that old history, man, to gain the experience of the men that's come before us, man, that's really groundbreaking, man. Dudes like Shaq Harris, man, quarterback of the L.A. Rams, man, in the 70s.

• 25:34Ryan Clark?

  Who people forget about when we talk about the historical, like, relevance of black quarterbacks.

• 25:39Mike Tomlin?

  No question. Like, I wonder if these guys know Shaq Harris. I wonder if Justin...

• 25:46Fred Taylor?

  Shaq would always tell us, he'd say when they would introduce the lineup, the offense for the games, when they got to his name, the announcer would say, "Let us pray." They introduced him as "Let us pray" because they knew he was going to cause hell.

• 25:59Mike Tomlin?

  Yeah, man, you know what I mean? Like, I remember being 14, 15 years old or whatever, you know, when Doug Williams went off in the second quarter, man, and was dumping that ball in the right front shirt pocket of Ricky Sanders and them. Like, you know what I mean? And what it felt like to witness it as a young guy. You know what I mean? And all that he had been through, man, like, I just, when given an opportunity, man, I'm gonna uplift those, man, I'm gonna highlight those guys that I consider, you know, dudes that inspired me and those before me.

• 26:33Channing Crowder?

  That goes quick on the way. I got one more, because you bring up Raheem, now you're talking about the older players that you want to show respect to. Do you know that you that OG? That you have that lineage? Even Rob, like, Rob, bro, we, Rob brought you up anytime he could. Cause he really does not think.

• 26:49Ryan Clark?

  He's here without you.

• 26:50Channing Crowder?

  He would not be here without you. And when you were, you know, you first ballot Hall of Famer, I don't know if you even understand that, but I guess your legacy. You a great coach, the never having to lose a season, like you know all your stats. But do you think about the legacy and the, the, the tree of coaches that you've built and all that stuff? Are you too deep in it to really sit back and look at the big picture, Mike Tomlin?

• 27:11Mike Tomlin?

  One, I don't have time and even if I had time, I don't know that I would allow myself to, man. Like, I'm, I'm living it. Like, I'm living it. You know how it is, man. Like, the challenges, man, of today, just always gonna trump that BS, man. Like, nah, man, I, it's my job, like, like, my career has been long. Okay? Like, these dudes, man, their, their careers are short. Like, I owe them urgency.

• 27:40Ryan Clark?

  Yes.

• 27:41Mike Tomlin?

  You know what I mean? I owe them to be in it the way they in it. I don't have a longevity mentality when I get out of my bed in the morning because they're not afforded that. You know what I mean? And as lea-, as a leader, man, I gotta live like they live. You know what I mean? I better, I better relate to that. I better not get desensitized to that. I make an effort not to, man. And so, I understand all that that you say, but it, it doesn't help me help them get down like that, you know?

• 28:15Ryan Clark?

  Well, Coach, we had, uh, you know, you do have that reputation, but that is earned through what you've done as a coach, what you've done as a man. Uh, we actually sat with Brandon Iuk a while ago and he listed this as a place he wanted to be because of you. And I think that current players feel that way, it's important. People also say he look like you though, Coach. So, so I don't, so I don't know.

• 28:38Channing Crowder?

  Everybody look like Mike.

• 28:39Ryan Clark?

  If Brandon Iuk leave, Coach, it's that he look like you.

• 28:41Mike Tomlin?

  Where's that boy from now?

• 28:45Ryan Clark?

  Appreciate you, y'all. We gotta get to practice.

• 28:47Mike Tomlin?

  Love y'all, man.

• 28:48Ryan Clark?

  I was about to ask you.

• 28:50Mike Tomlin?

  Yes, sir.

• 28:50Ryan Clark?

  Coach, we got to ask you, you had been to Nevada like 25 years ago.

• 28:53Mike Tomlin?

  Man, get around them dudes, man. Them young runners, man. Oh, yeah. Like, like, they gonna wanna see you, you know what I mean?

• 29:02Mike Tomlin?

  Hey, good, good. Yeah, it's a different. Love you too, Coach.

• 29:04Channing Crowder?

  I love that he emphasized playing the run because he's very graceful.

• 29:09Mike Tomlin?

  Yeah.

• 29:09Channing Crowder?

  He's a jumper.

• 29:10Ryan Clark?

  What up, guys? What's happening? What are we doing? Why are we out here so early? What time does practice start? What's up, boss man?

• 29:21Fred Taylor?

  What's up, champ? How you been, man? All good? All right, for sure. I'm doing well. Feeling all right? Looking good?

• 29:28Ryan Clark?

  How's the body, bro? Knees? Be good?

• 29:30Fred Taylor?

  We got stem cells, Coach.

• 29:31Ryan Clark?

  Since I've been a part of this family, this is the first time we've had like this many new faces. Right, like you know, you got PQ and you got Dante bringing two quarterbacks. That's a rarity here.

• 29:45Fred Taylor?

  I always tell you when I see you because I rarely see you. It takes what it takes.

• 29:49Ryan Clark?

  Yeah.

• 29:50Fred Taylor?

  I know you messed the [bleep] out of them.

• 29:52Ryan Clark?

  Of course.

• 29:52Fred Taylor?

  I know you, man.

• 29:53Ryan Clark?

  He meant to work them.

• 29:54Fred Taylor?

  Hey, good dude, man.

• 29:55Ryan Clark?

  Appreciate you.

• 29:55Fred Taylor?

  I love you.

• 29:56Ryan Clark?

  Good seeing you, babe.

• 29:56Fred Taylor?

  Keep doing what you do, bro. I'm always rooting for you.

• 29:58Ryan Clark?

  Appreciate you, babe.

• 29:59Fred Taylor?

  All right, bet. Bet, all right.

• 30:00Ryan Clark?

  This dude is different. Thirty-nine. He's, I can't. He's a different human.

• 30:06Fred Taylor?

  Yep. It just makes me smile. Because it's just... You know how funny it is to coach three Hall of Fame types back there and they're all different people?

• 30:15Ryan Clark?

  Just totally different, Coach.

• 30:17Fred Taylor?

  Yeah.

• 30:18Ryan Clark?

  He's talking about you.

• 30:20Fred Taylor?

  What's up? Two-two?

• 30:21Ryan Clark?

  Looking good, man.

• 30:23Fred Taylor?

  Taking it easy.

• 30:23Ryan Clark?

  Move, what's up, boy?

• 30:24Fred Taylor?

  Downhill, baby.

• 30:25Ryan Clark?

  Downhill, downhill. Ah, what up, boy?

• 30:31Fred Taylor?

  Like with some shit wrapped around his head. It's a beautiful day, Coach.

• 30:35Fred Taylor?

  We gonna do special things.

• 30:36Ryan Clark?

  Man, they good.

• 30:37Fred Taylor?

  Freaky shit routinely.

• 30:38Ryan Clark?

  Everybody say you changed the energy around here, bro, so I love it. I love that now. I can watch you guys. My favorite defense. I used to talk to LeBeau about it. Yeah. Trying to get that mentality back, from the offense. But honestly, when we were here like that defensively, that was the mentality in the offense. It was, like you told me, like seven shots. Physical mindset. Yep. That's what he said, he said, when Bell and AD and those guys, like you guys, it was like, everybody fight. Right, then you gonna fight and then in the game, we gonna hit you with this, hit you with this. Big play. Hey, you had to make it hard on yourself. I'm gonna start at two yards, man. Yeah.

• 31:12Fred Taylor?

  With him, it's like, I gotta actually work this.

• 31:15Ryan Clark?

  Good.

• 31:16Fred Taylor?

  And then we'll get together afterwards and like, don't ask me, you know, what did you see here? Why you didn't, you know what I'm saying?

• 31:20Ryan Clark?

  Good.

• 31:21Fred Taylor?

  Both kind of learning.

• 31:22Ryan Clark?

  Iron shop sharpening iron.

• 31:24Fred Taylor?

  Exactly.

• 31:24Ryan Clark?

  That's good.

• 31:27Fred Taylor?

  What's up, Ron?

• 31:27Ryan Clark?

  What up, good brother, how you doing?

• 31:28Fred Taylor?

  What's up, man?

• 31:28Ryan Clark?

  I saw a little man out here, man.

• 31:30Fred Taylor?

  Yeah, he's here, man.

• 31:30Ryan Clark?

  That's good, man. It's a blessing, baby, to do that.

• 31:33Fred Taylor?

  For sure, man.

• 31:33Ryan Clark?

  Did you make a TP when he came out, Troy?

• 31:35Fred Taylor?

  Oh, yeah.

• 31:36Ryan Clark?

  Did you talk to him?

• 31:36Fred Taylor?

  Yeah, I've known Troy for years, he's good dude.

• 31:37Ryan Clark?

  Okay, okay.

• 31:38Fred Taylor?

  Yeah, good people, man.

• 31:39Ryan Clark?

  Yeah, great people, man.

• 31:40Fred Taylor?

  I was talking to Coach about how y'all used to be smacking dudes back in the day.

• 31:42Ryan Clark?

  We was trying, man, it's a different time.

• 31:44Channing Crowder?

  It's special up here. We go to a lot of camps, and it's special up here. That's cool, man. The way guys are. Hard to believe, I've been here six years already. Yeah. Even from... You said, we said, talk...

• 31:55Ryan Clark?

  Hey, they're going red zone defense. Joey, they're going in. There you go, big dog. Thank you. No problem. What up, big dog? Broom! What up, dog? I love you guys! Broom, broom!

• 32:10Channing Crowder?

  Fellas, y'all know it's getting closer. August 16th through 18th, the Fanatics Fan Fest NYC, boy, I can't wait!

• 32:18Ryan Clark?

  Well, I'ma tell you what, I'm happy that we get an opportunity to sit down with Roger Goodell. I don't know if they can pay retroactively or whatever, but I need to figure out where all my fine money went. So, I don't know how long we got with him, but that's gonna be part of my conversation. Hell, I'm so fired up now, Freddie T., y'all ain't know who else gonna be there.

• 32:35Fred Taylor?

  Look, Tom Brady gonna be there, sitting down with Stephen A. You got Jeter sitting down with Big Papi. You got The Pivot, we sitting with Roger Goodell. You got Jay coming through with the 40-40 pop-up, the old throwback, bringing... 40-40 Club, you ever been?

• 32:50Ryan Clark?

  We can go to the 40-40 Club?

• 32:51Fred Taylor?

  We gonna go to the 40-40 Club.

• 32:52Ryan Clark?

  Ooh, I'ma put on my slacks!

• 32:56Ryan Clark?

  What is it again, man? I'ma put on my slacks and my hard bottom.

• 33:00Fred Taylor?

  Light on the creases.

• 33:01Channing Crowder?

  August 16th through 18th, Fanatics Fan Fest NYC, man, y'all gotta come mess with us.

• 33:43Speaker 06

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