by During his postgame press conference, Mike Tomlin alluded to his team needing to “get some quick sleep” as the Steelers overcame Monday night’s 24-17 win over the Colts as they kicked off their next game in Atlanta on Sunday.
About 12 hours after that press conference, Tomlin held his regular weekly press conference in Pittsburgh. He spent time between news conferences preparing for the Falcons, who fell to 5-7 after losing a six-point game last Sunday in Washington.
Did Tomlin get any sleep during that time period?
“No. None,” Tomlin said. “It’s a business. We don’t get paid by the hour. We accept that. We are competitors. This is a competitor’s week.”
On Tuesday, Tomlin referred to several key Falcons players, including quarterback Marcus Mariota, RB/WR Cordarrelle Patterson, linebacker Rashaan Evans, cornerback AJ Terrell and defensive tackle Grady Jarrett (whom Tomlin compared to former Bengals pro bowler Geno Atkins), among others.
Tomlin laughed when asked what he attributes to the Steelers’ success on Monday night during his time as coach. The win over the Colts was the Steelers’ 19th win in 22 games with Tomlin sidelined.
“I focus singularly on every opportunity,” Tomlin said. “I respect ‘Monday Night Football.’ I make sure our team does. I just appreciate it from a fan’s perspective. Someone who loves soccer. He grew up before “SportsCenter.” Howard Cosell told you the highlights of the day before and that’s all he saw. At halftime, my mom would make me go to bed. I just love him and I respect him and I want to be prepared for that and I want to do my best.”
As Tomlin alluded to, sleep deprivation is part of life for an NFL head coach. In fact, Joe Gibbs, one of the coaches Tomlin admired when he was a young football fan, was known for holding staff meetings that lasted late into the night. Gibbs’ staff eventually created an unofficial rule that meetings were to start when they could hear the garbage truck arriving at the Washington facility at 3 a.m.
That kind of work ethic helped earn Gibbs a place in the Pro Football Hall of Fame. While Tomlin is on his way to ending up in Canton himself, he remains singularly focused on the Steelers’ next assignment.
“In a short week, we have a lot to cover,” Tomlin said. “Obviously, it’s important that we work hard to accumulate this win and move forward on our journey.”
