Mike Tomlin is the longest-tenured coach in the NFL, now at the helm of the Pittsburgh Steelers since 2007. A Super Bowl winner, he has reached the pinnacle of his profession in many ways, as he strives to keep up in the “what-have-you-done-for-me-lately” league.
Being the NFL elder statesman that he is, Tomlin was asked on Friday how he felt progress was being made regarding hiring minority coaches. Tomlin said it feels like progress has been tough to measure in many ways.
“It depends on how you measure progress. It’s been one step forward, two steps backwards, etc,” Tomlin said. “Over the length of time that I’ve been in the position that I’ve been in, I’ve seen some positive things occur. I’ve seen some things that are not so positive.”
Tomlin is taking time out of his schedule to help reach back, teaming up with North Carolina Central head basketball coach LeVelle Moton for a two-day conference in Raleigh, NC to help up-and-coming coaches. Dozens of coaches from across sports and gender lines showed up for “The Next Up Coaching Initiative: Presented by LeVelle Moton and Mike Tomlin.”
“I just think from my perspective, it’s important and imperative for me to keep pushing forward, to keep providing an example about what things can be when given an opportunity for minorities to help position my brothers who have similar aspirations that in are deserving, in terms of their preparedness, in terms of their exposure,” Tomlin said.
He used Brian Flores as an example. Tomlin hired Flores after he was fired by the Miami Dolphins and then sued the franchise. Flores was said to be blackballed by many people in the NFL, and Tomlin said he wasn’t about to sit idly by. He hired him as a senior defensive assistant and linebackers coach for the Pittsburgh Steelers for the 2022 season.
“I refused to sit back on my hands and watch him go through what he was going through,” Tomlin said, reflecting. “I didn’t even have a personal relationship with Brian Flores – but I knew his video. I knew his tape. I knew his coaching resumé through that. So it was an honor for me to have an opportunity to keep him…in the business…if you will to show people that he is employable, and to help him continue, in his coaching journey.”
Flores was hired as defensive coordinator by the Minnesota Vikings the following season.
Tomlin says he considers helping the next generation of coaches as a moral obligation, even as he prepares for another season with the Pittsburgh Steelers.
“It’s easy for me to be here,” Tomlin said as the wind blew his freshly cropped hair on a balmy spring afternoon. “It’s difficult logistically. You mentioned the things that go on during the course of our busy calendars. But in spirit, man, it’s easy for me to be here.”
Tomlin’s presence at the conference was an example of how seriously he takes that obligation. Moton told the media several times during the session that he considers Tomlin a big brother. Those connections are just as important to Tomlin as they are coaches looking to follow in his footsteps at the highest levels.
“Leadership is lonely. You’re isolated – particularly when you do what it is that we do for, for the length of time that we’ve done it,” Tomlin said. “You work hard to stay connected –to seek connections. Meaningful ones. Grassroots ones. Ones that remind you of the ground that you’ve covered. And for me, that’s the spirit in which I’m here, man. I’m here standing on the shoulders of people that you don’t know. People that are really, really impactful for me. I feel a moral obligation to do the same for others.”