Some influential players unfazed by Tomlin’s playing favorites
So James Harrison thinks Steelers coach Mike Tomlin plays favorites in the locker room. So what, say a couple of influential people in that locker room.
If some players are upset about preferential treatment for star players, then work harder. That’s the advice team captain Cameron Heyward would give to them.
“If you feel slighted, keep working,” Heyward said Wednesday afternoon on the first day of Steelers training camp. “That’s his opinion. It’s all the way you look at things. I was a first-round pick, and you didn’t see me start right away. It’s all in the eye of the beholder. James is entitled to his opinion.
“For me personally, I had to work my way up. I’m going to continue to work. He treats everyone the way he wants to treat them. It’s all in the way you look at it. Some people have to be worked more and some people don’t. That’s about understanding your players.”
Harrison was released in December after spending the majority of his 15-year career with the Steelers. He finished the season with New England and started in Super Bowl 52 against the Philadelphia Eagles.
Harrison made his comments on the FS1 talk show Undisputed. He offered his comments when he was asked why New England coach Bill Belichick is a better coach than Tomlin.
“The world treats everybody differently,” veteran center Maurkice Pouncey said. “I think everyone is treated differently. ... You think Ben [Roethlisberger] should be treated like Josh Dobbs? No way.”
Harrison also said Belichick is the superior coach because he is a disciplinarian. Pouncey, entering his ninth NFL season, does not believe discipline is an issue for Tomlin.
The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reported in January that All-Pro running back Le’Veon Bell was late to the team’s walkthrough the day before the 45-42 playoff loss against Jacksonville. Bell started and played the entire game. Belichick, meanwhile, benched starting cornerback Malcolm Butler in the Super Bowl much to the dismay of Butler’s teammates. The Patriots lost to the Eagles.
“Heck, no,” said Pouncey, when asked if Tomlin has a problem disciplining players. “Coach does it the right way. He never makes it an issue. If a guy comes late, it is what it is. It’s not going to stop practice. It’s not going to stop [us from] working. We need that guy to perform anyways.
“He does a great job, man. He comes in and busts his butt, man. I don’t have anything bad to say about coach, man. He believed in me and trusts me. He’s a great dude.”