Tomlin’s message to players loud and clear
Mike Tomlin is a fan of catchphrases. It’s how he communicates with his players.
Got a point to get across? Tomlin comes up with something to make it stick in the inner most recesses of his players’ brains.
Such is life in the National Football League during a pandemic.
Most years Tomlin breaks June minicamp with a talk that features one of his more popular catchphrases: “Don’t be that guy.”
“Don’t be that guy” to get arrested in South Beach during the Fourth of July weekend. Or “don’t be that guy” do something stupid on the South Side.
This year “don’t be that guy” has a slightly altered meaning. Players have been getting an earful from Tomlin since reporting to training camp last week about not being that guy to bring the coronavirus to the Steelers.
The stakes are high. It could mean the difference between making the team or getting cut; making the playoffs instead of missing them.
“You message it thoughtfully,” Tomlin said. “What you are talking about is conduct that is detrimental, and that is a term that is used often in our business and appropriately so. Because in this COVID environment, if you are not exercising discretion and being thoughtful about how you move, that conduct is detrimental to your cause and ours collectively. That is the message that I am delivering to those guys.
“We have to conduct ourselves accordingly. There has been a lot of work to position ourselves to be where we are right now. It is one fail, all fail in this environment. We are going to continue to package the messaging that way and be very transparent. It is that. It is conduct detrimental to their efforts and ours.”
Through Sunday, four Steelers have been placed on the reserve/COVID-19 list after the first wave of testing for training camp. Receiver James Washington, running back Jaylen Samuels and defensive backs Arrion Springs and Justin Layne have to undergo further testing before returning to team activities.
The Steelers have protocols in place for camp at Heinz Field. They are taking advantage of the additional locker room space so social distancing off the field is much easier. They clean and disinfect equipment between uses and have strict guidelines on everything from water bottles to towels.
“It’s not tough at all,” rookie receiver Chase Claypool said. “I think it’s pretty straightforward. They laid out the guidelines pretty clearly, and all you have to do is follow them. It’s almost tough not to follow them. I think it’s a pretty smooth transition. There’s a lot on the line. As long as you understand that, it’s pretty easy to adhere to.”
But there is little Tomlin and the Steelers can do once the players leave work for the day. Unlike the NHL and NBA, the NFL is not conducting its season in a bubble. Once players leave work, they are on their own.
Veteran players are going home to their families every night, and they face the same issues everyone does with the transmission of the virus. Their kids have activities and soon might be returning to school.
The bigger worry is younger players. Many of them are on their own for the first time and have some money in their pocket after signing their contracts.
“For me, just off the field, I am not really someone that goes out,” rookie linebacker Alex Highsmith said. “I am a social guy, but I am not someone who is going to put myself in a bad position that would ruin my opportunity that I have right now. I have never been a guy who goes out to the bars and stuff like that.
“I’m just doing whatever I can because right now football is the most important thing. I am not going to jeopardize that, jeopardize this opportunity by going and putting myself and others at risk. I have to think about that as well. Not only am I putting myself at risk if I go out and do something around a lot of people, but I’m also putting all the guys and everyone on the staff here at risk as well. Putting others before myself is really the mindset I’m having.”
The Steelers can only hope all of their young players have a similar mindset. Of course, Highsmith is the team’s third-round pick and has made the team. Nearly half of the players on the 90man camp roster won’t be around in September when the season kicks off.
Ultimately, it could be up to those players behaving responsibly.
“I think Coach Tomlin’s main coaching point for me and the team is ‘Don’t be the guy,’” Claypool said. “So don’t be that guy who messes up a pretty simple situation where it’s easy not to mess up. You just follow the steps and the things they laid out for you, and you’ll be just fine. Just don’t be the guy.”