Photo via behindthesteelcurtain.com

To be a great football coach, you must know your players, as Pittsburgh Steelers coach Mike Tomlin has demonstrated in his 11 seasons as head coach. In a recent interview, Tomlin drew parallels between raising his teenage sons and coaching NFL players.

For the past 10 years, Tomlin has traveled to his hometown of Hampton, Virginia to host his annual youth football camp, Hampton Road Youth Foundation. Since 1997, Tomlin has met and coached nearly 7,000 kids at his camp.

During his annual hometown return, he also sits down with local news reporter Bruce Rader with WAVY TV 10 for an interview. This year, the two discuss various topics, including Tomlin’s keys to being a head coach, Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger’s future, and Le’Veon Bell’s extension.

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More interestingly, though, was Rader’s comical question, “Is being head coach sometimes like being like us, being dads of teenagers?” Amused by the question, Tomlin had some insight.

“Hey, I’ll tell you, my sons are 16 and 17 now, man I really see the parallels, you know. It is [similar] in a lot of ways because if you want to truly be successful leading the men, it goes beyond the X’s and O’s in football. You’ve got to be willing to help them in growth and development in every aspect of their life, and that’s a part of the job that I embrace.” Tomlin said.

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NFL.com listed Tomlin as No. 4 in its coaches rankings, noting that he is able to keep his team viable even without some of his top players in the game. Sure, the main goal each season is to win the Super Bowl, but it goes deeper than that for Tomlin.

Rookie quarterback Mason Rudolph can attest to Tomlin’s dedication to his players.

“He’s everywhere in the building, he’s a walker. He’ll be in the weight room one minute and the training room the next. He gets around and his presence is felt and he’s an unbelievable leader,” Rudolph said. “He’s very close with the players, a players’ coach to the max. He’s got great relationships with the players off the field as well as in the way he commands their respect on it. So, it’s been fun to see him and to kind of develop our own personal relationship.”

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