It hasn’t been an easy season in Pittsburgh for Mike Tomlin’s Steelers.
Despite transforming the roster with big-name acquisitions in the form of DK Metcalf and Aaron Rodgers, consistency has been hard to come by. After starting the year 3-1 the Steelers have fallen to 6-6 and Tomlin’s legendary streak of consecutive winning seasons is in jeopardy. Pittsburgh’s loss to the Bills on Sunday sparked conversation about whether it was finally time for the franchise to move on from Tomlin after nearly two decades on the sidelines.
If you ask his players, though, Tomlin remains a motivating figure and a strong leader, and DK Metcalf is experiencing that for the first season. Speaking to Sports Illustrated on behalf of his My Cause My Cleats partnership with the Call of Duty Endowment, Metcalf detailed what it’s like to be coached by Tomlin after he was traded to the Steelers this past offseason.
“I think he's a great leader,” Metcalf said of his first year under Tomlin. “Just the way that he carries himself in and out of the building. How he motivates me and gets me to follow his lead. I think he's done a heck of a job sitting in there, listening to his team meetings. Anything that he has to say or his point of view about things. He’s coached some great players in his past, and I’m just trying to add to that list with the way that I play.”
Tomlin has a strong reputation for being a coach players enjoy playing for. Metcalf seems to be part of that group even though he’s a relatively recent addition to the roster.
The coach will need every bit of his motivating skills to get the Steelers back into the playoffs and quell all the noise. Sitting at .500 and tied for the AFC North lead with the Ravens, Pittsburgh has an absolutely massive matchup coming up against Baltimore. A win puts the team in the driver’s seat for a top-four seed in the postseason. A loss will make it mighty difficult to earn a division playoff berth, which means the Steelers will have to fight it out with a handful of other AFC hopefuls scrambling for one of the three wild card spots.
A lot on the line for Tomlin and his team. But Metcalf, at the very least, believes his coach will lead them to success.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as DK Metcalf Explains Why Mike Tomlin is a ‘Great Leader’ Amid Tough Steelers Season.
