**PITTSBURGH --** [Pittsburgh Steelers](https://www.pennlive.com/steelers/) head coach [Mike Tomlin](https://www.pennlive.com/steelers/2025/06/mike-tomlin-gives-update-on-tj-watts-contract-situation-if-he-will-attend-training-camp.html) made the call to switch the team’s training camp practices from the morning in 2024 back to their usual spot in the afternoon at 1:55 p.m. That means during the day’s heat, the Steelers will be out on the exposed practice fields at Saint Vincent College.
So, why exactly did Tomlin make the move to go back to those afternoon practices? Tomlin believes it needs to be hot to help the player’s conditioning.
“It wasn’t hot enough last year, to be quite honest with you. Heat aids in the development of physical conditioning. It makes it a more stressful environment, and that’s what we go to camp for. We go to camp to get better, and if it’s a little bit more miserable later in the day, man, that’s what we want,” Tomlin said.
Tomlin initially moved it to the morning last year to aid recovery and time management with the players. It seems those benefits did not outweigh Tomlin’s gains from the afternoon practices.
So, the Steelers will practice in the afternoon, like most of the years under Tomlin. The lone exception to that rule will be the Friday Night Lights practice at Latrobe Memorial Stadium.