Three years ago, Pittsburgh Steelers star pass rusher T.J. Watt stated that he didn’t want to play for any coach during Hall of Fame career other than Mike Tomlin.
For nine seasons, Watt did just that, building a tremendous career under Tomlin’s direction.
But now, entering his 10th season, Watt is facing a significant adjustment after Tomlin resigned and Mike McCarthy was hired as the 17th head coach in franchise history.
It’s a change he’s embracing at this stage of his career.
“It’s been a lot. Yeah, I’m not gonna lie to you. It’s been a lot of studying, a lot of learning a lot on the iPad,” Watt said Wednesday of the coaching change, according to video via the Post-Gazette on YouTube. “Also trying to see new faces, not only players and coaches. There’s been a lot of really good work.
“As you guys can see, things are a little bit different around here. It’s tougher as you get older to get to work in, but it’s all been phenomenal.”
Tomlin’s resignation was shocking and really threw veteran locker room leaders like Watt and Cameron Heyward — two pillars of the franchise — for a loop. It was largely unexpected, and that it came after another blowout playoff loss — this time at home — only added insult to injury.
For Watt, being in the same scheme with the same terminology and responsibilities the last nine years allowed him to settle into a groove and establish certain day-to-day expectations and offseason plans. With McCarthy in the mix now, along with a new position coach and new defensive coordinator for Watt, a lot is changing around him.
The Steelers remain in the 3-4 defense, so Watt’s position doesn’t change. However, he’s going to have to move around a bit more, and the challenges of learning new terminology defensively has added to his workload.
“A lot of us are interchangeable partners. You’re not just learning your position,” Watt added regarding the defense. “You kind of have to learn the whole defensive front structure because we all are basically interchangeable.”
That’s requiring a lot of time on the iPad, studying the defensive scheme under Patrick Graham, who has the task of not only fixing some of the defensive issues in recent years, but also getting Watt back into gear as a dominant pass rusher.
Maybe the coaching change rekindles that fire and that dominance for Watt. He’ll be challenged in new ways, and that can always serve as extra motivation an aging player might need.
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