For the first time in two decades, the Pittsburgh Steelers have someone different leading offseason workouts. The Steelers hired Mike McCarthy as their new head coach following Mike Tomlin stepping down just after the team lost to the Houston Texans in the playoffs.
With the new coach comes change. OLB T.J. Watt, who only played under Tomlin, says that learning everything has “been a lot”. He’s not the only one seeing differences. Everyone, from players to media, notices the changes, especially through the lens of Steelers offseason practices.
That includes insider Gerry Dulac.
“Organizationally, it’s completely different, right down to this OTA session and the way he does things,” Dulac said Monday on the DVE Morning Show. “I think the big thing with Mike is, without making a comparison, is how detailed he is with everything he does with practice. You can see it’s more, and again, this is no criticism of Mike Tomlin; I’m not saying one way’s right or one way’s wrong. But [McCarthy]’s extremely organized and detailed in everything he does with practice to set up, right down to the coaches not being allowed on the field during warm-ups until they say, ‘Okay, the coaches go onto the field.’ I haven’t seen anything like that since high school. It’s kind of strange, but that’s the way he runs things.”
Dulac did not go in-depth on how Tomlin ran his OTAs during the offseason so we can only assume that things were not as detailed as what McCarthy is doing right now. Watt even shared one difference that he’s seen on the practice field: “You don’t see benches out here anymore.”
It certainly sounds like Mike Tomlin ran a fairly relaxed operation during OTAs. However, it’s hard to compare Year 19 with the same head coach to Year 1 with a new head coach. Dulac was quite careful to not come across like he was taking shots at Tomlin. He’s simply observing how things appear right now compared to this time last year.
Remember, Mike McCarthy and his coaching staff are installing a new offense and a new defense. That means every moment of classroom instruction and practice time is crucial. So, it makes all the sense in the world that McCarthy would have everything hyper-detailed and organized.
It will be interesting to see how the team responds to a regimented structure for practices. We can assume it will continue in Latrobe after the Steelers convene for training camp. So, will the Steelers look ready come Week 1 when they host the Atlanta Falcons? It certainly sounds like Mike McCarthy and his staff are doing everything they can to make sure they are.
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