The Pittsburgh Steelers went through a huge change this offseason, with Mike Tomlin stepping down as their head coach. While Tomlin had a lot of success in Pittsburgh, he had been on an ugly playoff-loss streak for almost the past decade. As a result, he decided to leave the team, which led to Mike McCarthy becoming the Steelers’ new head coach. It’s still early on in McCarthy’s tenure in Pittsburgh, but Steelers tight end JJ Galbreath has already noticed one key difference.
“Last year, coming in, I felt like there was a tension in the air being around Mike Tomlin,” Galbreath said Wednesday on The Banner Show’s YouTube channel. “That also could just be because I’m an undrafted free agent rookie, so you’re trying to make every interaction positive…
“I would say it was a lot more tension-based, and very like, ‘This is our schedule, and this is how exactly how it’s gonna be.’ So far this year, we’ve had a little bit [of] slack here and there. We had our voluntary veteran camp, and that was supposed to be three days. We got two good days of work, and they were like, ‘We’re good. You guys can have the rest of the week off. We got good work in…’ It seems more easygoing.”
As Galbreath mentions, he was an undrafted free-agent rookie last year, which could be influencing his perspective. However, it’s not like his roster spot for this year is secure. There’s just as much uncertainty about his future, but he doesn’t feel that same tension around Pittsburgh.
That feeling could’ve been because of the Steelers’ playoff failures. Tomlin had often been credited as one of the league’s best head coaches. However, the noise calling for his job grew louder last year, even before the season started.
Perhaps Tomlin had already accepted that 2025 was going to be his final season with the Steelers, and maybe that contributed to the tension in Pittsburgh. Disregarding the Steelers’ playoff losses, Tomlin was with the team for almost 20 years. That’s a long time to be with one team, and sometimes, it’s time for two sides to part ways.
Whatever the reason, it’s good to hear that it isn’t a problem in Pittsburgh this year. While McCarthy might not have been everyone’s first choice for the Steelers’ new head coach, it sounds like having a new voice in the room has been good for the team.
Also, while there might be some concern about McCarthy’s Steelers not being as strict, he’s been a head coach with two other NFL teams. He had success at both stops, too. McCarthy knows what he’s doing.
Tomlin was a good coach, and he’ll make a good case to get into the Pro Football Hall of Fame one day. However, he wasn’t without his flaws. The Steelers might miss Tomlin, but last year could’ve been the right time to move on. Hopefully, both sides can enjoy the next stages of their journeys.
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