That “smile-in-the-face-of-adversity mindset’ Mike Tomlin referenced as a significant component of all that took place last Sunday against the Ravens wasn’t arrived upon by accident.
It has been honed, mostly by a head coach who invariably sets a tone.
“Mike’s the same guy every day,” second-year offensive coordinator Arthur Smith observed on Thursday. “I’ve always appreciated Mike from afar.
“I love working for him.”
Particularly in times such as last week, apparently.
The Steelers were coming off a disheartening home loss to Buffalo that dropped them to 6-6 on the season.
The natives at Acrisure Stadium were restless.
And Tomlin was a topic of daily debate in the national sports media.
Through it all Tomlin preserved and the Steelers, as they invariably always have, followed his lead.
And then they beat Baltimore in Baltimore.
“That’s one of the things I think Mike is elite at,” observed Teryl Austin, who has been the Steelers’ defensive coordinator since 2022 and a member of Tomlin’s staff since 2019. “He’s obviously an unbelievable coach but in terms of team building and culture building, he does that as well as anybody I’ve ever been around in terms of, ‘Hey, here’s what we’re building, here’s why we’re building it, here’s how we’re going to build it.’ And it’s not a one-time thing and then you talk about it in three months. That is something that is around here daily.
“He presents it in different ways, but I think that is one of the things that he does that is far and above what maybe the average coach could do.”
The Steelers prepared and then engaged the Ravens with confidence.
They got off to a good start on both sides of the ball.
They also won the turnover battle and were the more impactful team on the pass rush and in the red zone.
And they were able to rediscover their downfield passing game, which came in handy given that they wound up being out-rushed by 183 yards (217-34) but were still able to win the game.
“That was just the mindset going in,” Smith said. “Come hell or high water we were gonna try to push the ball down the field. I didn’t call very many runs. I got a little pass happy.
“I don’t think I’ve ever been accused of not running it enough, so maybe you evolve.”
The Steelers were able to do what was necessary against the Ravens because they’re capable, Austin maintained, and because they anticipated being able to do what was required even though they hadn’t been winning consistently prior to visiting M&T Bank Stadium.
“It has everything to do with this building and the culture that’s been built around here for a long time, and obviously Mike’s been here a long time,” Austin said. “That’s the culture around here. It’s a team thing, you’re always playing for the team and you do the best you can. I think that’s why guys hold the rope and they stay on it.
“It’s easy if you lose a few games to fall into selfish cliques and do stuff like that. Our guys don’t do that. Our guys just figure out, ‘Hey, how can we work hard to figure out a way to get us out of this rut and keep moving forward?’
“I think it’s testament to the building. It’s a testament to the guys that play the game, our players that have been here past and present.”