During a Super Bowl week with so much hype and thousands of words, Pittsburgh Coach Mike Tomlin spoke sparingly and economically, with precision and grace.
Tomlin chooses words carefully, thinks before he talks and rarely blurts out an uncensored thought.
He acknowledges his roots but plays down the significance of being an African-American head coach in the N.F.L.
Yet if Tomlin leads the Steelers to victory on Sunday against the Green Bay Packers and wins his second Super Bowl ring in four seasons, he may become the first African-American head coach to be called brilliant.
The language of adulation has been reserved for white coaches. Tomlin can bridge this divide, though that depends more on the news media than it ever will on Tomlin.
A pattern emerged last season when the Indianapolis Colts started 14-0 under the first-year coach Jim Caldwell. Many commentators attributed the Colts’ success to Peyton Manning, not Caldwell. Even Tony Dungy, the first African-American head coach to win the Lombardi Trophy, was minimized as a good coach who thrived only because Manning was his quarterback.
But there is no question that Tomlin, not Ben Roethlisberger, runs the Steelers.
With a victory Sunday, Tomlin will be one championship ring behind Joe Gibbs, Bill Walsh and Bill Belichick, and two behind Chuck Noll, the Steelers legend who won four in the 1970s.
Noll began his career in Pittsburgh in 1969, going 1-13, 5-9 and 6-8 in his first three seasons. Belichick endured five mostly miserable seasons as the coach in Cleveland, held two jobs as an assistant coach, then was hired by New England and connected with Tom Brady.
Tomlin, 37, does not come off as a romantic and does not engage in nostalgia. He is confident and unapologetic. Asked how reaching two Super Bowls in just four years contrasted with his expectations when he took the Steelers job, Tomlin said, “It’s probably about two Super Bowls too short of my vision.”
“I’m not in a reflection mode,” he continued. “I’m just trying to do it. We’ve got a really good football team — guys who are not only talented, but are selfless in work. So we are trying to maximize the opportunity that we have. Maybe later in life when we’re all old, maybe we’ll sit around and reflect a little bit.”
Rex Ryan, the Jets’ bodacious coach, showed Tomlin the ultimate respect: he didn’t boast before their teams played in the A.F.C. championship game. Ryan had been talking a blue streak all season and during the playoffs. He said matchups with Manning and then Belichick were personal. When the time came time to play Pittsburgh, Ryan spoke of Tomlin in glowing terms. “He’s one of my favorite coaches,” Ryan said. “He’s a man’s man, and his team plays like that.”
Dungy gave Tomlin his start in the N.F.L., as he has done for nearly every African-American head coach. When asked about Dungy’s effect on his life, Tomlin lowered his shield for a moment last week and allowed a look at the way he sees himself and his role as head coach.
“I can give a really pointed answer because I am very conscious of Coach Dungy’s influence in terms of how I do my job,” Tomlin said, adding: “He tries to lead through service, and I do the same. I learned that from him in providing the men what they need to be great. Every day when I go to work, I don’t think about things I have to do, I think about the things I can do to make my men successful. So I have a servant’s mentality in terms of how I approach my job, and I get that from Coach Dungy.”
Tomlin has had to put that philosophy to use with the Steelers throughout the season, imploring backup players to step in and perform, and young players to grow up and contribute.
“If you have a helmet on, you’re a guy who is capable of making deciding plays,” Tomlin said. “We don’t grade on a curve. If I give any of these guys a helmet on Sunday, I expect them to potentially put themselves in position to be the reason why they win. I think there is not a man in our locker room who doesn’t embrace that. We’re not interested in style points.”
Tomlin resisted the hype.
He answered questions the way he coaches, directly and efficiently. Asked to describe his emotions in such a pressure-packed spot, Tomlin said: “I’m a robot. I’m just going to ride the wave.”
Two Super Bowl appearance in his first four seasons as head coach.
That is one great wave.
