polamalubeast
06-13-2010, 06:28 PM
http://weblogs.dailypress.com/sports/teelblog/2010/06/steelers_tomlin_confronts_toug.html
Steelers' Tomlin confronts toughest coaching challenge in 2010
In just three seasons as an NFL head coach, Mike Tomlin has faced the gamut of challenges. But none like this.
Public relations, morality and football collide as Tomlin and the Pittsburgh Steelers navigate the fallout from Ben Roethlisberger's suspension and Santonio Holmes' trade.
Roethlisberger practiced Tuesday for the first time since NFL Chief Justice Roger Goodell suspended him for next season's first six games. That sanction, which could be reduced to four games, is punishment for a drunken sexual encounter in a bar bathroom that resulted in no criminal charges against the quarterback but immeasurable anguish for the woman, who told police that Roethlisberger assaulted her.
Neither Roethlisberger nor Tomlin spoke to reporters Tuesday, but given their cautious natures, they weren't likely to reveal anything.
How Roethlisberger and Tomlin manage this crisis, internally and externally, may well determine whether the Steelers return to the playoffs after last year's miss.
A graduate of Denbigh High and William and Mary, Tomlin is not unaccustomed to coaching tests.
Hired by Pittsburgh ownership in 2007 after just one year as the Minnesota Vikings defensive coordinator, Tomlin succeeded an icon in Bill Cowher and inherited a storied franchise one season removed from a Super Bowl championship. He was young (34), unproven and, in some quarters, considered unprepared.
Tomlin erased most doubts by guiding the Steelers to the AFC Central title in his maiden season, followed by the franchise's record sixth Super Bowl championship, a victory over the Ariznona Cardinals secured with Roethlisberger's last-ditch touchdown pass to Holmes.
But the team declined in 2009, missing the playoffs with a 9-7 record that included inexcusable losses to Kansas City, Oakland and Cleveland. Tomlin takes a hit for that and now prepares for a regular season in which he'll employ a backup quarterback for at least four games, a backup throwing to a receiving corps absent Holmes.
The NFL suspended the oft-troubled Holmes for 2010's first four games for a violation of the league's substance-abuse policy. Pittsburgh subsequently traded him to the New York Jets for a mere fifth-round draft choice.
But that was a simple nuisance for the Steelers' loyal following compared to the Roethlisberger tawdriness. The details of the March incident in Georgia and Roethlisberger's stilted responses, not to mention a 2008 accusation of sexual misconduct in Nevada, turned the town against him.
Our cynical side says those angry voices will turn to cheers the moment Roethlisberger throws his first touchdown pass. But what if they don't? What if fans are so repulsed they abandon Roethlisberger and/or the team?
Roethlisberger and New England's Tom Brady are the only active starting quarterbacks with multiple rings. He is the face of the franchise, but in his absence Tomlin shoulders that burden.
Tomlin has said little publicly about Roethlisberger, but rest assured the buttoned-down coach has said plenty in private -- to his quarterback and his team.
Eventually, Tomlin will have to make some of those sentiments public. The words he chooses, and the reactions to them by fans and players, may be as important as any play he calls this season.
Tomlin is scheduled to attend the annual Peninsula All-Star Football Camp in early July before the Steelers head to training camp. Hopefully he'll have time for some questions.
Steelers' Tomlin confronts toughest coaching challenge in 2010
In just three seasons as an NFL head coach, Mike Tomlin has faced the gamut of challenges. But none like this.
Public relations, morality and football collide as Tomlin and the Pittsburgh Steelers navigate the fallout from Ben Roethlisberger's suspension and Santonio Holmes' trade.
Roethlisberger practiced Tuesday for the first time since NFL Chief Justice Roger Goodell suspended him for next season's first six games. That sanction, which could be reduced to four games, is punishment for a drunken sexual encounter in a bar bathroom that resulted in no criminal charges against the quarterback but immeasurable anguish for the woman, who told police that Roethlisberger assaulted her.
Neither Roethlisberger nor Tomlin spoke to reporters Tuesday, but given their cautious natures, they weren't likely to reveal anything.
How Roethlisberger and Tomlin manage this crisis, internally and externally, may well determine whether the Steelers return to the playoffs after last year's miss.
A graduate of Denbigh High and William and Mary, Tomlin is not unaccustomed to coaching tests.
Hired by Pittsburgh ownership in 2007 after just one year as the Minnesota Vikings defensive coordinator, Tomlin succeeded an icon in Bill Cowher and inherited a storied franchise one season removed from a Super Bowl championship. He was young (34), unproven and, in some quarters, considered unprepared.
Tomlin erased most doubts by guiding the Steelers to the AFC Central title in his maiden season, followed by the franchise's record sixth Super Bowl championship, a victory over the Ariznona Cardinals secured with Roethlisberger's last-ditch touchdown pass to Holmes.
But the team declined in 2009, missing the playoffs with a 9-7 record that included inexcusable losses to Kansas City, Oakland and Cleveland. Tomlin takes a hit for that and now prepares for a regular season in which he'll employ a backup quarterback for at least four games, a backup throwing to a receiving corps absent Holmes.
The NFL suspended the oft-troubled Holmes for 2010's first four games for a violation of the league's substance-abuse policy. Pittsburgh subsequently traded him to the New York Jets for a mere fifth-round draft choice.
But that was a simple nuisance for the Steelers' loyal following compared to the Roethlisberger tawdriness. The details of the March incident in Georgia and Roethlisberger's stilted responses, not to mention a 2008 accusation of sexual misconduct in Nevada, turned the town against him.
Our cynical side says those angry voices will turn to cheers the moment Roethlisberger throws his first touchdown pass. But what if they don't? What if fans are so repulsed they abandon Roethlisberger and/or the team?
Roethlisberger and New England's Tom Brady are the only active starting quarterbacks with multiple rings. He is the face of the franchise, but in his absence Tomlin shoulders that burden.
Tomlin has said little publicly about Roethlisberger, but rest assured the buttoned-down coach has said plenty in private -- to his quarterback and his team.
Eventually, Tomlin will have to make some of those sentiments public. The words he chooses, and the reactions to them by fans and players, may be as important as any play he calls this season.
Tomlin is scheduled to attend the annual Peninsula All-Star Football Camp in early July before the Steelers head to training camp. Hopefully he'll have time for some questions.