The Residue of Tomlin Remains
by Bo Marchionte
@bomarchionte | College2Pro.com
Published July 28, 2026, 12:10 PM
One Steelers Legend Another
Latrobe, PA – A new era begins in Latrobe, Pennsylvania with Mike McCarthy entering his first training camp at St. Vincent College. T.J. Watt usually is subdued with quiet demeanor without giving away much.
Entering the room this morning he wasn’t the 23 years old rookie drafted 30th overall in 2027. Watt entered as future Hall of Famer at the age of 31, but without the only coach he’s only known, until McCarthy arrived.
More importantly, it’s his first training camp without Mike Tomlin has naturally stirred memories for the players who spent years under his watch.
However, watching Watt answer questions it’s easy to notice his smile brighten as he reflected on Tomlin.
Watt Thrived Under Tomlin’s Direction
For Watt, those memories aren’t just about wins, playoff games or speeches. They’re about the daily uncertainty that made Tomlin one of the NFL’s most demanding coaches.
“I used to walk around on edge like crazy when Mike T was here,” Watt admitted.
That sentence alone says everything.
Fear isn’t the right word.
Respect seems more appropriate.
Watt recalled one of his earliest training camps when Tomlin casually stopped him in the hallway. The conversation was light. Tomlin asked about his family, joked around and acted as though everything was perfectly normal.
Meanwhile, Watt knew he had struggled during practice.
He figured the coach had either overlooked it or decided it wasn’t worth mentioning.
Then came the team meeting.
Without warning, Tomlin put Watt’s mistakes in front of the entire room.
The lesson was immediate.
With Tomlin, there was never a safe space created by a friendly hallway conversation. Relationships never overruled accountability.
That unpredictability became part of the Steelers’ culture.
Tomlin Held Everyone Accountable
Watt described entering meetings with genuine nerves because nobody knew whose clips would appear on “the big board.” It didn’t matter whether you were an undrafted rookie or a perennial All-Pro. If you lost a rep, everyone was going to see it.
Just as importantly, if a young player beat a veteran, Tomlin wasn’t protecting reputations.
“He didn’t care if you’re a first-year guy, if you’re a 10-year guy,” Watt said. “He was gonna give the guy who beat the vet his flowers.”
That’s the line that best explains why Tomlin commanded so much respect inside Pittsburgh’s locker room.
It’s just an observation of the obvious both Watt and Cam Heyward the tenured veterans of the roster feel the effects of Tomlin’s departure the most.
It might take a quick minute before the bonds created over the years to fade.
Every practice rep mattered.
Every meeting was another opportunity to be praised or humbled in front of your teammates.
A New Era Begins with McCarthy
Years later, Watt laughs about never feeling completely comfortable around Tomlin.
But beneath the humor sits genuine admiration.
Those butterflies before every meeting weren’t signs of fear. They were evidence of a coach who refused to let complacency creep into one of the NFL’s most successful locker rooms.
Long before Sundays arrived, Tomlin had already created competition on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and every practice in between. Players never knew when their number would be called.
That constant accountability became one of the defining characteristics of the Tomlin era and judging by Watt’s reflection, it’s also one of the things his players will miss the most.
Tomlin will forever and deservingly be a caveat of conversation especially with the older players still on the roster who only knew the Tomlin way.
Photo Credit Frank Hyatt/College2Pro.com
