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The motivation for Pittsburgh Steelers coach Mike Tomlin in 2019 has become increasingly clear over the past few days after some interviews with the local media in his hometown of Hampton, Virginia.
Returning home to take part in the annual Hampton Road Youth Foundation camp, Tomlin has also taken time to speak with reporters. But whenever Pittsburgh has come up in the conversation, his answers have shown a consistent theme. As highlighted by an interview with Megan Plain of WTKR News released on Saturday.
When asked for his thoughts about the upcoming season, the Steelers head coach once again made continual references to the questions surrounding his team coming from outside of the organization.
“I’m excited about meeting the challenges of the year. I like the questions surrounding us. I think our team does. We look forward to meeting them head on and maybe proving some doubters wrong. Our agenda never changes. We’re trying to be world champions this year and we’ll aggressively pursue it.”
Tomlin gave similar remarks in an interview with Bruce Rader of WAVY TV 10 on Friday, with the theme of proving the doubters wrong seemingly the rallying cry for the 2019 season.
While the loss of Antonio Brown will be a difficult obstacle to overcome, it would be fair to say that the loss of Le’Veon Bell is somewhat overblown given that he missed all of the 2018 season due to a holdout. And with both names playing their football elsewhere this season, it seems reasonable to believe there will be less drama emanating for the locker room.
The doubts surrounding the Steelers are not limited to the playing field, with a increasing number of fans and media experts questioning whether Tomlin is the right man to lead the Steelers. His recent 10th place ranking in the list of the NFL’s best coaches just another example of his tainted reputation as of late.
Still waiting for an extension as he heads into the final year of his current deal. it would appear that there are some within the organization who may have questions about Tomlin as well. A a deep run in the playoff or possibly a Championship the only sure fire way to prove all of the doubters wrong.