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In Mike Tomlin's weekly news conference, he refused to talk about the Pittsburgh Steelers AFC Wild Card game, and especially anything pertaining to the situation with his outside linebackers coach Joey Porter in the waning moments of the game which led to a personal foul called on Adam Jones.
It seems although Tomlin was adamant of the team moving their attention to the Denver Broncos and the AFC Divisional Round, the organization is still performing damage control on the situation which received plenty of attention from the national media.
Steelers ban media from talking to outside LB coach Joey Porter
— Ed Bouchette (@EdBouchette) January 13, 2016
The Steelers are a very tight-lipped organization, and this simple measure to protect the team, and its coach, from any further media scrutiny should come as a surprise or shock to no one. With the Steelers looking to continue their winning ways, the last thing they need is to have national and local media tracking down the outside linebackers coach asking a myriad of questions surrounding why he was on the field, what was said and about the rumors of him receiving a game ball.
There is no doubt the Steelers want this entire situation to blow over, and protecting Porter from the media is Step No. 1. Will this maneuver work? In the short-term, yet, but eventually Porter will face cameras and microphones and have to re-hash the incident which helped continue the Steelers' season, while ending the Cincinnati Bengals' year.