Steelers Nation knows how Mike Tomlin is critically selective about the words he uses during his press conferences–almost to the point where he gives the media absolutely nothing to work with. He’s been at this for a long time, so it’s second nature to him.
Fans harp on Tomlin for needless “word salad,” which makes up most of his pressers 20 or so minutes. Sometimes, there are more questions than answers when he steps away from the podium.
Tomlin will often latch onto a specific word and sprinkle it throughout his opening remarks and responses to reporters’ questions.
In Tuesday’s final press conference of the 2024 season, the word of the day was “unearth” (or some variation of), which Tomlin used seven times. He had this to say in response to closing the gap between where the Steelers are now and where they want to be next season:
I think I’m just at the very early stages of unearthing that, to be quite honest with you. I acknowledge we have some things to unearth, but these exit interviews and things of that nature will the very beginnings of that and that’s something that’s going to be asked and discovered over the upcoming days and weeks and months even as we prepare for the draft and free agency
because, obviously, talent acquisition is a major component of it, and, obviously, the strategic component of it in terms of the schematics, and so those are questions that will be addressed and subjects that will be addressed over the course of the next days, weeks, months.
Tomlin and Omar Khan are just beginning a deep dive into what needs improvement–and there’s a lot. Tomlin emphasized the importance of exit interviews as a foundation for their offseason strategy. From talent acquisition in free agency and the draft to refining schematics, the focus is on creating a competitive edge. While it’s early in the process, fans can expect changes–likely starting with the coaching staff–to elevate the Steelers’ performance in 2025.
