Why Mike Tomlin Runs the NFL’s Most Physical Training Camp: ‘You Can’t Box Without Sparring’
LATROBE, Pa. — No air conditioning in the dorms. Horsehair-filled mattresses. Two padded practices a day, seven days a week, filled with live hitting.
For 66-year-old former Pittsburgh Steelers offensive lineman Craig Wolfley, training camp at Saint Vincent College was a “completely different environment” when he stepped into the suit under legendary coach Chuck Noll in the 1980s. Every day, twice a day, the Steelers practiced in pads — first with a morning session to work on the running game and then later in the afternoon to focus on the passing game.
“They wouldn’t even dry your pants and shirt (between practices),” Wolfley recalled. “It was just sweating until you put (five bucks) in the ball boys’ hands and they’d throw it in the dryer for a few minutes before practice.”
Wolfley, now a radio analyst for the Steelers, joked that he could have a degree from St. Vincent after all the grueling, six-week camps he attended as a player. But even he heard old hands like Andy Russell talk about the marathon, nine-week camps that bruised their bodies and tested their willpower in the 1960s and ’70s.
“You guys came together as a team because it was blood, sweat and tears throughout training camp,” Wolfley said. “Chuck Noll training camp was never about making the team. It was about always surviving the moment.”
#FBF to Franco & Lynn at #SteelersCamp1983. photo.twitter.com/Qir6iBLMl9
— Steelers History (@SteelersHistory) August 2, 2024
For generations of football players—from Pee Wee to high school to college to the pros—long, physical days of hitting were the norm. The more you hit, the tougher you got. Or so the thinking went.
But times change and so does the way teams prepare for the season.
Because athletes now train year-round, there is less need to get them in shape in the preseason. At the same time, rules under the 2011 CBA have eliminated two-a-day practices. Physical training has also been drastically reduced. In many NFL training camps today, if you see a ball carrier or receiver tackled on the ground, it is usually an accident.
“I don’t know how many NFL teams tackle full-on,” Steelers quarterback Justin Fields said. “Other teams have to be under three, if they do that at all.”
Fields’ observation got us thinking. How many teams do live tackling during camp? In an informal poll conducted by The AthleticsTwenty-four of the 32 reporters (75 percent of the league) said the team they cover rarely or never tackles players on the ground. Four teams tackle occasionally during practice, but usually for short periods with second- or third-team players on the fringes of the lineup. Three teams tackle frequently, including Andy Reid’s Chiefs, Mike McDaniel’s Dolphins and Dan Campbell’s Lions.
Mike Tomlin’s Steelers are an outlier in many ways. When veteran linebacker Elandon Roberts arrived in Latrobe for a three-week destination camp last season, he, like Fields, was initially taken aback.
“I was like, ‘Damn, we’re actually tackling in camp,'” said Roberts, who played four years with the Patriots and three with the Dolphins before joining the Steelers. “I thought it was cool, but I didn’t expect it.”
On a typical day in the pads, it’s common to see the Steelers engage in periods of full-on, live tackling. Each practice begins with a drill called “Seven Shots” — seven chances from the 2-yard line — often run at full tilt, with starters like Najee Harris or key rotation players like Jaylen Warren getting tackled to the ground. In many other 11-on-11 situations, the Steelers continue to see the value of live tackling, including short-yardage and goal-line drills. Additionally, twice this training camp, the Steelers put high-energy backs through “backers drills,” in which high-speed collisions simulate live pass protection situations.
#Steelers Backs vs. Backers drill is getting exciting during Friday night practice! 👀🍿
Elandon Roberts vs. Jaylen Warren 😱
Patrick Queen vs. Najee Harris 💪🎥: @sltphoto/Instagram photo.twitter.com/CskOe8px1Q
— Steelers Update (@SteelersUpdate1) August 3, 2024
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As the Steelers pack up and leave their dorms in Saint Vincent on Wednesday, they’ll have completed arguably the league’s most physical training camp.
“You can’t box without sparring,” Tomlin said. “We’re playing an intense game, a competitive game, and I’m not doing these guys justice if I don’t create an environment that reflects what we’re going to face.”
In 2007, when Tomlin became the NFL’s youngest head coach at age 34, he inherited a veteran-laden team that included many players who lifted the Lombardi Trophy along with Bill Cowher in 2005.
During his first training camp in Latrobe, Tomlin set the tone and — in a way — made a statement that there was a new sheriff in town. This was no longer Cowher’s team.
“He came in and wanted to set an example and prove his own toughness,” said former Steelers lineman Max Starks, who played three seasons for Cowher and six years under Tomlin. “He didn’t want anybody to come in and get comfort. We hit every day we could, all the way up to Week 13 of the regular season, which was unheard of.”
But over a long season, more isn’t always better. On a team full of veterans, the slog took its toll. After a 9-3 start, the Steelers collapsed in the final minutes, losing three of their final four regular-season games before being knocked out of the playoffs in the wild-card round by the Jacksonville Jaguars.
“He got the right result,” Starks said. “We’re out in the first round of the playoffs because he had to learn the veteran nature of this team and understand that we can play light during the week and go all out on the weekends during games.”
Mike Tomlin, right, with Ben Roethlisberger during the coach’s first training camp with the Steelers in 2007. (Joseph Sargent/Icon SMI/Icon Sport Media via Getty Images)
During his time with Tomlin, Starks saw the coach learn from the experience and adjust his approach. While the Steelers still hit hard in camp, Tomlin toned it down and learned to nurture veterans on days off. Sure enough, in Tomlin’s second season, the Steelers came together in the final period, winning six of their last seven to finish 12-4 and riding that momentum to the team’s sixth Lombardi Trophy.
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“He’s not too proud to step back or (say), ‘Hey, you know, I can get better at this,'” Starks said. “And that’s why you see the sustained success model that he’s created. It was too hard in the beginning. OK, now pull it back.”
Now 52 and in his 17th season, Tomlin has gone from the league’s youngest head coach to the NFL’s longest-tenured coach. His first training camp in Latrobe feels like an eternity ago.
“Man, that was a different time,” Tomlin said. “That was the Middle Ages.”
Even the oldest players on the Steelers’ current roster — Russell Wilson and Cameron Heyward, both 35 — have never participated in two-a-days at the NFL level. The tackle was banned under the new CBA in 2011, Heyward’s first year in the league and the year before Wilson was drafted. (The NCAA eventually followed suit, ending two-a-day practices that included contact in 2017.)
There’s no doubt that Tomlin’s philosophy has evolved in some ways. In accordance with the CBA, pad workouts have been scaled back significantly during the season. When Tomlin does have the Steelers wear pads during the season, it’s often to make the point that there’s a lack of physicality on Sundays. Even early in training camp, Tomlin holds veterans like TJ Watt, Minkah Fitzpatrick and Heyward back.
Tomlin also intentionally scheduled training camps during the hottest part of the day to create adversity. He has since changed his approach with a new strength and conditioning staff to train earlier in the morning when it is cooler.
At the same time, the coach still sees the value of creating match-like situations in Latrobe, and so do the players.
“The way we do Seven Shots, I don’t think anyone else in the country does it,” Fields said. “The parameters of how the training is done and just the intensity of everybody, it’s very competitive here. And you wouldn’t want it any other way.”
Iron sharpens iron ⚔️
📸: | @Acrisure photo.twitter.com/EeHTbUWz7v
—Pittsburgh Steelers (@steelers) August 12, 2024
In addition to preparing starters for the season, the physical side of camp is an important evaluation tool. Two seasons ago, Warren arrived as an unheralded and undrafted rookie running back with a junior college stop on his resume. In an early backs on ‘backers drill, his pad-popping behavior caught the attention of coaches and eventually helped him earn a spot on the roster. Now he’s one of the league’s best pass-protecting backs.
“I love it,” Warren said when asked about the environment Tomlin creates. “Even though the days are tough, I love what it brings and what it creates.”
Especially in this camp, the word physical was on the tip of many players’ tongues. When the Steelers hired Arthur Smith — known for his run-heavy, tight-end friendly offenses — the new offensive coordinator made a point of saying he wanted the most physical offense in the league. That buzzword has carried over to the practice field.
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“Whether that’s part of the run game or yards after the catch, he wants all 11 to be physical,” wide receiver Van Jefferson said. “He wants to be a physical offense. He’s instilled that in us from Day 1.”
What will it all mean when the season finally begins? Coaches often say that coaching a football team doesn’t come with a manual. And while there’s no perfect answer to the question of how many hits is enough (and how many is too many), the Steelers believe their physical approach has given them the identity they need to get through the season.
“Other teams know what it’s like when they play the Steelers,” Warren said. “You can see what we’ve built here.”
(Top photo: Joe Sargent/Getty Images)
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