Coach or ‘Cleaning ambassador’? Steelers’ Mike Tomlin wears red as tribute to workers

One of the signatures of Mike Tomlin’s tenure with the Pittsburgh Steelers is his preference for wearing black on the practice field.

As in, long-sleeved black shirts. And pants. During training camp. In the unforgiving August sun.

When Tomlin took to the turf at Heinz Field for a camp session Friday, sure enough, he was wearing a long-sleeved black shirt, black pants and black hat.

But over top of that black shirt was something that made Tomlin look different than he perhaps ever has while presiding over a practice for the Steelers: a collared red polo-style shirt.

And if that didn’t look unusual enough for Tomlin, what it said on the back was even more peculiar: “CLEANING AMBASSADOR.”

Tomlin had a great explanation when asked about his choice of attire after practice.

“We just have some really quality service people around here that are working their tails off to keep us safe,” Tomlin said during a video conference call with media. “I just wanted to show my appreciation for the work that they do by wearing their uniform and encouraging guys to pause and be thankful for the services provided — and, hopefully, brighten their day if given an opportunity.”

The coronavirus pandemic, of course, has caused this most unique of Steelers’ training camps. Merely staging it — even at an alternate location — has taken the collective efforts of scores of workers. A failure on the part of even one potentially could jeopardize the NFL season for all.

“We just need to be conscious of the contributions of everyone,” Tomlin said. “It takes everyone within our organization to put together a successful day and thus a successful season. We just wanted that on the front of our consciousness today, and wearing the shirt is a means of doing that.”

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