Mike Tomlin spends long days on phone ‘talking football’ with Steelers staff

These days, Kiya Tomlin can hear her husband’s familiar, booming voice coming from out of their home office.

“I don’t know what they are talking about,” the wife of Mike Tomlin said, while chuckling, by phone this week, “but all I know is just that they just talk soooooo much football.

“I mean, I don’t know what I think they do at the office (during more normal times), but I’m just like, ‘Man, it’s all day.’ All day! ‘Woo — more phone calls?! Geez Louise!’ ”

The Tomlins are not unlike many Americans during the coronavirus pandemic, restricted largely to their home and trying to conduct work remotely via phone and video conference calls. The NFL resembles many of the luckier of businesses right now in that it is still operating — albeit in a highly modified manner.

That means working from home. As coach of the Pittsburgh Steelers, Tomlin’s office usually is at the team’s UPMC Rooney Sports Complex facility on Pittsburgh’s South Side. But under orders from the governor of Pennsylvania and the commissioner of the NFL, team headquarters are off-limits for the time being.

The NFL Draft and other offseason player acquisitions generally have gone on as scheduled, though, so instead of holding meetings with his assistant coaches or the scouting staff or general manager Kevin Colbert in a conference room, Tomlin is doing them by phone or computer.

“We've only had one person make a special note that they don't want a Steeler mask - because they are from Cleveland.
We honored that request; we figure we will save some Steelers masks for somebody that will appreciate it.
They don’t deserve one, anyway.”https://t.co/GmUDEvbsMW

— Chris Adamski (@C_AdamskiTrib) April 10, 2020

“He’s working full days,” said Kiya Tomlin, who is working long hours after temporarily modifying her fashion business to assemble protective masks. “It’s kind of funny, and we laugh about it because it’s very unusual for him to be at home and especially to be working from home. It’s kind of interesting to me some of the things I kind of overhear.”

Lest anyone believes an NFL coach would take advantage of a stay-at-home order to relax and unwind in lieu of the job’s normal hustle and bustle, Kiya Tomlin assures Mike has maintained his regular work schedule.

“Oh, he’s up and at his desk by 7:45 a.m., for sure,” she said.

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