Steelers coach Mike Tomlin views historic game in Dublin as 'business trip'

Mike Tomlin is nostalgic about the Pittsburgh Steelers’ game this weekend in Dublin. He just doesn’t want his players to be.

The game in Croke Park against the Minnesota Vikings might be historic because it is the NFL’s first game played in Ireland, birthplace of the Rooney family and the country where late Steelers chairman Dan Rooney served as U.S. Ambassador.

Tomlin will think often of Rooney, who hired him as head coach in 2007. He would prefer his players to focus on improving to 3-1 and maintaining first place in the AFC North with a victory against the Vikings.

“This is a business trip,” Tomlin said Tuesday at his weekly news conference.

The Steelers haven’t played overseas since the 2013 season when they also faced the Vikings and lost 34-27 at London’s Wembley Stadium.

The game Sunday in Dublin is the second in the NFL’s series of international games, following a game in Brazil on the opening weekend. It also heats up the slate of games to be played in Europe. Three games are scheduled to be played in England in October followed by games in Berlin and Madrid in November.

“It doesn’t get old,” Tomlin said. “To represent our game of American football on an international stage is a really cool thing. I’m excited to be a component of that. It’s about the preparation that tees up performance, and that is what has our attention.”

To prepare for the time zone change and 9:30 a.m. kickoff, Tomlin will have his players begin practice 90 minutes earlier than normal Wednesday and Thursday. The Steelers will fly to Ireland on Thursday night and have media availability and practice scheduled for Friday.

“The physical work on this side of the trip is important for us,” Tomlin said. “We’re doing things to acclimate ourselves to the trip, working early this week to start the body clock transition process. We have some best practices in terms of acclimating ourselves once we begin the journey in the latter part of the week. A lot of organizations have been traveling internationally for a number of years.”

While the Steelers have made the trip just once a dozen years ago, the Vikings have played four times on the international stage and are 4-0 when playing outside the United States.

Tomlin thinks the travel preparations the organization made in 2013 carry little meaning because of the uptick in games played internationally since then.

“Procedurally, it’s less mystical,” he said. “I think procedures are more global. There is more shared information about how to best pull off these trips. We have that information, the Vikings have that information. It’s less a topic of discussion than it was in (2013) when we went to London.”

Dan Rooney had resigned his post as ambassador a year before the Steelers made their lone international appearance. His legacy in Ireland will be on Tomlin’s mind as the Steelers prepare to play in Dublin.

“I think a lot about the late Ambassador Rooney and how fired up he would be about this trip and how important the development of this trip was for him,” Tomlin said. “I’ve been thinking a lot about it. I’m sure I’ll be thinking about it this week, and I’ll certainly be thinking a lot about him while we are there. Talk about a guy who had a lot of passion for Ireland and the Steelers. I’m sure he’s going to be smiling down at us.”

Rooney died in April 2017 at age 84. His son, Art, the team president, will be the goodwill ambassador while the Steelers are in Ireland this week.

The only players on the roster who were with the Steelers when Dan Rooney was alive are defensive tackle Cameron Heyward and kicker Chris Boswell. Tomlin said the Steelers try to instill Rooney’s values and legacy within the organization to each year’s arrival of newcomers.

“It doesn’t take a trip like this for those conversations to happen,” Tomlin said. “Those of us who knew him educate the young players or the new Steelers about his mode of operation and how he cared about this football team and what this football team meant — not only to the National Football League but to our fans, this community. The responsibility that comes with being a Steeler. The education is continual.”