Tim Benz: Ignore presumptions to the contrary, Mike Tomlin and Steelers will bask in 'Hard Knocks' spotlight

As soon as it was announced that the Pittsburgh Steelers were going to be part of an all-AFC North in-season edition of HBO’s “Hard Knocks,” a wave of predictable responses emerged.

”Uh, oh! Mike Tomlin is going to hate this! All those extra cameras following him and the team around, that’s gonna drive him crazy.”

You just know Mike Tomlin has to absolutely despise the idea of being on Hard Knocks

— Nikki Holt (@NikkiRaeM) June 17, 2024

Mike Tomlin when a "Hard Knocks" camera gets in his way… pic.twitter.com/ZAlZ7F21js

— Strictly 4 My X'ers (@Lizzs_Lockeroom) June 17, 2024

pic.twitter.com/IvAYDPWBvS

— Obviously (Not) Tomlin (@Tomlin_Sense) June 17, 2024

Jared: “did you hear the news? Entire AFC North in season hard knocks. You're about to be a football junkie."

Me: "I'm so worried about Mike Tomlin right now."

— morgan ???? (@tokyoXmo) June 17, 2024

I'm sure Tomlin is fired up for the Hard Knocks crew to be around ????????????

— Zachary Smith (@ZacharySmithPGH) June 17, 2024

Mike Tomlin when he sees the Hard Knocks cameras pic.twitter.com/3dSjfNeLA0

— Brooke Pryor (@bepryor) June 17, 2024

Of course, Tomlin laid the foundation for everyone to presume his disdain for the HBO “behind the scenes/all access” show after the 2019 season. That’s when the Steelers qualified to be the subject of it after a second straight non-playoff campaign.

A reporter asked Tomlin if he had any thoughts about being the featured team for training camp 2020 during his 2019 season-ending press conference.

“I don’t,” Tomlin replied.

Well, what if HBO and the league ask, Mike?

“Asked?” Tomlin deadpanned.

The moment of levity in #Steelers coach Mike Tomlin's final news conference, thanks to a @JColony13 question and @tribjoerutter follow-up about #HardKnocks. pic.twitter.com/E8zRmcoY0O

— Kevin Gorman (@KevinGormanPGH) December 31, 2019

As it turns out, no one ended up asking.

But, c’mon. Who are we kidding? When has the national media ever made Tomlin look bad before?

Never.

The show is set to start airing Dec. 3. Presumably, that means the crews probably start the timeline of coverage with the slate of AFC North games the previous week. For the Steelers, that will be in Cincinnati for Game 12 of their regular season.

The Steelers could enter that game at 0-11, and the HBO crew is still going to make Tomlin look like a star. The editing crew is going to highlight every Tomlinism, focus on every motivational speech, zoom in on every emphatic sideline emotional response, include every quiet man-to-man moment with a young player who made a mistake on the sideline and make sure to include every hard-edged, stiff-jawed, tough coach clipped response to a press-conference question he doesn’t like.

Tomlin is going to bask in this.

Sure, there will be a few more bothersome cameras around the facility. Big deal.

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Even if the Russell Wilson experiment should backfire, the team goes in the tank, and Tomlin’s heralded “never had a losing season” streak is poised to end, that HBO crew is going sanitize, prop up, position and shine Tomlin into the national star they still want him to be for the length of this series.

And, dare I say it, what if the Steelers are actually good?

What if the Steelers are, like, 8-3 heading into this series? The Tomlin fanboy acolyte routine is going to be insufferable. The HBO crew is going to make Tomlin out to be Vince Lombardi, dipped in John Wooden and rolled in Casey Stengel by the end of the series. You are going to think the guy invented football.

I mean, we’ve seen NFL Films sculpt Tomlin’s image on hot mic shows a million times before. Do you really think this “Hard Knocks” experiment is going to be any different? Winning record or not?

"I wanna see who's gonna get a little miserable today."

Nobody has more fun at @Steelers camp than @CoachTomlin. ???? pic.twitter.com/5jwcwwGwrw

— NFL Films (@NFLFilms) July 30, 2021

Mike Tomlin on the sideline on not being conservative with play calling at the end of the game versus the Seahawks. This is great! #Steelers #NFL ???? pic.twitter.com/zyUXKi7uwa

— Steelers Depot 7⃣ (@Steelersdepot) January 2, 2024

A "grow-up" moment for Mike Tomlin and the @Steelers on Christmas Eve ????@InsideTheNFL pic.twitter.com/x6ZYdJG8Ca

— NFL Films (@NFLFilms) December 27, 2022

Here are a few other things you can expect to see during the show:

• At least one awkwardly unwatchable, but impossible to turn off, “Mr. Unlimited” type of moment from Wilson.

• A minimum of two … no … three George Pickens flare-ups on the sideline over not getting the ball enough.

• Week 1 opening sequence establishing shots of the incline, the fountain at the Point, the Rooney statue, Primantis and Yinzer Pope.

• Weekly tight shots of the digital display of a radio in a moving car with audio of callers on the Steeler Radio Network postgame show ripping new offensive coordinator Arthur Smith.

• If Cam Heyward has a new contract by then, multiple clips of him saying he was never going to leave Pittsburgh and he would’ve retired if he didn’t get a new deal.

• If Heyward doesn’t have a new deal by then, multiple clips of him saying he doesn’t want to leave Pittsburgh, but he’ll do it if it means having to sign a deal somewhere else.

• Najee Harris being fun, affable and engaging behind the scenes and on the sidelines with the HBO “Hard Knocks” cameras.

• A hard edit and the cameras going off before Najee Harris is asked to speak with the local media.

• An in-depth Joey Porter Jr./Joey Porter Sr. feature.

• Lots of Danny Smith chewing gum cutaways.

• Patrick Queen as a featured player in advance of the Dec. 21 game against the Ravens.

• Various alumni appearances from Jerome Bettis, Ben Roethlisberger, Troy Polamalu and more.

• A still shot of the “The Standard is the Standard” sign … presented without irony, I’m sure.

• T.J. Watt frequently looking annoyed and bothered by all the extra cameras around all the time.

• Extended montages of Watt hosting all of his brothers and their families for Christmas in advance of the Chiefs game anyway.

• Over/under 16.5 minutes of Taylor Swift iso-cam footage from that game.

Enjoy the viewing, everyone.

If the first three weeks of December this year go like they did for the Steelers last year, “Hard Knocks” will be much more enjoyable than the games themselves.