Veteran cornerback Patrick Peterson has seen a lot of football in his 13 NFL seasons.
After playing last year with the Pittsburgh Steelers, one story stood out about Mike Tomlin that illustrates what sets him apart from other coaches in the league.
Speaking with Rich Eisen, Peterson relayed a story from 2023 training camp that taught him everything he needed to know about his new coach.
“It was probably the first raining day in training camp,” Peterson told Eisen. “It’s my first year in Pittsburgh. I’ve heard all the cliches about ‘It don’t matter what the weather is. We’re only coming inside if there’s thunder and lightning.’”
Hearing that you’ll keep practicing through bad weather is one thing, but actually doing it is another.
“So I’m like, ‘Dog, the sky is about to fall.’ We still got practice, the horn’s still blowing,” Peterson said. “Coach calls us up. He says ‘Hey man, I just want to get in front of this right now. Yeah we got bad weather. But there’s going to be some point and time in the season where on Sunday, it’s going to be bad weather. And if you’re not prepared for it, how do you expect to succeed in it?’”
Peterson said that Tomlin’s willingness to put players in a tough spot in the present so that the circumstances are easier in the future stood out to him.
“Some head coaches might be like, ‘Okay we’re not going out there today. Take it inside, change it up to a walk-through, or maybe get the work in later on in the afternoon.’ Not Coach T.”
On Monday, the Steelers announced that Tomlin had signed a three-year extension that will keep him with Pittsburgh through the 2027 season.
Peterson, 33, is currently a free agent heading into the 2024 campaign.