Mike Tomlin Explains Why Steelers Love Siblings
PITTSBURGH -- The Pittsburgh Steelers have an "infatuation" with brothers on their football team in recent years, and as that trend has hit the mainstream media, head coach Mike Tomlin decided to explain the organization's reasoning behind this love.
In a YouTube video released by the team, Tomlin says the reasoning behind continuing to add siblings to their roster is threefold.
First, it's genetics. It's hard to find another J.J. Watt unless you're his younger brother. So, the Steelers decided to draft his younger brother, and then add the middle brother when given the opportunity.
"In the football business, your ability to have size and speed and agility is a very genetic-related thing," Tomlin said. "And oftentimes, the blessings that God gave us, when one person within the household has those talents, those abilities, chances are, somebody with shared DNA has similar ability."
Next, it's exposure. He references Watt again, saying when little 12-year-old T.J., with a mohawk, was sitting in the greenroom on draft night watching his brother's name get called by Roger Goodell, it changes the perspective of the "NFL dream."
"They don't dream about the NFL. They aspire to be in the NFL. That mindset is different," Tomlin said. "When you're in close proximity of something, and you take the mystique out of it, it is a real thing."
And finally, it's the literal sense of the word 'brotherhood.'
"There's a brotherhood in this business. And when we say there's a brotherhood, we mean it's brother-like," Tomlin said. "What better way to capture the brotherhood on your team than to have brothers."
He references Cam Heyward watching his younger brother Connor catch his first touchdown in their hometown of Atlanta. Then, how the Watt brothers ate oatmeal together every morning at the facility.
Next up are the Herbigs. With Nate and Nick being new to the team, they'll both have to get adjusted to life in Pittsburgh, but as Nick put it on draft night, the two are "closer than blood." So, they'll have their best friends by their side, pushing each other on the field and learning a new life off it.
Exactly what the Steelers were looking for.
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