Since 2007, Mike Tomlin has served as the head coach of the Pittsburgh Steelers, making him the longest-tenured coach in the league. To achieve that sort of remarkable longevity, you generally need a few things: a Super Bowl title (which Tomlin got in just his second season as the head coach of the Steelers), a track record of consistency (the Steelers have never finished a season below .500 under Tomlin), and a fresh voice that players won't grow tired of hearing. Tomlin regularly proves he has this too.
Whether it's “The standard is the standard” or “Work while you wait,” Mike Tomlin has delivered his share of Tomlinisms over the years, becoming something of a modern-day Yogi Berra during his long Steelers tenure. On Sunday night — or more accurately, Monday morning — after Pittsburgh's last second loss to the Dallas Cowboys, Tomlin went back to a reliable, if not slightly confusing, wine-related piece of wisdom to break down the loss.
As far as I can tell, this is at least the fourth time Mike Tomlin has used this line, but in all likelihood, I'm missing a few instances. Though my knowledge of wines is about as extensive as Michael Scott's, I think the gist of this expression is that in order to make wine, you do need to “squash grapes,” but you can't simply squash grapes and expect that you'll have a delicious wine to drink afterwards. It's a much more detailed process — or so I think — and on Sunday, the Steelers didn't pay attention to those details.
Can I have a wine connoisseur come in and fact check me here, please?
Mike Tomlin praises Dak Prescott after Steelers loss to Cowboys
If you're looking for some more straight-forward analysis out of the Steelers head coach, he's got you covered. After the game, Tomlin broke the loss down in very simple terms before offering praise for Dallas Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott, who came through with a game-winning touchdown pass with under a minute to go.
“I want to congratulate Dallas. I'm going to compliment our guys on their efforts. It was a hard-fought game tonight, but it's nothing mystical about the outcome,” Tomlin said after the game, according to Teresa Varley of Steelers.com. “When you are playing a good team, and particularly a guy like Dak Prescott, you are in tight ball games, he ends up with the ball last, you got a chance to lose. That's really just a synopsis of what transpired.”
After a 3-0 start, the Steelers have now lost two games in a row and are tied atop the AFC North with the Baltimore Ravens. Pittsburgh heads to Las Vegas next Sunday to face the 2-3 Raiders, who have already scored two victories over the AFC North this season.