Why Mike Tomlin Runs the NFL’s Most Physical Training Camp: ‘You Can’t Box Without Sparring’

LATROBE, Pa. — No air conditioning in the dormitories. Horsehair filled mattresses. Two padded workouts a day, seven days a week, full of live strokes.

For 66-year-old former Pittsburgh Steelers offensive lineman Craig Wolfley, training camp at Saint Vincent College was a “completely different environment” when he was under legendary coach Chuck Noll in the 1980s. Every day, twice a day, the Steelers practiced in pads – first with a morning session to work on the running game and later in the afternoon to focus on the passing game.

“They didn’t even dry your pants and jerseys (between practices),” Wolfley recalled. “It was just sweating until you finally put (five dollars) in the ball boys’ hands and they threw it in the dryer for a few minutes before practice.”

Wolfley, now a Steelers radio analyst, joked that he was able to earn a degree from Saint Vincent after all the grueling, six-week camps he attended as a player. But even he heard old-timers like Andy Russell talk about the marathon, nine-week camps that damaged their bodies and tested their will in the 1960s and 1970s.

“You guys came together as a team because it was blood, sweat and tears throughout training camp,” Wolfley said. “Chuck Noll training camp was never about making the team. It was about always surviving the moment.”

#FBF to Franco & Lynn op #SteelersCamp1983. pic.twitter.com/Qir6iBLML9

— Steelers History (@SteelersHistory) August 2, 2024

For generations of football players – from Pee Wee to high school, college and the pros – long, physical days full of hitting were the norm. The more you hit, the harder you became. At least that was the thought.

But times change, and so does the way teams prepare for the season.

Because athletes now train year-round, there is less need to get them into shape in the preseason. At the same time, the 2011 CBA rules put an end to the two-day practices. The physicality has also been dramatically dialed back. In many NFL training camps these days, when you see a ball carrier or receiver tackled to the ground, it’s usually an accident.

“I don’t know how many NFL teams are full-time,” Steelers quarterback Justin Fields said. “Others must be under three, if so.”

Fields’ observation got us thinking. How many teams participate in live tackles during camp? This is evident from an informal poll conducted by The Athletics24 out of 32 beat writers (75 percent of the league) said the team they beat very rarely, if ever, tackles players to the ground. Four teams sometimes tackle in practice, but usually for short periods with second or third team players on the fringes of the roster. Three teams often tackle, including Andy Reid’s Chiefs, Mike McDaniel’s Dolphins and Dan Campbell’s Lions.

Mike Tomlin’s Steelers are an outlier in many ways. When veteran linebacker Elandon Roberts arrived in Latrobe for a three-week destination camp last season, he, like Fields, was initially surprised.

“I was like, damn, we’re really tackling in camp,” said Roberts, who spent four years with the Patriots and three with the Dolphins before joining the Steelers. “I thought it was cool, but I didn’t expect it.”

On a typical day in the pads, it’s common for the Steelers to engage in periods of full, live tackling. Every practice begins with a drill called “Seven Shots” – seven chances from the 2-yard line – that are often completely applicable, tackling starters like Najee Harris or key rotation players like Jaylen Warren to the ground. In many other 11-on-11 situations, the Steelers still see the value of live tackling, including short-yardage and goal-line drills. Additionally, twice this training camp, the Steelers ran spirited backs during “backers drills,” where high-speed collisions simulate live pass protection situations.

#Steelers backs vs. backers drill gets chippy during Friday evening lighting practice! 👀🍿

Elandon Roberts vs. Jaylen Warren 😱
Patrick Queen vs. Najee Harris 💪

🎥: @sltphoto/Instagram pic.twitter.com/CskOe8px1Q

— Steelers Update (@SteelersUpdate1) August 3, 2024

As the Steelers pack up and leave their dorms in Saint Vincent on Wednesday, they have completed arguably the most physical training camp in the league.

“You can’t box without sparring,” Tomlin said. “We’re playing an intense game, a competitive game, and I’m not doing these guys justice if I don’t create an environment that reflects what lies ahead.”

In 2007, when Tomlin became the NFL’s youngest head coach at age 34, he inherited a veteran-laden team filled with many of the players who hoisted the Lombardi Trophy with Bill Cowher in 2005.

During his first training camp in Latrobe, Tomlin set the tone and – in a sense – made a statement that there was a new sheriff in town. This wasn’t Cowher’s team anymore.

“He came in and he wanted to set an example and establish his own strength,” said former Steelers lineman Max Starks, who played three seasons for Cowher and six years under Tomlin. “He didn’t want anyone to seek comfort. We scored every day we could score through week 13 of the regular season, which was unheard of.”

But over a long season, more is not always better. On a team full of veterans, the pounding took its toll. After starting 9-3, the Steelers coasted down the stretch, dropping three of their final four regular season games before bowing out of the playoffs in the wild-card round against the Jacksonville Jaguars.

“He got the right result,” Starks said. “We’re sitting out the first round of the playoffs because he had to learn the veteran nature of this team and understand that we can go light during the week and kill it on the weekend in games.”

Mike Tomlin, right, with Ben Roethlisberger during the coach’s first training camp with the Steelers in 2007. (Joseph Sargent / Icon SMI / Icon Sport Media via Getty Images)

During his time with Tomlin, Starks saw the coach learn from the experience and adapt his approach. While the Steelers still struck often in camp, Tomlin toned it down and learned to take care of veterans with days off. Sure enough, in Tomlin’s second season, the Steelers went on to win six of their last seven and finish 12-4. They rode that momentum to the team’s sixth Lombardi Trophy.

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“He’s not that proud when he steps back or says, ‘Hey, you know what, I can get better at this,’” Starks said. “And that’s why you see the sustainable model of success that he has created. It was too difficult at first. Okay, now pull it back.”

Now in his 17th season and at age 52, Tomlin has gone from the youngest head coach in the league to the NFL’s longest-tenured coach. His first training camp in Latrobe feels like a lifetime ago.

“Man, that was a different time,” Tomlin said. “Those were the Middle Ages.”

Even the oldest players on the current Steelers roster — Russell Wilson and Cameron Heyward, both 35 — have never competed in two-a-days at the NFL level. The approach was banned under the new CBA in 2011, Heyward’s first year in the league and a year before Wilson was drafted. (The NCAA eventually followed suit, ending two-day contact practices in 2017.)

There is no doubt that Tomlin’s philosophy has evolved to some extent. In accordance with the CBA, padded training has been significantly scaled back during the season. When Tomlin has the Steelers wear pads during the season, it’s often to make it clear that physicality is lacking on Sundays. Even early in camp, Tomlin will stop veterans like TJ Watt, Minkah Fitzpatrick and Heyward to protect them from themselves.

Tomlin also deliberately scheduled training camp practices during the hottest time of the day to avoid adversity. He has since changed his approach with a new strength and conditioning staff to practice earlier in the morning when it is cooler.

At the same time, the coach still very much sees the value in creating game-like situations in Latrobe – and so do the players.

“Exactly how we do Seven Shots, I don’t think anyone else in the country does that,” Fields said. “The parameters of how the training is done and the intensity of everyone, it’s very competitive here. And you wouldn’t have it any other way.”

Iron sharpens iron ⚔️

📸: https://t.co/tg8VtjVLDf | @Acrisure pic.twitter.com/EeHTbUWz7v

— Pittsburgh Steelers (@steelers) August 12, 2024

In addition to preparing the starters for the season, the physical nature of the camp is an important evaluation tool. Two seasons ago, Warren arrived as an undrafted and undeveloped rookie coming back with a junior college stop on his resume. In an early back-on-backers practice, his flashy stance caught the coaches’ attention and ultimately helped him earn a spot on the roster. Now he’s one of the best pass-protecting backs in the league.

“I think it’s great,” Warren said when asked about the environment Tomlin creates. “Although the days get hard, I love what it brings and what it creates.”

Especially in this camp, the word physicality is on the tip of many players’ tongues. When the Steelers hired Arthur Smith – known for his tough, tight friendly offenses – the new offensive coordinator made it clear he wants the most physical offense in the league. That buzzword has been carried over to the practice field.

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“Whether that’s part of the run game or getting yards after the catch, he wants all 11 of them to be physical,” wide receiver Van Jefferson said. “He wants to be a physical offense. He taught us that from day 1.”

What will it all mean when they finally start the season? Coaches often say that coaching a football team doesn’t come with a manual. And while there is no perfect answer when it comes to how much hitting is enough (and how much is too much), the Steelers believe that through their physical approach they have begun to establish the identity that will carry them throughout the season.

“Other teams know what it’s like when they play the Steelers,” Warren said. “You can see what we built here.”

(Top photo: Joe Sargent/Getty Images)

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