The 2023 season has been a wild ride for the Pittsburgh Steelers. The player they thought was their franchise quarterback wasn’t playing well, they lost several games to inferior opponents, and still somehow made the playoffs. However, the season looked lost at several points. A three-game losing streak toward the end of the year seemed to be the final nail in their coffin. However, it sounds like Mike Tomlin knew exactly how to rally the troops, at least according to Darrel Young, the Steelers’ director of player development.

Young, who played in the NFL for nine years and has been in the Steelers’ front office since 2021, recently appeared on the Coaches Corner podcast and talked about Tomlin’s message to the team after the Steelers lost to the Indianapolis Colts in Week 15 last year.

“We had lost to the Colts and needed this game,” Young said. “It ended up being 7-7, we had lost three games in a row. We could have stayed in the playoff race, but at that point we were just out of it. (Tomlin) comes in and says, ‘There’s not going to be a revolution without bloodshed.’ It feels like we’re in a movie. He said, ‘Let that sink in.'”

Add that to the list of metaphors in Tomlin’s vocabulary. It sounds like he’s saying that things wouldn’t change unless they were willing to make sacrifices and accept loss. That they might have been down, but they weren’t down.

As the season progressed, Tomlin’s message resonated with the team. The Steelers won their final three games of the year to clinch a playoff spot, including a massive beating of the Cincinnati Bengals in the game immediately following their loss to the Colts. Tomlin’s calm, composed attitude rubbed off on the players and inspired them to push for the playoffs.

Situations like this are why Tomlin has never had a losing season. Last year, that stat seemed to be in serious jeopardy, but Tomlin was able to calm everyone down and show them the way. It’s an example of his great leadership. Granted, the Steelers shouldn’t have lost some of those games last year, but it’s the NFL and anyone can win any game.

While everyone is frustrated with Tomlin and his lack of playoff success lately, no one within the organization ever has anything bad to say about him. You can criticize certain things he does, but how many other coaches would use that kind of metaphor to inspire their players after three terrible losses? Looking at the Steelers’ schedule this year, maybe Tomlin should save himself a few more of those messages.