Skinny
10-17-2007, 09:28 PM
By Scott Brown
TRIBUNE-REVIEW
Wednesday, October 17, 2007
John Lynch had just finished practice at the Pro Bowl in 2001 when he noticed he had an "urgent" message from Monte Kiffin. When he returned Kiffin's call, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers' defensive coordinator told Lynch he had some good news and some bad news.
The good news: the Buccaneers had just hired a "great" secondary coach.
The bad news: that coach happened to be a year younger than Lynch.
"I said 'There's nothing wrong with that as long as he can coach,'" Lynch, now a safety for the Denver Broncos, said Wednesday. "He told me that he can flat-out coach and it was the truth."
Mike Tomlin has done nothing to dispel that notion after his first five games as an NFL head coach. He has the Steelers off to a 4-1 start and in first place in the AFC North.
Just as impressive as his record -- the Steelers will try to win their fifth game of the season Sunday night against the Broncos in Denver -- is the command of the team Tomlin has exhibited since succeeding Bill Cowher in January.
The 35-year-old has been anything but overmatched, even though he took over a veteran team and is not that much older than some of his key players.
Lynch, a standout defensive back for the Buccaneers from 1993-2003, is far from the only person who worked daily with Tomlin during his days as an assistant coach in Tampa Bay and couldn't help but notice that he had a "presence."
Kyle Shanahan, the son of Broncos head coach Mike Shanahan, worked with Tomlin in 2004-05 when he was the Buccaneers' offensive quality control coach and predicted the kind of career path Tomlin has taken to Pittsburgh.
"He told me he had a guy on his staff that would be a head coach in the National Football League in a short time," Mike Shanahan said, "and he was talking about Mike, and he was right."
There are several interesting connections between the Steelers and Broncos.
Hines Ward hosted Broncos cornerback Champ Bailey during his recruiting visit to the University of Georgia, and the two are still close.
The bond, or at least the admiration, between Lynch, 36, and Tomlin is just as strong.
"John is a special man," Tomlin said of Lynch, who has been to eight Pro Bowls and is one of the more respected players in the NFL. "A lot is written and said about what he is as a football player, but that doesn't tell the John Lynch story. He's a heck of a community guy, he is a heck of a family man. I have been blessed to be associated with a guy like him."
Lynch probably would say the same thing.
When they were in Tampa Bay, Lynch said, Buccaneers coach Jon Gruden would have his assistants take turns going over the game plan for an upcoming opponent in front of the entire team.
Intimidating? Apparently not for Tomlin.
"I remember when Mike walked up there, offensive linemen were coming up to me and saying 'This guy is for real,' " Lynch said. "You saw him in that setting and how he commanded the room (and) that was the first time you thought he could be a head coach."
http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/valleyindependent/teenscene/s_533211.html
TRIBUNE-REVIEW
Wednesday, October 17, 2007
John Lynch had just finished practice at the Pro Bowl in 2001 when he noticed he had an "urgent" message from Monte Kiffin. When he returned Kiffin's call, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers' defensive coordinator told Lynch he had some good news and some bad news.
The good news: the Buccaneers had just hired a "great" secondary coach.
The bad news: that coach happened to be a year younger than Lynch.
"I said 'There's nothing wrong with that as long as he can coach,'" Lynch, now a safety for the Denver Broncos, said Wednesday. "He told me that he can flat-out coach and it was the truth."
Mike Tomlin has done nothing to dispel that notion after his first five games as an NFL head coach. He has the Steelers off to a 4-1 start and in first place in the AFC North.
Just as impressive as his record -- the Steelers will try to win their fifth game of the season Sunday night against the Broncos in Denver -- is the command of the team Tomlin has exhibited since succeeding Bill Cowher in January.
The 35-year-old has been anything but overmatched, even though he took over a veteran team and is not that much older than some of his key players.
Lynch, a standout defensive back for the Buccaneers from 1993-2003, is far from the only person who worked daily with Tomlin during his days as an assistant coach in Tampa Bay and couldn't help but notice that he had a "presence."
Kyle Shanahan, the son of Broncos head coach Mike Shanahan, worked with Tomlin in 2004-05 when he was the Buccaneers' offensive quality control coach and predicted the kind of career path Tomlin has taken to Pittsburgh.
"He told me he had a guy on his staff that would be a head coach in the National Football League in a short time," Mike Shanahan said, "and he was talking about Mike, and he was right."
There are several interesting connections between the Steelers and Broncos.
Hines Ward hosted Broncos cornerback Champ Bailey during his recruiting visit to the University of Georgia, and the two are still close.
The bond, or at least the admiration, between Lynch, 36, and Tomlin is just as strong.
"John is a special man," Tomlin said of Lynch, who has been to eight Pro Bowls and is one of the more respected players in the NFL. "A lot is written and said about what he is as a football player, but that doesn't tell the John Lynch story. He's a heck of a community guy, he is a heck of a family man. I have been blessed to be associated with a guy like him."
Lynch probably would say the same thing.
When they were in Tampa Bay, Lynch said, Buccaneers coach Jon Gruden would have his assistants take turns going over the game plan for an upcoming opponent in front of the entire team.
Intimidating? Apparently not for Tomlin.
"I remember when Mike walked up there, offensive linemen were coming up to me and saying 'This guy is for real,' " Lynch said. "You saw him in that setting and how he commanded the room (and) that was the first time you thought he could be a head coach."
http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/valleyindependent/teenscene/s_533211.html