Inside Mike Tomlin's emotional final meeting as Steelers head coach - The Athletic

The coach informed his players about his resignation on Tuesday.Anger ran high.

PITTSBURGH — Mike Tomlin stood in front of his players and began his final team meeting the same way he has begun so many others over the past decade.

He told the players he was grateful for their hard work and sacrifice.Then it turned around.

In NFL business; There are consequences for your inaction.As a professional in this industry, you have to live with these consequences.Some of us will be here next year;some of us won't.

Guys, I want you to ask this first... I just met Art Rooney and Omar.I believe it is best for the organization if I step down.

The Athletic spoke with a half-dozen players, coaches and staff members in the room who described what they saw, heard and heard during Tomlin's final moments as the Steelers' head coach.

"No," said star outside linebacker TJ Watt, sitting next to fellow defensive tackles Cameron Heyward and Alex High-Smith.

"No, no, no, no," she repeated, her eyes welling with tears as Tomlin continued.

Watt has discussed his respect and admiration for Tomlin several times in the past. Two years ago, on Purity Day, he said publicly, "It was very important in my contract negotiations. 'I don't want to play for anybody but Mike T.'

While Tomlin spoke, Joey Porter Jr. was almost hyperventilating.The son of a Steelers legend, he's known the coach in the locker room longer than almost anyone and grew up with Tomlin's son, Dino.In some ways, Tomlin is more like Porter's uncle than coach.

I want it to work for you because I really care about you guys.

When Tomlin finished his speech, all the players in the room stood up and cheered.You could tell it meant a lot to Tomlin to have the opportunity to deliver the news directly to his team.He seemed at peace with the decision, many players said.

Then, in one of his signature moves, Tomlin took off his hat and headed for the door.Each player took turns walking past Tomlin and hugging each other.

"It was like a funeral," said one worker."I cried. Like finding out your father is dead."

When the meeting broke up, no one knew what to do.They just sat there, surprised that the teacher who had been involved in the organization for nineteen years was gone.

The next day, the feeling was still surreal.For one player, reliving it over the phone Wednesday brought back a rush of emotions."You're going to make me cry again," he said several times during the conversation.

"I felt that the meeting was going to go completely differently," he added."When he said, 'Some of us will be here and some of us won't,' I thought, 'Is this man really walking out?'"

A year ago, during a similar meeting at the end of the season, Hard Knocks Tomlin's cameras continued to the players, "I love what I do; I love who I do; I love where I do ... as much as it hurts, I love this game and I love this business so much."

One of Tomlin's many catchphrases is "We're about to die with our boots on."Many players thought that, backed into a corner, Tomlin would fight to the end and never come out until he was taken out.

"No one thought it would happen," said another player."Did we even guess? There was an uproar, but we thought he would fulfill his contract for at least one more year. We all thought at least one more year."

The players expected a change in the technical staff.They didn't think it was Tomlin - they didn't think it should be.

"Every player in that building wanted to play for Mike T," one player said.

Another player added: "We knew something was going to change. We just didn't know it would be this. The guys that have been here the longest, we don't think Mike T is the problem. We never really lost faith in the locker room. It was very emotional for us because it wasn't him."

The group was dominated by guilt and the burden of responsibility that this had happened on their watch.

"Everybody feels that way," said one player. "He's the only one the guys wanted to do it for. You think we didn't want to get that monkey off his back that the whole town was talking about? Yeah, we all did. That's why it's bad."

In recent years, Tomlin has been a challenging coach who has been able to rate at times — always in controversy, but not a real contender.For one thing, he couldn't last a losing season, and this year he matched the famous Chuck Noll with 193 wins in the regular season.However, the nine-year playoff drought caused great disappointment for the fans.It came to a head in Week 13, when fans chanted "Fire Tomlin" during a loss to the Buffalo Bills.

It's clear from talking to players that there is a big difference between public dissatisfaction and trust in the dressing room.Tomlin had the support of his team until the very last moment.

"There's always noise, but I felt like it was getting to the point where it was getting ridiculous," one offensive lineman said."I felt bad for him. I started thinking, if it was me, how much longer would I want to put up with this? Every time we lost, it felt like the sky was falling. He took everything for us."

Aaron Rodgers took an impromptu receiving line towards Tomlin.

Rodgers has only been a Steeler for seven months, but he says he joined the team for one reason: Tomlin.The quarterback and head coach were always connected after their head-to-head matchup in Super Bowl XLV, but working together this season they formed a strong bond, which began when Tomlin earned Rodgers' trust through a long courtship.

The Steelers brought Rodgers to Pittsburgh in hopes of snapping their postseason losing streak, but it ended up being a hole in the coach's resume.

At various times this year, Rodgers has used the interview as an opportunity to defend his coach.On Monday night, speaking publicly for perhaps the last time as a Steeler after another wild card exit for the team, Rodgers delivered a fierce defense of Tomlin.

"Mike T has had more success than anybody in the league in the last 19-20 years," Rodgers said after Monday's game."Besides, if you have the right guy and the culture is right, you don't think about making a change."

In the team room Tuesday, Rodgers sobbed together with a two-word message to deliver to his coach: "I'm sorry," several players heard him say."I'm sorry. I'm sorry."