Villanueva offers his view of Tomlin
PITTSBURGH 鈥� Mike Tomlin has said that he first spotted his left tackle, Alejandro Villanueva, during the playing of the National Anthem before a preseason game in 2014.
Villanueva was with the Philadelphia Eagles, but was cut and then signed by the Steelers, who moved him to the offensive line and taught him the job on the practice squad.
On Sunday, Villanueva played every snap of his 17th start of the 2016 season.
He obviously played well. His team won, his quarterback was sacked only one time and his running back set a team postseason rushing record.
After the game, Villanueva emerged from the tunnel leading to the locker room, saw his coach, and said, 鈥淗ey, there鈥檚 the cheerleader!鈥� Tomlin laughed and said, 鈥淭hat鈥檚 right, I was cheering my (butt) off.鈥�
Villanueva had some interesting comments about the moment, and about Tomlin.
Q: Has the cheerleader thing become a rallying cry?
AV: 鈥淎 hundred percent. (Pause) I think that鈥檚 something that makes him a really good coach. Thirty-one teams didn鈥檛 give me a chance to play in the NFL. I鈥檝e been denied from the Bears, the Bengals, the Eagles. I don鈥檛 think there鈥檚 any player who鈥檚 ever failed three times at a rookie minicamp tryout and is still playing in the NFL. So for me, Coach Tomlin means a lot. He gave me an opportunity to learn a position in a year on the practice squad. He didn鈥檛 cut me when there were team needs. He invested in me and he believed in me and that鈥檚 the only thing I needed to go on with my career. So for me, his leadership, his mentorship, his ability to get the best out of me has meant the world to me and has allowed me to feed my family and has hopefully helped the team be a better team. He鈥檚 a great coach. He鈥檚 a great leader. Obviously, when those (Terry Bradshaw cheerleader) comments were heard in the locker room, they affected me personally because I have so much admiration and I want to defend my coach at all costs.鈥�
Q: Do others feel the same way?
AV: 鈥淚 think the whole team feels the same way. I think everybody loves Coach Tomlin. He鈥檚 got a personal relationship with everybody. I think if you ask 32 teams in the NFL, less than half will be able to tell you that they鈥檝e had a conversation with their head coach, and I think every single person in this locker room has a conversation with Coach Tomlin every single day. And that鈥檚 not something I take for granted, because I鈥檝e been in other organizations where that doesn鈥檛 happen. I think I鈥檓 very fortunate and I think this team is very, very fortunate to have Coach Tomlin as the head coach.鈥�
Q: Not that you needed a rallying cry, considering the inherent motivation at playoff time, but has it helped unify?
AV: 鈥淗e keeps the team focused regardless of the circumstance. It doesn鈥檛 matter if it鈥檚 media. It doesn鈥檛 matter. He鈥檚 done a really good job of forcing everybody to stay focused. This stuff happens on every single team. News breaks out every single year with teams all around the NFL, and that usually distracts locker rooms, divides the locker room. I think everybody鈥檚 really unified on this team because he鈥檚 so open about everything. He discusses everything in a public forum. His coaching style is extremely effective and I think it truly helps bring the best out of this team every single week.鈥�
Q: He鈥檚 said that camaraderie doesn鈥檛 necessarily create winning, but that winning creates camaraderie. Agree?
AV: 鈥淭here鈥檚 a mixture of both. He really wants to have us play for each other and that鈥檚 what he鈥檚 done this whole season. Teams like that are very tough to beat. Teams that play for each other are usually going to get the best out of the players. You could put in a list a number of things he does on a daily basis to get this team ready to go every single week. Little things that mean big things. Every single thing he says has a meaning and purpose. Everything is very calculated. There鈥檚 not a thing he would tell a player that doesn鈥檛 have a purpose. He鈥檚 not a guy that just wants to talk. He鈥檚 always very focused on coaching 53 players personally, so that鈥檚 a very tough challenge and I think he does that very well. Regardless of whether we have a position coach, I have a personal relationship with Coach Tomlin and I have expectations that I owe him, and he lets me know those things every single week.鈥�
Q: I took the camaraderie comment as having a built-in humility to it. He doesn鈥檛 take credit for anything, does he?
AV: 鈥淣ever does. No, he never does. He鈥檚 a great leader. He鈥檚 responsible for everything the team does or fails to do. Every single win we owe it to him. Every single loss he鈥檚 always taking credit for.鈥�