Steelers Coach Mike Tomlin Backs Traditional NFL Overtime Rules: ‘I Don’t Fear Sudden Death’
A lot has changed since Pittsburgh Steelers longtime head coach, Mike Tomlin, entered the NFL coaching regime in 2007. He has outlasted most of his coaching counterparts in the league and is only one of three African American coaches in the NFL today.
This week, however, it’s all about rule changes as all 32 head coaches are in Florida for the NFL’s annual meeting. One of the hot topics this time around is the overtime rule as numerous teams have taken a crack at trying to fix the outdated guidelines. Tomlin, though, doesn’t see a problem with the current overtime rule.
“I’m a sudden death fan.”
“I’m one of the few sudden death advocates”
“I don’t fear sudden death.”
– Mike Tomlin, over the course of one answer about the overtime proposals.
— Brooke Pryor (@bepryor) March 28, 2022
“To be quite honest with you, I’m a sudden death advocate. I’m a traditionalist,” Tomlin said at the Steelers press conference Monday. “I don’t fear sudden death and I never have, but obviously I lost that battle a decade ago.”
While there may be some pushback from the other regimes as they look to enhance the current rules to drive in more fans, Tomlin prefers the simplistic approach of the rules as he feels the 60 minutes prior, are enough to decide the game.
“I just think in 60 minutes everybody has had a fair opportunity to win the game. When you’re talking about changes as it pertains to competitive fairness, I speak to the first 60 minutes that we all had. So, win the game. I don’t fear sudden death,” he argued.
I feel like Mike Tomlin doesn’t fear sudden death in literally any sense of the term. The threat of sudden death keeps him on his toes. Unblinking. https://t.co/Gm4Y3Sbi1C
— Joshua Brisco (@jbbrisco) March 28, 2022
Among the teams proposing league changes are the Indianapolis Colts and Tennessee Titans who have seen their proposals go the furthest in league discussions so far. The Colts’ proposal guarantees both teams possess the ball in overtime while the Titans’ proposal allows both teams to possess the ball in overtime unless the team with the opening possession scores a touchdown and a successful two-point conversion.
Either ruling will require 24 votes by the league owners to pass for next season. We should all expect the Steelers and Tomlin to not be one of those votes.
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