Before the 2024 season, Patrick Queen made the rare move from the Baltimore Ravens to the Pittsburgh Steelers in free agency. It wasn’t up to him entirely, as the Ravens never offered to have him back. However, Queen seems to be happy on this side of the rivalry.
Joining Cam Heyward’s Not Just Football Podcast posted Friday, Queen was asked whether he prefers his new head coach Mike Tomlin, or his old one, John Harbaugh.
“I mean, Coach T for sure,” Queen said. “It’s like two different people, bro. Like, definitely got along with both of them.”
Queen was always going to choose Tomlin here, being a member of the Steelers and talking to his teammates who are all coached by him. That said, he does share some of the little things Tomlin does that makes him stand out.
“Coach T is just more like, how’s your fam [family]? The small things, the small things are big to us,” Queen said. “Just every single day he’s like that. It’s kind of fun to be able to throw jabs back and forth.”
It’s hard to bring some of the rosters Tomlin has had to winning records without being a players coach, which Mike Tomlin certainly is. That’s part of the reason Patrick Queen came to Pittsburgh, providing a big jolt to the defense. He was reliable, as Pittsburgh expected him to be, playing every single snap defensively and making a Pro Bowl in the process. However, he didn’t entirely play up to expectations, as he would admit himself.
The struggles the defense faced to end the 2024 season were far from just Queen’s fault, though. Miscommunications were abundant, and that’s something the Steelers sought to fix this offseason by adding plenty of talent around him.
Pittsburgh loses Minkah Fitzpatrick, but Queen arguably has a stronger secondary behind him thanks to Jalen Ramsey and Darius Slay. In front of him, new draft picks like Yahya Black and Derrick Harmon, once healthy, should make a difference as well.
All of those additions, as well as a new starter alongside him in Payton Wilson, should make his life easier. For Queen, it’s now all about getting comfortable. He’s entering his second year in the defense and has talent around him at every level of the unit. He clearly enjoys working with by Mike Tomlin. The Steelers hope they’ll enjoy having him in their defense again in 2025.
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