‘He Created This Surroundings’: Beat Author Criticizes Mike Tomlin’s ‘Unfair’ Therapy Of Star Gamers

George Pickens had his ups and downs with the Pittsburgh Steelers, to say the least. There were outstanding catches and other great moments sprinkled in there, but also plenty of frustrating moments, too. According to Steelers beat writer Mike DeFabo, Mike Tomlin deserves some blame for the way things went down.

“When it came to being a professional, realizing that you’re paid handsomely and this team is counting upon you, he [Pickens] showed up repeatedly late for things,” DeFabo said on FS1’s The Herd on Friday. “I have to look at Mike Tomlin and say, he created this environment where it was possible for this to happen.”

After the 2024 season, plenty of reports surfaced regarding Pickens, and they weren’t good ones. Most notably him showing up late to the Steelers’ Christmas Day loss against the Kansas City Chiefs. That was the first week he was active after missing a couple of games with an injury. It was also shortly after Tomlin mentioned that Pickens needed to “grow up”. Clearly, that message didn’t land.

Under Mike Tomlin, the Steelers have been quite an interesting team. He’s gaining respect for doing more with less, although he definitely has a say in terms of roster building. He’s also dealt with quite a few characters, Pickens being the latest. Before Pickens, everyone is well aware of how things went down with Antonio Brown and Le’Veon Bell.

Speaking of Bell, DeFabo thinks he’s an example of the lack of change Mike Tomlin has in terms of enabling his star players.

“You go back to where this whole losing streak began, Le’Veon Bell reported late for that playoff game,” DeFabo said. “And now here we are, years later, and you’ve got on Christmas Day, George Pickens reporting late… When you’re treating people on different levels, that is unfair to the guys who are doing the right thing.”

DeFabo seems to be referring to the Steelers’ loss against the Jacksonville Jaguars in the divisional round back in 2018, when Bell showed up late.  He’s not wrong that there is a pattern of this happening. That entire 2017-18 season was full of distractions from star players in Pittsburgh. While people recognize Mike Tomlin as a players coach, he does have a history of enabling that sort of behavior, from Bell all the way to Pickens during the last few years.

Now, Tomlin will have to manage another locker room that could be tough. While Pickens is gone, Tomlin still has to manage DK Metcalf and Jalen Ramsey, who have each been described as headcases themselves. Although Aaron Rodgers seems to be off to a good start in Pittsburgh, Tomlin’s got to make sure things mesh well with Rodgers and Arthur Smith. Especially after Smith and Russell Wilson’s relationship began to deteriorate last year.

Tomlin may be doing more with less. However, also he may have his players’ back too much at times. Bell showing up late to a playoff game the Steelers lost by a field goal is costly. Just like it was when Pickens showed up late to a must-win game late in the season. If the Steelers want to have any success in 2025, Tomlin’s got to have a better grasp in that regard.