One of the cornerstones of the Pittsburgh Steelers’ approach to football is relationship building. While that has come down from ownership via the Rooney family, it’s also an attribute they’ve prioritized in those who run their team.
Head coach Mike Tomlin is a big relationship guy, ‘down to the nitty gritty’, as he might say, and that becomes particularly important when it comes to the draft process. There are so many unknowns when it comes to college players that having intelligence on a prospect others don’t can prove an important edge.
It’s often pointed out that Tomlin or others have personal connections to prospects or their schools, or coaches at their schools.