Sometimes it takes an interpreter to decipher exactly what Pittsburgh Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin is trying to say. Other times what he says is loud and clear.
And during Tomlin’s press conference on Monday, there wasn’t any interpreter necessary. After what Tomlin felt was a particularly frustrating media availability, despite his team improving to 4-1 and in firm control of the AFC North after a win over the Cleveland Browns on Sunday, the Steelers’ coach let off a bit of steam while walking out of the press room.
“Boy, you guys were annoying me today with some of that,” the coach said before the press conference feed went dark.
The comment came after a reporter asked a question about the difficulty Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Joe Flacco faces starting his second game for the team in eight days after being traded away by the Browns last week.
“Can you speak to how hard that is, or maybe it’s different for a veteran guy?” a reporter asked.
“Doesn’t appear to be hard for Joe Flacco,” Tomlin deadpanned.
It’s a reasonable question for Tomlin. Flacco has barely had a cup of coffee in Cincinnati, and he’s going to be operating on a short week against the Steelers on Thursday Night Football. But in Tomlin’s defense, he faced his fair share of questions about Flacco earlier in the press conference. And Tomlin is also operating on a short week, so maybe there’s some added frustration about his media obligations.
Whatever the case, it’s always amusing to see NFL head coaches take issue with innocuous questions. As long as they don’t take it too far.
About Drew Lerner
Drew Lerner is a staff writer for Awful Announcing and an aspiring cable subscriber. He previously covered sports media for Sports Media Watch. Future beat writer for the Oasis reunion tour.