The Pittsburgh Steelers have heard plenty of iconic motivational speeches from Head Coach Mike Tomlin. These "Tomlinisms" always seem to captivate the world of football, as no one can find as many interesting ways to tell people to play their hardest as him. Every head coach has their own way of doing exactly that, but it has become a Steelers tradition to come up with new ones each year. Of course, there are plenty of good ones before Tomlin's time as well.
Hines Ward, a former Steeler that is now coaching the receivers for the Arizona State Sun Devils, brought up one of the sayings that stuck with him, but it wasn't from Tomlin. It was from another Steelers' head coach: Bill Cowher.
"'Listen, it's great that you guys have been to a championship,' but I still try to remind them that we were picked dead last in this conference," said Ward. "We haven't really proved anything yet. Coach [Bill] Cowher used to always tell me, 'You're not as good as you think you are, and you're not as bad as they say you are.'"
Ward won a Super Bowl under Cowher in 2005, but he probably needed that reminder every now and then. That mindset may have helped him along in the 2008 championship run as well. Obviously, it still sticks with him, as he uses the same message to try and keep a bunch of college kids humble and prepared.
Ward's unit has done what nobody thought they would ever even get close to doing: clinching a first-round bye in the inaugural year of the expanded College Football Playoffs. The 16-team conference had numerous potential suitors for the conference title, but there were questions on if either team would be good enough to make it in the top four and skip a week.
Ward was not exaggerating about the preseason predictions either. The Sun Devils were predicted to finish 16th in the Big XII, good enough for dead last. They went against all the odds and took down the conference in a dominant year. He was right: they weren't nearly as bad as everyone said they were. That message clearly helped at some level, and the players truly believed that.
Ward has to reiterate that message again, but for a different reason. Yes, they had a great season, but what was it all for if they fail to win a bowl/playoff game? What does the first-round bye mean if they get hosed in the first round by the likes of the Texas Longhorns or the Clemson Tigers?
There is still more work do for Arizona State. They are not as good as they think they are now. They have to practice even harder to prove that they belong in the playoffs, as opposed to some random bowl game that some other fans may or may not tune into. They accomplished much more than everyone thought, but it's still not good enough.
Steelers Still Use Similar Message
During Hard Knocks: In Season With The AFC North, they showed an inside look into the Steelers' receiver room. Wide Receivers Coach Zach Azzanni was asking his unit what all they have won so far in the 2024 season. He got the same response that Ward would say for his conference champions.
There have been nonstop questions about George Pickens' maturity, but in the clip, he has a very clear understanding of the season at hand. Winning 10 games is not good enough. Taking the division crown won't be good enough either. Obviously, another Super Bowl title is the goal, and the Steelers know it.
