Former Pittsburgh Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin had plenty to say during his latest TV appearance, and his remarks on Najee Harris stood out the most.
Working as an analyst for Football Night in America, Tomlin was on the call for the Kansas City Chiefs-Seattle Seahawks Week 7 game and used the platform to size up the New York Giants’ run game. He had already delivered one of his trademark Tomlin-isms while discussing Giants head coach John Harbaugh’s approach, calling the recent moves “killing a mosquito with an axe.” But it was what he said about Harris that landed hardest.
“Najee Harris spoke out about a lack of rhythm in run/carry opportunities,” he said. “And now he’s unemployed.
Message sent. You can always ease up and be buddy-buddy.
I just think it's important at the early stages to establish a rapport, and that's what he's (Giants HC John Harbaugh) doing.”
Harris, the former Steelers first-round pick, had been coached by Tomlin for his first four NFL seasons before the Giants cut him loose after he complained about the run scheme. Tomlin’s point was not aimed at Harris’ character so much as the larger message a coach sends when he wants the locker room to understand who is in charge.
The Giants are in the middle of that process with Harbaugh in his first year running the team, just as the Steelers are dealing with their own transition under Mike McCarthy. Harbaugh had already taken heat for the team’s rushing issues, and that tension spiked in Week 6 when Cam Skattebo, the Giants’ most impactful back, didn’t get a single rushing carry.
A week later, the response came on the field. In Week 7, Skattebo ran for 124 yards and Devin Singletary added 41 more, while Harris was watching from home.
Tomlin’s comments may have sounded sharp, but they also laid bare the hard edge of coaching: sometimes a front office or head coach makes a harsh example out of a player to reset the tone. The result, in this case, was a Giants win and a 4-2-1 record through seven games. Tomlin said the quiet part out loud on Sunday Night Football on NBC, which is exactly the kind of unfiltered insight he’s been giving since moving into broadcast work.
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