The Pittsburgh Steelers have been lucky enough to have some of the greatest pass rushes the NFL has ever seen. Right now, they have two stars, T.J. Watt and Alex Highsmith leading the way, constantly putting pressure on opposing quarterbacks. When healthy, Cam Heyward does the same from the defensive line.
Mike Tomlin has overseen a lot of those great defenses, as the team has yet to have a losing season under his watch. That kind of success leads to a lot of people around the NFL having respect and admiration for you.
Recently, one of the people who have spoken about how much they liked Tomlin is future Hall of Famer, and brother to T.J., J.J. Watt. While making an appearance on The Pat McAfee Show earlier this week, J.J. admitted that Tomlin is the one head coach he wishes he got to play under during his career.
“I’ve always said it would have been very interesting to play for Coach Tomlin because I have a ton of respect for him…Hearing T.J. and Derek always tell me about the way he goes about his business and I would have loved that,” J.J. Watt said to McAfee and former NFL linebacker, A.J. Hawk.
J.J. is the only Watt brother to not play for the Steelers under Tomlin as T.J. and Derek Watt both spent time there. This is yet another hint should J.J. come out of retirement, it would be to don the black and gold.
During the offseason, he shared a story about how he almost signed with the Steelers before inking a deal with the Arizona Cardinals. There were discussions about him going to the Steel City, but it was at the time that T.J. was negotiating a long-term contract with the team. He didn’t want to take money out of his brother’s pocket, so he looked elsewhere for a deal.
While J.J. has said he will remain retired, there is at least a little bit of a chance the Steelers could convince him otherwise. The chance to play under a coach such as Tomlin and alongside his brother is certainly an intriguing proposition the franchise can offer that no other team can.
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