Mike Tomlin gives his take on Ryan Tannehill's comments about mentoring Titans rookie QB Malik Willis
Tennessee Titans quarterback Ryan Tannehill set off a firestorm last week when he said it's not his job to mentor Titans rookie quarterback Malik Willis (the No. 86 overall selection by the Titans in the third round of the 2022 NFL Draft). The video of Tannehill's comments has been viewed over 8 million times. Numerous […]
Tennessee Titans quarterback Ryan Tannehill set off a firestorm last week when he said it's not his job to mentor Titans rookie quarterback Malik Willis (the No. 86 overall selection by the Titans in the third round of the 2022 NFL Draft).
The video of Tannehill's comments has been viewed over 8 million times.
Numerous athletes (retired and active) have commented on Tannehill's comments. The reaction has been mixed. Some players have backed up Tannehill (like former Titans tight end Jonnu Smith) while others have criticized the former Texas A&M standout (such as former Titans wide receiver Nate Washington, who never played with Tannehill).
Pittsburgh Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin recently added his name to the list of folks who have commented on Tannehill's approach to mentoring younger players.
“You know, it’s good when it occurs, but it’s certainly not necessary,” said Tomlin last week (via Sports Illustrated). “That’s why we have offensive coordinators, quarterback coaches, assistant quarterback coaches, people who are employed and their sole focus is the development of players.”
“Certainly, there’s growth and development opportunities and learning opportunities among players, but it is definitely not their function,” added Tomlin. “Their function is to have themselves ready to go and be good teammates, and I think that’s probably what you speak to just in terms of providing common human decency and courtesy to someone if you can help them along the way. I’m sure Ryan is open to that, but I think he was just stating the obvious, that he was not employed to do that. He’s employed to play quarterback.”
Tomlin is spot on. Tannehill's job is to win football games. And when he said it's not his job to mentor Willis, he wasn't saying that he was going to give the rookie the cold shoulder. Tannehill also suggested that if mentorship happened organically with Willis then it would be a good thing. Tannehill just isn't going to make it his focus (and it shouldn't be…he's still the Titans' starting quarterback above all else).
Tomlin, unlike many fans and former athletes, seems to get it. Tannehill shouldn't have made the comments about Willis, simply so he could avoid the media fallout. But he wasn't wrong. And it's clear that respected football minds like Tomlin agree.
Featured image via Christopher Hanewinckel-USA TODAY Sports
