Najee Harris says Steelers 'Need more structure, rules' after loss at Bills
Hindsight is always 20-20 especially after emotional losses that end the seaosn. But when someone continues throw subtle shots throughout a season, you can typically sense a pattern in their behavior. Pittsburgh Steelers RB Najee Harris has either been critical of his teammates and coaches, or noncommittal to postgame media for much of the year. But […]
Hindsight is always 20-20 especially after emotional losses that end the seaosn.
But when someone continues throw subtle shots throughout a season, you can typically sense a pattern in their behavior.
Pittsburgh Steelers RB Najee Harris has either been critical of his teammates and coaches, or noncommittal to postgame media for much of the year.
But none of what he said or didn't say had the effect his message after the Bills loss will:
'Things Need To Change'
“I’ve been here three years, obviously I have my opinions on things, but I’m just a player, said Harris after the Bills game. "But if you want to elevate and get to where we’re at, there’s got to be some in-house things that need to change. Coach [Tomlin] always tells me just play running back. That’s a little inside thing that we have too. But if you want to elevate where we are and achieve those goals that we want, we have to change some in-house stuff. Like I said, that’s not my place, that’s not anything that I can control or do anything about that.”
Harris was trying to tiptoe around what he really wanted to say without saying it. And credit to him for having the self-awareness on the fly to acknowledge what he was saying and trying to hedge his words, but the damage was already done:
“In-house rules. Not changes to coaches or anything like that. Just the rules that are in the building,” Harris added. “We’ve got to be more disciplined. We’ve got to be more committed. I’m not saying that we’re not, but coming from a place that has structure and coming and just seeing, we could probably get help in these areas; make a change. I think that’s something that could help. I’m not saying anything about coaches or anything like that; I’m saying in-house rules.”
Well, I know Harris said he wasn't talking about coaching, but when he says: "Coming from a place that has structure and just seeing we could get help in these areas," he's literally comparing Alabama (Harris' alma mater) and Nick Saban's way of doing things compared to Mike Tomlin's.
Now, I don't think Harris intentionally meant to take a shot at his HC on the heels of a season-ending loss, but I do know that he's brutally honest and as straightforward as they come, even though he's gotten much better at keeping to himself over the years.
And as for Tomlin, his future is as murky as it has ever been in Pittsburgh. Reports of Coach T potentially stepping away after the season were starting to mount prior to Monday's game, and they will only continue to rise following Tomlin's postgame presser against the Bills.
Needless to say, it's shaping up to be the most interesting Steelers offseason in a long time.
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