Mike Tomlin: Just Keep Coaching

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"I love coaches who resist the responsibility of coaching because they are easy to beat.” 

- Mike Tomlin


What do you do when the people you are coaching and leading don’t listen, don’t respond, or don’t do what you are coaching them to do?


You just keep coaching.


Mike Tomlin, the head coach of the Pittsburgh Steelers, is one of the most respected coaches in all of sports. His interview with The Pivot Podcast is one of the few interviews I recommend to all coaches because of how clearly he is able to communicate his philosophy of coaching and how important relationships are to creating a championship culture that leads to success.



One of my key takeaways comes at the 33:33 mark where he talks about how he manages, leads, and most importantly, just keeps coaching.


He says when trying to compete at the highest level, you have to know how to bring out the best in the group, and in order to that, you have to be able to manage the group and the individuals in the group.


He then says, “I love coaches that resist the responsibility of coaching because they are easy to beat,” and, “If everyone could learn, we would need less coaches,” and, “If the group didn’t need management then we wouldn’t make as much.”


Too many of us stop managing, leading, and coaching when it gets hard or when we aren’t seeing results, but one of the most critical parts of our job is to just keep going.

  • If your job is to manage, then just keep managing.
  • If your job is to lead, then just keep leading.
  • If your job is to coach, then just keep coaching.

Don’t stop; this is what separates the bad from the good and the good from the great. Just keep coaching, building, growing, and developing people.


And keep learning so you can keep growing your ability to do so. Keep listening to good messages, reading good books, watching good interviews like this one, and keep talking to the people you are leading and leaders who are going through or have gone through some of the things you go through.


Just keep coaching.

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