Mini camp is upon us.

Mike McCarthy breaking down the basics with Drew Allar today. This video really shows Mike and Drew working together.

I think this is what Steeler fans were hoping to see from Mike McCarthy.

 

My understanding is that he's not there.

I did think they were allowed to bring up to 5 vets in.

But I can't imagine they wouldn't have brought Howard in if that were the case.

 

Howard is not a roo

Allar spoke to the media today and I have to say — he’s a focused young man who articulates well and clearly knows what he needs to improve. Allar to his credit is not relying on talent alone. He is a very workable young man to coach. That’s a good sign. That said, he’s still a tick slow reacting — that tenth-of-a-second hesitation is still there. I watched silent video of him working with McCarthy, and his plant foot/lead leg looked a little behind where it needs to be. It is not close to an instinctive memory . Mike was working on this. It honestly feels like he got small-school/college QB coaching up to this point. Sorry PSU fans, but it’s true. The difference with Mike McCarthy is night and day. His coaching is extremely hands-on and astute.

I’ve never seen Tomlin working 1-on-1 with players like this only jawing at them. McCarthy and his staff are breaking Allar down from square one on fundamentals. Realistic expectations: He probably won’t look great early in camp while they rebuild his mechanics. The hope is he can win the back up job by the close of of summer camp.

On the positive side, I saw him drill a goal-line throw into a tiny square window with excellent accuracy and velocity. The arm talent is definitely there. I wish I can find this video.

If I am the coach, I pick the back up after pre-season game #2.

Overall, it’s a process. Excited to see the progression. Video of his media availability is below:

https://www.steelers.com/video/watch-drew-allar-media-availability-may-9

 

The article is from 04/21/26. It is referring to the Steelers voluntary veteran minicamp, not rookie camp. : )

 

You have to give up your hatred for Tomlin.

It blinds you to things that are obvious.

Tomlin was famous for going to things like the senior bowl and working with players on the field. Even in years when he wasn't coaching the senior bowl. Personally, I think he was probably better at working with players than he was scheming / calling a defense.

Players talk about him working with them too. Ike is the most notable.

This doesn't mean it's correlated to success. McVay has done well and at least at times doesn't even go to things like this.

Re: Allar. Glad that reports are he looks good at rookie mini camp. Becuase rookie mini camp is just him doing throwing drills. I don't follow college, but the negative I consistently heard about him is that he falls apart under pressure. There is no pressure at mini camp. In the drills in the video above, he's only throwing to coaches who aren't moving or into a net with targets. Sounds like they are trying to work on his footwork...another thing scouting reports I read says he has trouble with. This isn't a knock on him. It's just what's expected of him at this point. It's not anything to get excited over. Just like when he has a bad day in training camp, it's not going to be a big deal IMO.

 

Yeah, I figured that out

 

Well, Tomlin is a defensive coach so he wouldn't be standing next to the QB working with him on foot work and other mechanics .

 

I posted that 2 pages ago

 

i think the guy i'm most wanting to see succeed is spears-jennings. i think we got a huge steal with him. remember we only have 1 year contracts on elliott and savage and brisker.

 

At least Allar, and Nowakowski got good numbers.

 

I really like we got him. I just hope I'm correct about him.

 

There are reasons Allar was a third round pick. The pressure thing is the most worrisome. Some guys can handle it. Some guys simply can't. But I think there was a HC that once said pressure is something you feel when you don’t know what you’re doing or something to that effect.

 

I don’t think you fully recognize what effective sideline coaching actually looks like. Mike Tomlin’s approach has been almost entirely audio-based. While that works for some players, it largely ignores the visual and kinetic learning styles that many athletes rely on to make rapid adjustments during the chaos of a game. Strong coaching should combine all three learning modalities:

Audio — Clear verbal instructions. Tomlin does this well, though it’s often hard to hear exactly what he’s saying on the broadcasts. Visual — Demonstrations, hand signals, or showing proper positioning. Tomlin gets a failing grade here. He is rarely hands-on or demonstrative. Kinetic — Physical adjustments, guided reps, or feel-based feedback. This was seldom seen from him. Grade C-.

Relying almost exclusively on talking limits how quickly and deeply players can internalize corrections in real time. Beyond that, I rarely saw Tomlin actively coaching on the sideline. His in-game adjustments were nearly nonexistent. He didn’t carry an offensive or defensive play chart, and when the cameras zoomed in, he was often just chewing gum instead of actively communicating with players. Diagram drawing / white boarding? No way.

If you disagree, show me the video evidence.

But you are right, he gone and I should move on form bring him up. That's on me . I blame 8 years is a row of no playoff wins.

 

My mistake. I figured someone might have done so. I sifted through the thread, but didn't see it.

 

Sorry

Not aimed at you

It was aimed at a poster that has half the board on ignore and then repeats the posts of the ones he ignored

 

At about the 7:34 mark, is anyone alarmed at how slow and uncoordinated his footwork is when going around the cones?

No, I am not saying he can't improve or that it stops him from being a future HoFer.

 

Are you arguing that the role of a head coach in the NFL is to be teaching technique to players on the sideline during a game?

 

Sounds pretty silly doesn’t it

 

No, you're missing my points.

Since you likely have made up your mind that Tomlin is a great coach, not one who has under-achieved with that talent that he had, I can not help you. Your mind is set.

However if you think I have a point in what I'm saying I can provide you with information to think about.

Which is it? I am asking you.

I said far more about his coaching then just limiting a reply to . "Are you arguing that the role of a head coach in the NFL is to be teaching technique to players on the sideline during a game ? " That is a silly question witn an obvious answer.

 

If Brisker has a good year, I could see them re-signing him.