by: Nick Geddes 11 hours ago NickGeddesNews
James Harrison spent the majority of his 15-year NFL career with the Pittsburgh Steelers. From 2007-12 and again from 2014-17, he played under head coach Mike Tomlin . Harrison was a major part of Tomlin’s Super Bowl winning squad in 2008, the same year he was named AP Defensive Player of the Year.
There’s great history between the two, yes, but that isn’t stopping Harrison from saying what he believes needs to be said. Harrison made an appearance on Monday’s “Deebo and Joe” podcast following Pittsburgh’s 26-7 Week 13 home defeat to the Buffalo Bills. Harrison said the current coaching staff isn’t getting players to play up to or beyond their potential. He added he never thought that Tomlin was a “great coach.”
“I have never been a person that thought Coach Tomlin was a great coach,” Harrison said. “I thought he was a good… I’ll be honest, part of that is because, when I was slated to be the starter when Joey [Porter] left, he drafted, one and two, outside linebackers.
“Right now, we have coaches on this staff. When I say coaches, I’m saying this: a coach is someone that tells you what to do, and it doesn’t matter if what they’re telling you to do is right or wrong. A good coach gets you to play to your potential. And right now, the players we have on that team I have seen play; they’re not playing up to their potential. A great coach gets you to play beyond your potential.”