New England Patriots
“Nothing like beating up on that Pittsburgh zone defense that they never seemed to adjust vs us.”
Former Steelers head coach and current NBC broadcaster Mike Tomlin had more on his mind than just trying to beat Tom Brady and the Patriots over his nearly two decades in Pittsburgh.
Earlier this week, Tomlin revealed a project that he has been working on for 12 years — an intricate city designed in the popular video game Minecraft.
In a 20-minute video released on his YouTube channel, Tomlin dove into his passion project of crafting a full-fledged city — picking up the game after watching his kids play it in middle school.
”Over the course of time, they got just disinterested in the game. They go on to high school and so forth and off to college. Their participation became less and less over the years. My participation probably at times increased,” Tomlin noted. “At different times over the course of a 12-month calendar, I would have different levels of fixation on this. … I like to build.”
“I’ve always had an interest in architecture, Tomlin added. “So I started doing this creative city.”
Tomlin’s video tour of his Minecraft town — which has already gained over a million views on YouTube — has already made the rounds in football circles and on social media, especially with former Patriots players who tormented Tomlin and the Steelers in the 2010s.
While Tomlin’s focus on Minecraft served as a reliable hobby away from the football field, it hasn’t stopped the internet from joshing the former Pittsburgh head coach and making jokes over his commitment to his previous day job with the Steelers.
Patriots wide receiver Julian Edelman twisted the knife as part of a post on Instagram on Thursday night.
“I admire your ability to multitask, coach,” Edelman wrote as part of the video post — which mashed together footage of Edelman practicing on the football field with clips of Tomlin building his Minecraft city.
The caption on the video clips insinuated that while Edelman and the Patriots were prepping for the AFC Championship Game with the Steelers in 2017, Tomlin was busy cultivating his sprawling metropolis on Minecraft.
It didn’t take long for Brady to also join in on the fun.
“Nothing like beating up on that Pittsburgh zone defense that they never seemed to adjust vs us,” Brady commented on Edelman’s post.
Brady posted a 9-4 regular-season record against the Steelers, along with a perfect 3-0 showing in the playoffs — although the first two of those postseason victories were when Bill Cowher was head coach in Pittsburgh.
Brady and Edelman’s lone payoff meeting against a Tomlin-coached Steelers squad in the playoffs was during that 2017 AFC title game — with New England posting a 36-17 victory over Pittsburgh at Gillette Stadium.
Brady completed 32-of-42 throws for 384 yards, three touchdowns, and zero interceptions in that lopsided win, while Edelman reeled in a touchdown and 118 total receiving yards.
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