Mike Tomlin says headset interference ‘always’ happens in New England
By Mike Dyce
Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin says there is always headset interference in New England.
The New England Patriots beat the Pittsburgh Steelers at home in the season opener and it wasn’t without controversy, which seems to follow Robert Kraft’s organization everywhere it goes. The Steelers headsets were reportedly being fed the Patriots’ radio broadcast, disrupting communication between coaches.
The Steelers website said this interference disappeared when an NFL representative went to turn off the Patriots headsets as per a league rule but then returned when that representative left their sideline.
Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin seemed to be holding back anger and frustration, but it bled through in his post-game press conference. Tomlin also made a bold accusation in not so many words.
“That’s always the case,” Tomlin said when asked about the headsets.
When asked if he meant always at Gillette Stadium, Tomlin confirmed.
Tomlin added: “We were listening to the Patriots’ radio broadcast for the majority of the first half on our headsets, coach to coach. I’m not indicating anything; I’m telling you what happened. We let the league officials on site handle it, is what we do.”
The NFL said it was “a stadium power infrastructure issue, which was exacerbated by the inclement weather.” But then why did it only affect one team?
And that doesn’t addresses Tomlin’s claim that it is a repeated problem when they paly in New England, and surely every game doesn’t suffer the same inclement weather and power infrastucture issues.
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