Mike Tomlin endorsed Ryan Tannehill’s Malik Willis mentorship take

Pittsburgh Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin gave his thoughts on Ryan Tannehill’s mentorship comments towards rookie Malik Willis.

This past week, Tennessee Titans quarterback Ryan Tannehill was the talk of the NFL. When speaking with the media, Tannehill expressed his belief that he doesn’t think it’s his job to mentor the team’s rookie quarterback and third-round draft pick Malik Willis. That created quite the debate as to whether Tannehill’s stance was right or wrong.

Pittsburgh Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin appeared on “The Rich Eisen Show” on Wednesday, May 4, and was asked about Tannehill’s stance on mentoring Willis. You can listen to Tomlin’s comments at the 4:57 mark of the video below.

Mike Tomlin gives thoughts on Ryan Tannehill’s mentorship comments

The Steelers did have something similar when they drafted Mason Rudolph in the third round of the 2018 NFL Draft with Ben Roethlisberger on the roster. But, Roethlisberger did give advice to Rudolph.

The Steelers obviously used the 20th overall selection in the 2022 NFL Draft on who they believe can be the successor to Roethlisberger in Kenny Pickett, who played college football for the Pittsburgh Panthers. The decision was made to select him with Rudolph on the roster and the team signing former Chicago Bears and Buffalo Bills quarterback Mitchell Trubisky to a two-year contract.

After the Pickett selection, Tomlin did say that the rookie does have a chance to become the team’s Week 1 starter. Pickett was deemed the most pro-ready out of the quarterback prospects in this year’s draft class.

Opinions on Tannehill’s comments about mentoring Willis have run rampant ever since. Now, you know where Tomlin stands on the topic.