Steelers HC Mike Tomlin moving training camp practices to afternoons for the heat

One of the biggest criticisms of the Pittsburgh Steelers in recent years under head coach Mike Tomlin is toughness. Teams just seem to come out and hit Pittsburgh in the mouth early and they struggle to come back. At least some of this issue comes down to conditioning. Tomlin announced during minicamp last week that during training camp, a change was coming for training camp practices to help combat some of this.

Tomlin said that the team is going to move their training camp practices to the afternoon instead of the mornings. Why? The heat.

“Wasn’t hot enough last year," Tomlin said. "Heat aids in the development of physical conditioning."

Conditioning is a huge talking point for Tomlin every offseason but it doesn't always materialize on the field. Between guys looking gassed when depth can't keep up and soft tissue injuries, we have always wondered if there is a problem within the team getting guys in game shape.

When Tomlin made this announcement at minicamp, it reminded me of a moment back in 2021. Former Steelers wide receiver Chase Claypool talked about how hard Steelers practices were, and he wished the team would play music during practices to make things "more fun," which is obviously the last thing Tomlin cares about.

This article originally appeared on Steelers Wire: Steelers HC Mike Tomlin moving training camp practices to afternoon