Mike Tomlin Responds to Najee Harris’ Criticism of Steelers Facilities
PALM BEACH, Fla. — Los Angeles Chargers running back Najee Harris gave an ambiguous answer when asked about his tenure with the Pittsburgh Steelers during a one-on-one interview with CBS Los Angeles.
“My time in Pittsburgh, it was a lot of learning things, a lot of learning experiences,” Harris said. “Playing for Mike T, playing in that division, there were a lot of ways I didn’t even realize what the NFL was really about until I came to Pittsburgh.
“I don’t want to go into detail with it, but I feel there was a lot of stuff in my game where I could’ve elevated more and I could’ve did more. I feel like I just didn’t get it done. I feel like I was obviously missing something. … It was interesting years there, I’ll just say that. Interesting years.”
After taking a tour of the Chargers facility before his press conference, Harris also took a bit of a shot at the Pittsburgh facilities while speaking with the L.A. media.
“It’s a great weight room, first of all,” Harris said. “Even the facility, is all great things. A lot of things that they provide here you can take advantage of. I was telling them, it’s not like this everywhere, man. This is a special thing right here. It reminded me of college at Alabama, all the resources that we have. So just getting the chance to take advantage of all these opportunities is a blessing. And I was telling him, y’all have a great thing going on right now. It’s not like this everywhere. It’s not. Man, yeah, I’m just happy to be here.”
For the second year in a row, the Steelers did not receive favorable reviews in the NFLPA’s annual facilities report card. The Steelers once again were ranked No. 28 out of 32 teams.
The Steelers made some improvements, most notably by adding a gameday daycare for players. That raised their family support grade from an F- to a C-. But overall, the Steelers are still lacking in several key departments.
Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin was asked about Harris’ critical comments about the Steelers facilities at the NFL owners meetings last week. Tomlin wasn’t aware of what was said, but he wasn’t bothered by it. He said Harris is entitled to his opinion.
“I’m not going to comment on someone else’s opinion. Everyone’s entitled to theirs,” Tomlin said. “We had a great experience with Naj, man. We appreciate his efforts over the four years that he was here with us, and I wish him nothing but the best as he moves forward with his career.”
Alan Saunders contributed reporting from Palm Beach, Fla.