They Hired You For You

The most crucial aspect of any craft is the passing of wisdom from one generation to the next. It is this passing of lessons that accelerates learning, sustains high skill, and facilitates mastery.

And while it’s easy to focus on the explicit lessons that we come across, it would be folly to overlook the subtle knowledge transfer that also occurs through pure observation.

In 2001, Tampa Bay Buccaneers head coach Tony Dungy hired Mike Tomlin to coach defensive backs — Tomlin’s first gig in the NFL. They would spend just a single season working together, but Tomlin sourced decades of knowledge from the Hall of Fame head coach.

“It didn’t take me very long to realize I can’t do it like him,” laughed Tomlin when asked about it. 

Expanding on that point, Tomlin stressed that copying Dungy was going to be inauthentic. “I could emulate him, but I couldn’t emulate him all day, every day. I could glean information from him, I could gain perspective from him, but I better not try to do it like him,” he added.

It’s one thing to copy a coach you look up to, it’s another thing to use the lessons of the coaches who’ve gone before you to create a more robust version of you.

They Hire You, Not Your System

When Tomlin was hired as head coach of the Pittsburgh Steelers, he was just their third head coach in 38 years.

Throughout the hiring process he was considered an outside chance; he was 34 years old, had no head coaching experience, and his preferred playing style clashed with how the Steelers had built their playing roster.

Despite that, in an interview during the hiring process, Tomlin spoke with the clarity and assuredness of a coach with decades of experience.

"I think regardless of who they hire to be the head coach, they expect him to lead," he is quoted as saying. "Part of leading is being prepared to do things you feel strongly about. I'm no different from anyone else in that regard."

Tomlin never mentioned his tactical system or how his teams ‘work hard’. He didn’t play to Pittsburgh fans and guarantee them a solid defense. He merely described who he was: a leader who pursues the things he feels strongly about.

Pittsburgh didn’t want Tomlin for his knowledge of Dungy’s famous defensive system — if they did, they could’ve hired Dungy directly.

They didn’t want Tomlin’s experience in the league — he didn’t really have any.

They wanted him.

The Steelers hired Mike Tomlin for Mike Tomlin; how he views the world, how he sees football, and who he is as a person.

And your team hired you for you; how you view the world, how you see your sport, and who you are as a person.

Remember to be you.

Cody’s Notes

• Make sure you’re doing the work to understand who you are, and what you believe. Ultimately, that’s what any team is hiring.

• You can emulate other coaches, but it’s exhausting and inauthentic to try to emulate them all day, every day. Ultimately, this will cost you.

• Small bits of knowledge learned over a short period of time can be just as pivotal as decades worth of consistent learning.

• The process of learning about yourself never ends, and so the journey of learning to be a better coach never ends.