Q. In making the decision to start Mason Rudolph in today's game vs. the Seahawks, was there anything involved in that besides Kenny Pickett's health?
A. Mason played a really good game, and we want to give him an opportunity to maybe build upon that and us to build upon that. That was the reason why we inserted him into the lineup. You know, we weren't going to continue to do similar things and hope for a different result. We needed to produce more points, score more touchdowns. We were able to do that, and so I'm excited about the prospects of seeing what we can do in his second outing.
Q. In terms of Pickett's health, where is he now vs. where he was at the same stage of last week's preparation?
A. I think he's in a significantly better position. I don't know the seriousness of the consideration (of him playing) a week ago. He's in a much better place now.
Q. You've never been a coach with a short leash or a quick hook when it comes to the starting quarterback, but do you look at things any differently in a situation where the outcome of this game could be the difference between staying alive in the playoff race vs. being all but mathematically eliminated?
A. It's an impossibility to eliminate some of those variables from consideration in terms of decision-making. But I and we won't get out of character in regard to some of those things. We'll make the decisions that are best for us. It's never really ridiculously complex for us, to be honest with you. We don't make the simple complex. We try to position ourselves to win games in the next one. And so that would probably generally be our posture.
Q. After the win over the Bengals, Myles Jack said, "Obviously, it's no secret we were in the media for a lot of negativity, but I feel that as a team we answered. We stayed focused, got back to the basics, and handled what we needed to handle. That's the main thing." You personally were the focus of a lot of that negativity, so did you ever get the sense the players rallied around you as their coach?
A. No. I'm not looking for that. We're not paid to talk; we're not paid to respond (to talk). We're paid to play, and paid to play winning ball, and there are seven-day cycles in our opportunities to state a case for ourselves. And so I've just educated our guys throughout the process, that you don't win games Monday through Friday or Saturday. Although there could be things thrown about, commentary being said, that's what those (commentators) do. We're in the competitors' business. And we talk with the quality of our play. Sometimes you've got to bite your tongue and absorb negativity and wait for your next opportunity, and that's what I sense from the group. But that's business as usual for us. We don't wait for negativity to happen or for us to be in those circumstances for an opportunity to educate. It's not about what we say in this business or how we respond to criticism, or what we have to say in response to criticism. It's about how we perform.
Q. So far this season, Chris Boswell has been successful on 25-of-27 field goal attempts, which is a 95.7 percent success rate, with his only misses being one from 61 yards and one from 45 yards. What is your level of confidence in him?
A. It's extremely high, but not only because of the statistics that you mentioned from this year, but his body of work. It has been about 9 years or so we've been together, and that ball has gone through the uprights quite a bit in those 9 years. And so obviously, there's a lot more pressing issues and circumstances that I can stay up late at night worrying about, as opposed to Chris Boswell.
Q. How is his range determined for a particular game at a particular venue?
A. He has such a steady demeanor, he doesn't respond to environmental things. I think generally, his range is 60 yards and we work from there. I've just gotten to that point with him. He's not an emotional guy. He's an experienced guy. Really comfortable with him. You know, the environmental components of the decision-making are really secondary.
Q. So you would never ask him if he could make a particular kick before you send the field goal team onto the field because he would always say yes?
A. He will. He'll ask you to back it up. He'll want to take a delay of game penalty and put 5 additional yards on the attempt. But that's the type of mentality you want from a guy in that position.
Q. Boswell's touchback percentage on kickoffs is 72.3 percent. Would it be your preference that every kickoff results in a touchback?
A. Depending on circumstance. Sometimes matchup-related things, schematics of the week, the field positioning component if the return team is highly penalized in the return game, then maybe you make them play there in an effort to challenge them in that way. Or if their primary returner is not available. There are a variety of variables that come into the decision-making process from that standpoint.
Q. Today's opponent, the Seattle Seahawks are coached by Pete Carroll, and when you broke into the NFL first as an assistant coach in 2001 before being hired by the Steelers in 2007, he was at USC. What do you remember about Pro Days there, or just generally the way he ran that program in terms of how it produced NFL prospects?
A. He ran it like a pro operation. He had pro coaching experience, and actually I went out there to visit several times. He and my boss, Monte Kiffin, who was our defensive coordinator at Tampa Bay, were really good friends. Monte Kiffin had been the head coach at North Carolina State years ago and I think Pete was his defensive coordinator, and so they had a shared background and shared philosophical approach to ball. Oftentimes Pete and his defensive staff would come to Tampa and visit with us, or we would go to Los Angeles and visit with them. I remember the first time I met Troy Polamalu. I think maybe he was a sophomore, and Pete are I were sitting around talking ball and Troy walked into the office. And Pete said, "Hey, Mike, you're going to want to know this guy right here," and he introduced me to Troy. Troy was probably about 19 years old, and so those waters run deep. He ran it like a pro operation, and I think it made it attractive to kids. I know during that block of time, the guys who came out of USC were pro-ready in terms of being able to absorb schematics and things of that nature and just the flow of a day. I thought it was a winning edge for him in terms of developing that program and some of the things that they were able to accomplish. And definitively, I think it was an asset to the players who came through there.
Q. Did you ever see one of those "competition Tuesdays" at USC that were famous in that supposedly, all starting jobs were up for grabs every Tuesday?
A. You know, that wasn't necessarily foreign to me. That was really in vogue back during the time I was coaching college football That was kind of standard. It is really a throwback approach that's probably less attractive today, but that was just the way college football was years ago. Every Tuesday started anew. You might as well put a strip of tape with your name across the front of your helmet on Tuesday, because that was just the mentality.
Q. A couple of former Steelers defensive players – cornerback Artie Burns and inside linebacker Devin Bush – have roles within Seattle's defense. In preparing for this game vs. the Seahawks, what have you seen from Burns and Bush in how they're being utilized and how they're performing?
A. Artie has gotten a lot of work because Devon Witherspoon has missed some time and he's been their primary nickel. He didn't play inside when he was here, so it was great to see the intellectual growth and versatility and guys extending their career by adding value to what they bring to people that they work with. And really the same thing for Devin. I've seen him play some linebacker I've also seen him play in what they term "big nickel." Jamal Adams has missed some time there in recent weeks, and I've seen Devin Bush playing big nickel in (Adams') position and getting some exposure there. Proud of those guys, particularly from a versatility standpoint, making themselves useful and viable for their football team.
Q. Earlier in the week, Pete Carroll said this about Devin Bush: "He's got a great chance to play a lot this week. He'll be fired up for that. That's something that just juices guys up. And I totally respect that, and I like honoring that because it's meaningful. It means something." Is it your experience that NFL players get "juiced up" when they go against their former teams?
A. Certainly. I'm sure they do. The familiarity component, just the respect component. No question. We'll expect to get his best and their best. And I definitively understand Pete's mindset and attitude regarding that, but make no mistake if Pete had (inside linebacker) Jordyn Brooks available, he'd be playing Brooks.
Q. For the sixth time, and for the third year in a row, Cam Heyward is the Steelers nominee for the Walter Payton Man of the Year Award, which is given annually as recognition for the combination of a player's community service, as well as excellence on the field. You're around Cam every day. Could you explain why he is a worthy candidate and would be a deserving winner?
A. Cam just embraces what comes with being him. He's a gracious and giving guy. But he also just has a unique relationship with this community. This is his mother's and his grandparents' community. There's a deeper connection for him in this community, and I think he just conducts himself in that way. He's engaged. The community is not foreign to him. He's not foreign to the community. He is out and about and highly involved. And so it is not surprising to any of us that he has been recognized in that way, particularly repeatedly. He's uniquely special repeatedly.
Q. Would you say that Cam is the pacesetter in those areas for this team, for this franchise?
A. Without a doubt. I think he wears that in such a natural way. I don't know that it's an outward agenda of his. It's just who he is and where he's from. And so it's meaningful to him.
