Tedy Bruschi: Mike Tomlin Looked 'Emotionally Flustered' After Headset Issues

The Pittsburgh Steelers simply couldn’t adjust in the face of adversity.

As you’ve surely heard by now, the Steelers had headset issues during their season-opening loss to the New England Patriots last Thursday night at Gillette Stadium. Pittsburgh head coach Mike Tomlin wasn’t happy after the game, saying it wasn’t the first time his team had communication problems in New England, but former Patriots linebacker and current ESPN analyst Tedy Bruschi isn’t buying the sour grapes.

“Tomlin, afterwards, he looked so emotionally flustered,” Bruschi said Monday on WEEI’s “Dale and Holley” of the headset controversy. “I wonder when that started. Headset communication we’re talking about. I’ve been part of many defenses where I’ve talked to coaches on the sideline and they no longer had their headsets and I said, ‘Why can’t we communicate anymore?’ And they said, ‘We’ve got a problem with our headsets.’

“It happens. It happens on a regular basis. There are always communication problems, I’ve experienced them before myself with the coaches that I played with. You move on from it, you adjust from it, you actually prepare for things like that.”

The NFL reviewed the situation and discovered the Patriots “had nothing to do with” the headset issues. Tomlin indicated Tuesday he’s satisfied with the league’s review.

But there was plenty of buzz about the sideline mishap coming out of New England’s 28-21 victory over Pittsburgh, especially given two reports earlier in the week that accused the Patriots of some rule-bending tactics over the years. It almost clouded the Steelers’ problems.

Almost.

“It just seemed like the Steelers weren’t ready for that,” Bruschi said. “They weren’t ready for new formations and the young players covering (Rob) Gronkowski out wide. Maybe that was a reflection of the chaos that their coaching staff emitted from themselves once they had a little bit of a problem — that I’m sure they’ve had that problem at other stadiums.”

HeadsetGate might be over. Tomlin and the Steelers need to focus on their Week 2 matchup against the San Francisco 49ers, while the New England Patriots must prepare for the Buffalo Bills.

It was fun while it lasted, though. But not really.