Pittsburgh Steelers: Coach Mike Tomlin Right to Stand Ground, Scold Media

Gotta side with Iron Mike Tomlin on this one.

Let's set this one up for you, if you will.

Every Wednesday the type-and-gripers who cover NFL teams meander over to the team's headquarters to sit in on a conference call with the visiting team's coach. In this case it was the Jacksonville hacks sitting around, probably eating whatever was in sight, throwing a few questions Tomlin's way.

The NFL requires these little get-togethers. It helps generate extra coverage in the papers and online reports, and in Roger Goodell's perfect world, you can't get enough coverage.

I can tell you from personal experience, after sitting through countless numbers of these things, that they can get pretty testy, especially when the questions get stupid. They'd get stupid 30 years ago, and not much has changed since.

When John McKay coached the Buccaneers, he had a simple way of handling these things when they reached the "stupid" portion of the proceedings. He'd look at the gathered reporters and simply say:

"Gentlemen, you know nothing about football."

He'd then take a big puff on his cigar and stroll away.

Anyway, back to Tomlin and the Jacksonville hacks.

Seeing as the Jaguars are in the throws of another pitiful season, the gathered scribes thought they'd try and take Tomlin back in time to 2007 and re-live a horrendous holding call that wasn't called and allowed the Jags to beat the Steelers.

They wanted to know why Tomlin didn't complain to the league, send the play for review.

This just in—fellas, it wouldn't have changed anything.

And to that point, Tomlin became miffed.

"Guys, come on man, I'm not going to cry over four-year-old spilled milk."

Tomlin added: "Anybody got any legitimate questions? Goll-lly."

"Guys, that was four years ago..."

There was a moment of silence and that was all Tomlin needed to jettison the escape hatch. He gave 'em a quick "Thank-you, have a good one," then nothing but a click.

Tomlin was gone.

One of those reporters is a guy who has rubbed Tomlin the wrong way before, Vito Stellino. Seems Vito was in the process of trying to drum up another question when Tomlin hung up.

Tomlin didn't shun the media. He simply called this guy out for drumming up a question that had nothing whatsoever to do with Sunday's game.

Tomlin was right in doing what he did.

And someone needs to tell Vito that a missed call from four years ago has nothing to do with this coming Sunday.

Does it?