Subtle changes by 1st day make clear this Steelers training camp is... different

Mike Tomlin’s booming voice still carried well over Chuck Noll Stadium. His command of practice was the same, and the dark sunglasses and full, cropped beard appeared as familiar as ever.

Still, there was something that longtime observers of Pittsburgh Steelers training camp found jarringly different about Tomlin during the first practice of this camp Thursday.

Tomlin’s shirt was white.

“It always baffles me,” Tomlin said afterward, “that people pay attention to my outfit and things of that nature. It really does.”

But if Tomlin had worn a light color — in lieu of black — during any of the other practices during any of his previous 17 training camps as Steelers coach, those around the team for the better part of the past decade or two could not remember when.

For the record, Tomin also wore a white ballcap, black shorts and white shoes, with a silver chain around his neck adorned with a cross. But if Tomlin is correct in that his attire is irrelevant (and, of course, he is), that he apparently changed things up with his wardrobe is symbolic of other, more pertinent modifications he has presided over during the early stages of this camp:

• After decades of mid-afternoon start times, most weekday practices will begin at 10:30 a.m.

• A new strength and conditioning coach (Phil Matusz) has instituted subtle but noticeable tweaks in, for example, the warmup stretching at the start of workouts and in the annual conditioning test conducted Wednesday.

• For one day, anyway, the practice schedule did not include the “seven shots” 2-point conversion style series of snaps to begin the team portion of sessions.

There seems to be a level of intent in changing things up.

“We are not in a routine. We’ve switched it up,” tight end Pat Freiermuth said. “We are trying to do everything we can to have success in the playoffs. And so whatever change is needed to get there, we are gonna do whatever. We have to get in to the playoffs and we have to win some games there, so whatever the changes we are willing to do it.”

Tomlin on Wednesday explained the time change. He said players under the afternoon-practice format sometimes were rushed at dinner, and the coaches did not have adequate time to review film from practice to provide appropriate same-day feedback.

“We changed the schedule up,” general manager Omar Khan said Thursday, “and we think it was the right thing to do for different reasons.”