Hard Knocks showed just how Mike Tomlin puts on a coaching masterclass with the Steelers

This is For The Win’s daily newsletter, The Morning Win. Did a friend recommend or forward this to you? If so, subscribe here. Have feedback? Leave your questions, comments and concerns through this brief reader survey! Now, here's Robert Zeglinski on Mike Tomlin's excellence.

Mike Tomlin has been an NFL head coach for nearly 18 years. The Coach of the Year candidate has never seen a losing season with his Pittsburgh Steelers, who are almost always relevant as perennial playoff contenders. Anyone who follows the NFL regularly is unsurprised by Tomlin's success. He is effectively a made man in Pittsburgh -- for as long as he wants -- because of how well he manages his team.

But Tomlin's "tough love" player-centered style of coaching, in which he gets the pulse of everyone on his roster, can sometimes be hard to quantify if you're not personally hanging around the Steelers' locker room.

This is where programs like Hard Knocks, fortunately, come in.

With the NFL documentary series centering its latest in-season edition on the AFC North, we got a firsthand look at Tomlin's in-game work during the Steelers' win over the rival Cincinnati Bengals last Sunday.

And let me tell you, with just two sample clips to work off of, it's clear Tomlin put on a coaching masterclass. What else is new?

The first video shows Tomlin planting a seed in Steelers linebacker Nick Herbig's head. In the lead-up to the game with the Bengals, Tomlin wanted Herbig to think about beating Cincinnati left tackle Orlando Brown Jr. like a drum with a speed move. He kept talking about it.

With the Steelers needing a big defensive play to permanently tilt the matchup in their favor in the fourth quarter, Herbig came through -- just like Tomlin encouraged him to.

It's a small thing after the fact, but please note how Tomlin ensures he tells Herbig that he's not shocked he made an impact play. That's cultivating a small but not insignificant dynamic between coach and player where the player understands their coach has a strong belief in their abilities, no matter the situation. Not everyone can pull that kind of move off as a leader and come across as sincere.

Tomlin is, of course, not like everyone.

The other Hard Knocks clip showcases Tomlin's relationship with the fiery George Pickens, who, in charitable terms, has been known to wear his heart on his sleeve. But Tomlin, likely better than anyone, knows how to keep people's emotions in check.

After the Bengals notched an early pick-six off Russell Wilson in the first quarter -- thanks to Pickens falling down, which let Bengals cornerback Cam Taylor-Britt catch the ball unimpeded en route to the end zone -- Tomlin wouldn't let Pickens sulk over his unforced error.

Mistakes like that happen all the time in a chaotic game like football. As Tomlin tells Pickens while holding him close, you have to fight for another day even when you screw up. Tomlin's message appeared to resonate when Pickens responded with a touchdown of his own on the Steelers' next possession:

It's not every day you get to see a player's coach like Tomlin thriving in their environment while wearing a mic. Thanks to Hard Knocks and NFL Films, we now have an even keener sense of why the Steelers coach will one day stroll into Canton. That's because Tomlin's work with Pickens and Herbig here was undoubtedly only scratching the surface of his coaching and mentorship.

And by the time Tomlin is up for a gold jacket and bronze bust, knowing his track record, he'll likely be able to point to at least 30 consecutive winning seasons with the black and gold.

The Toronto Tempo have arrived

The Toronto WNBA team reveal has to go down as one of the funniest gaffes in sports we've seen in a long time, Mike Sykes writes.

We went from the league mistakenly including its expansion team's name in a dropdown menu on the website to a full (and possibly rushed?) logo reveal in about 48 hours. You really can't make this up. This is the quintessential WNBA experience.

Now that the logo is finally here, though, gotta say, I think it's pretty good! I'm in the minority here with that opinion. Most people seem to dislike this thing.

TAKE IT AWAY: Fans instantly ripped the team's new logo online when it was unveiled

You can understand why. It does look a little half-baked. There should be some more flare to it, to be sure. Especially when you compare it to what the Valkyries logo looks like and how grandiose that entire reveal felt. Comparatively, Toronto's reveal feels second-class.

But, look, man. That old school 8-bit logo look is a nice vibe! Sure, it could be a title for a Super Nintendo game. It also definitely looks like the Soul Train end credits. That's fair. But I like it! Plus, the color scheme is pretty good.

Let's just let Toronto cook with this one, y'all.

Down goes Kansas

Take a second. Pause. Breathe in. Breathe out. You smell that? Yup. That. That's college hoops chaos, folks. It's here.

Almost a week ago in Las Vegas, the Creighton Blue Jays went 1-2 in the Player's Era Tournament, and their losses to San Diego State and Texas A&M weren't exactly close, either. The team entered Vegas as the No. 14 ranked team in the country. It left unranked.

On Wednesday, Creighton didn't just beat Kansas — it whooped Kansas. The 76-63 win wasn't close. Pop Isaacs couldn't miss. This looked like an entirely different team.

This is college hoops, man. You think you know how things will go and then you find out you have absolutely no idea. It's maddening and entertaining all at once.

Well, for neutral observers, anyway. Sorry it had to be you, Kansas fans.

Quick hits: NBA Cup Odds ... NHL Nations Face-Off snubs ... and more

— Here's Prince Grimes with the odds and predictions for the NBA Cup Knockout round starting next Tuesday. This is going to be fun.

— Mary Clarke has the nine biggest snubs from the NHL's four Face-Off Nations tournament teams. Hate to see anyone snubbed, but this format is kind of interesting.

— Thomas Brown said he lost 20 pounds after being promoted as the Bears' head coach. Stress, folks. It's real. Robert has more here.

— Joe Burrow buying the Batmobile is so funny. It also shows you that he has way too much money on his hands.

— Could Tyreek Hill retire? Meg Hall decodes a cryptic post that suggests he might.

— Here's Cory Woodroof with a list of NFL vets who should be released so they can go play for contenders.

That's a wrap, folks. Thanks so much for reading. We appreciate you. Have a fantastic Thursday. Peace.

-Zeglinski & Sykes ✌️