Steelers HC Mike Tomlin Praises Josh Dobbs

Pittsburgh Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin praised Josh Dobbs as "a special dude."

PITTSBURGH -- Former Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Josh Dobbs is beginning to make a habit out of pulling NFL teams out of difficult spots. At his newest home in Minnesota, Dobbs has done just that, helping the Vikings overcome injuries to their top two quarterbacks and leading them to a pair of wins over the Falcons and Saints.

Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin has been able to observe Dobbs from afar and has been impressed, but not surprised by how he's been able to fill in so capably for so many different teams during his career. 

"Man, Josh is a special dude," Tomlin said. "He's a smart dude. He's a football lover. He's good with people. He's charismatic. And I'd imagine that people that had an exposure to him over the past 12 months in different cities share that perspective."

The respect between Tomlin and Dobbs goes both ways. Without having taken any practice snaps with the Vikings, much less the first team, Dobbs stepped in after an injury to Vikings starter Jaren Hall against the Atlanta Falcons and led his team to a victory by scoring three total touchdowns. 

After the game, Dobbs credited Tomlin for helping him develop the next-man-up mentality necessary to thrive in difficult situations, when injuries create opportunities you might not feel ready for. 

"It was, hey, if you are playing, you gotta go out there and play," Dobbs said. "The team still expects you to go out and win and play good football. In this league, there's never an excuse for your circumstance. I learned that from Coach T." 

Dobbs went on to say his experience backing up Ben Roethlisberger helped prepare him for these situations, where he has become one of, if not the most reliable backup quarterback in the NFL. 

"I've been in similar situations backing up [Ben Roethlisberger] where he goes down, but he gets up and you're okay," Dobbs said. "Your heat drops for a second. You're warming up, but he comes back out there. But when they said it was your ball, my job was to just got out there and play good football. The same football I know how to do. I've been playing all year." 

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