There’s a reason Pittsburgh Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin has never had a losing season in his 18 years at the helm.

It’s because he understands his players and knows how to talk to them, man to man.

In Pittsburgh’s 44-38 victory over the Cincinnati Bengals, Tomlin consoled one of his star players in the early goings, when Cincinnati picked off quarterback Russell Wilson and returned it for an early 7-0 lead.

On the play, Steelers wide receiver George Pickens seemed to stumble out of his break, causing him to fall forward, leading to Cincinnati cornerback, Cam Taylor-Britt, to jump in front of the pass and take it back for six.

The cameras caught Pickens retuning to the sideline only to be confronted by Tomlin.

“Hey bro, it can’t define us today,” Tomlin told the embattled star wide receiver.

“I need you to stay with me.

“Hey, this s*** ain’t going to decide the outcome of the game. It ain’t going to decide the outcome of the game.

“Look at me. You alright?”

With which Pickens responded, “Yes sir.”

“Alright let’s go.”

A small but important interaction from Tomlin to keep Pickens’ head in the game.

The result of that conversation?

Pickens scoring a touchdown on the very next drive to even the score at 7-7, eventually leading to a shootout and Steelers victory.

Pickens finished with three catches for 74 yards and a touchdown, along with two unsportsmanlike penalties.

In other words, it was the full Pickens experience.

Tomlin has been able to handle these explosive personalities throughout the entirety of his career.

That’s what makes him so good.

From James Harrison, Antonio Brown, Le’Veon Bell, Ben Roethlisberger, Tomlin’s had no shortage of characters that he’s had to balance.

Yet through it all, still no losing seasons.

He currently has the Steelers at 9-3, first in the AFC North, and within reach of the one seed, only behind the Kansas City Chiefs and Buffalo Bills.

Coming into the season there were question marks about the quarterback position, and how Tomlin would handle Wilson along with Justin Fields.

Through three months into the season, he has handled it nearly to perfection.

Tomlin has been here before, but the pressure remains as he hasn’t won a playoff game since 2016.

You can have all the winning seasons in a row, but ultimately what it comes down to, is winning in the postseason.

Something Tomlin hasn’t done in nearly a decade.

If the interaction between him and Pickens tells us anything, it’s that Tomlin has his players ready to listen, and poised to break the postseason drought this season.