Tom E. Curran • E-mail

Darren Sharper played with Mike Tomlin at William & Mary. He played for Tomlin when Tomlin was the defensive coordinator for the Minnesota Vikings.

Sharper knew Tomlin “when.” He knows him now. And the Vikings standout safety knows why the 36-year-old coach of the Pittsburgh Steelers is so damned impressive.

“In the NFL there’s sometimes a layer between what’s said and what’s real,” Sharper explained by phone this week. “Sometimes coaches and teams will say things that are close to the truth, but they’re not really telling the whole truth. They don’t want to hurt feelings or they want to be nice or they want to be political about things. Mike is real. He won’t worry about feelings if they get in the way of what needs to be said. He’s a no BS guy. He won’t give you any and he doesn’t expect any from you. And, really, that’s all players want.”

That’s not really all they want. In addition to being shot straight, players want success. Team success. Personal success. Success that leads individual fulfillment and financial security. The coach that brings them that and brings it in a no-bull, spin-free fashion? That’s a coach players will run through brick and mortar for.

That’s what Mike Tomlin’s bringing the Steelers.

Since taking over for Pittsburgh icon Bill Cowher in 2007, Tomlin’s gone 22-10 in two regular seasons. Last week, he got his first postseason win. This Sunday, he’ll try to follow that up in the AFC Championship game against the Ravens.

As the Steelers creep closer to what could be their sixth Super Bowl title, the fascinating Tomlin comes into better focus.

He’s got an edge but he’s not abrasive. He’s young but his comportment is more mature than guys two decades older.

He seems the kind of man who might put both hands on the table, stand up quickly and walk out of the room without a word. And you would want to follow him because you KNOW he’s going someplace.

“He can identify with every culture, every race, every personality,” says Sharper (aside: Tomlin was a wide receiver/sociology major at William & Mary). “It’s a gift. He can make guys comfortable, he can motivate them, he can make them uncomfortable.”

The further Pittsburgh goes, the more of Tomlin’s personality gets revealed. And it seems he’s got a lot of Bill Parcells in him. An agile mind sending quotes to a sharp tongue that delivers the words in such a way as to entertain yet invite no further discussion.

This week, when asked how difficult it might be to defeat the Baltimore Ravens for a third time, Tomlin sniffed and said, “I personally don't subscribe to that hocus-pocus.”

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Perfect. It both makes clear Tomlin isn’t buying and that – if you do buy that – you are the kind of person who would check astrological charts to gauge how your wideouts would play. You, my friend, are a rube.

Earlier this season, when running back Willie Parker talked about getting back to “Steeler football” which was code for him getting the football handed off to him more, Tomlin performed more verbal surgery.

“The issue for us has been, is and hopefully will continue to be winning -- that's my interpretation of Steelers football," Tomlin said in December. “Every morning I come to work I walk past five Lombardi (Trophies), not five rushing titles. The issue is winning.”

Ouch, doctor.

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