PITTSBURGH — Mike Tomlin said he wakes up every day at 6 a.m. and checks his phone to see if any of his players or coaches have tested positive for COVID-19. He has been doing that since the Steelers started training camp more than five months ago.
If Cleveland Browns coach Kevin Stefanski does that, he didn't like the news he received on Tuesday. It was not good for more of his players and assistant coaches — or for him.
Stefanski was one of five members of the Browns who tested positive, two days after six of his starters had to sit out Sunday's 24-22 victory against the Steelers that sent the Browns into the postseason for the first time since 2002. That ended the longest playoff drought in the NFL.
In addition to Stefanski, Pro Bowl guard Joel Bitonio, receiver KhaDarel Hodge and two assistant coaches will not be available for Sunday's wild-card playoff game against the Steelers at Heinz Field.
It's another reminder of the tenuous nature of the virus and what each team has lived with since the start of the regular season. It is also the third time the Steelers have had to deal with a virus spread involving one of the opponents.
"It's something I have done and we have done since July 20," Tomlin said Tuesday during his weekly news conference.
"We don't need a daily reminder because we have daily continual reminders of how fragile these circumstances are. Every morning at 6 a.m. I am looking at my phone waiting for verification of the previous day's test results. Are we in the clear or are we not, and what necessary adjustments need to be made? What investigations, if any, need to be made? That has been our life, not only ours in Pittsburgh but ours collectively as members of the NFL, since July."
League spokesman Brian McCarthy said in a statement to the Post-Gazette there is no change to the status of Sunday night's game. The Browns had to shut down their practice facility Tuesday for the fifth time in 10 days.
"If any players or personnel are identified as such, they would remain apart from the team and facilities for five days from the last exposure to a positive individual," McCarthy said. "They would be eligible to return to the team and play in the game."
Not having Stefanski, one of the leading candidates for NFL Coach of the Year, presents a significant problem for the Browns because he handles all the offensive play calling. That duty will now fall to offensive coordinator Alex Van Pelt, a former quarterback for the Steelers and the University of Pittsburgh.
The Browns had planned to let Van Pelt call the offensive plays during the preseason to get him indoctrinated to the process, but that never happened because preseason games were canceled. Special teams coordinator Mike Priefer will serve as the acting head coach in Stefanski's absence.
"I'm sure he'll be the guy acting as head coach, but I imagine behind the scenes they will disperse some of coach Stefanski's responsibilities," Tomlin said. "I am not going to spend a lot of time worrying about that."
The NFL made clear in several instances during the regular season it would not move games for competitive reasons, only for fear of further virus spread. That's what happened when the Steelers had games against the Tennessee Titans and Baltimore Ravens moved because of virus spread in those organizations.
The Ravens had to face the Steelers without 14 players, including quarterback Lamar Jackson, after their Thanksgiving night game was delayed six days. Also, the Denver Broncos had to play a Week 12 game without any of their four quarterbacks because of the virus. The Detroit Lions were forced to play without interim head coach Darrell Bevell and most of his defensive assistants in a Week 16 game against Tampa Bay in which the Buccaneers scored a season-high 47 points.
But delaying a postseason game for a day or two is highly unlikely because it would disrupt the entire playoff schedule, not to mention create a competitive disadvantage for the team who advances to the next round.
"There are continual reminders of how fragile these circumstances are," Tomlin said. "What's transpiring in Cleveland is not reinforcement or verification, it's just more of the same for us like it has been for us and everyone else through the course of this journey."
There was conversation earlier this season about the possibility of the NFL instituting mandatory local bubbles for each playoff team. But the league opted against the idea because its medical officials and other experts thought a bubble might actually cause a wider spread if the virus penetrated the bubble.
Tomlin said he also won't worry that any of his players who played against Bitonio and Hodge on Sunday could contract the virus. The Steelers will already be without cornerback Joe Haden against the Browns after he tested positive last Friday.
Tomlin did not say if tight end Eric Ebron and backup linebacker Cassius Marsh, who were also placed on the reserve/COVID-19 list, could return for the playoff game.
"I have complete confidence in the protocol outlined by the NFL," he said. "We work hard to adhere to it and I believe if we do that we will minimize the risk, and that's my mentality. I won't spend a lot of time worrying about those components. That's not my charge."
