Kevin Gorman: Vince Williams stars in an important leadership role for the Steelers

As a seventh-year NFL veteran, Vince Williams has embraced becoming a valuable leader for the Pittsburgh Steelers, even if it’s required him to take on a reduced role.

Whether Williams is on the field as a starter or in sub-packages doesn’t matter. Whether he’s their third-leading tackler, as he was the past two seasons, or ranks 12th doesn’t matter.

“It never made a difference to me. I don’t care. I just want to win,” Williams said. “Not only me individually, though. I feel like that attitude will resonate with everybody on our team.”

That’s why the Steelers’ inside linebacker doesn’t like being called a veteran leader — because he doesn’t believe it matches his own definition of what it takes to be a positive influence on a team.

“I don’t really like that term,” Williams said. “I know I’m a vet, and I know I’m a leader, but I think everybody’s a leader because they have the same mindset. If that’s what it takes to be a leader — to have that mindset — then everybody’s a leader because we all feel that way.”

Maybe so, but Mike Tomlin doesn’t make it a practice to visit every player at his locker on a regular basis. Their conversations can range from football to family to one of Williams’ favorite topics — decorating his house with Christmas lights — and the Steelers coach has built trust with Williams by developing that relationship.

“I think he uses that to check the pulse of the team, ask us how we’re feeling, which is a cool thing to have as a coach,” Williams said. “I don’t mind being a liaison between the players and the coaches. You need that.”

Williams also doesn’t mind mentoring a rookie, even one whose performance has cut into his own playing time. Nor has any other veteran taken it upon himself the way Williams has to serve as a sounding board to No. 1 draft pick Devin Bush, who leads the Steelers in tackles (86) and fumble recoveries (four).

“Honestly, he established that since Day 1,” Bush said. “He said, ‘I had great veterans and you should, too, so I’m going to give you that.’ It’s meant a lot. He’s helped me a lot with keeping my head straight, making sure I’m always in the right mindset.”

Williams understood the Steelers’ investment in the position — they traded up 10 spots to select Bush — and how much his playmaking ability was needed. So, Williams gave Bush the same treatment he received from former Steelers inside linebackers Larry Foote and Lawrence Timmons.

“I have a responsibility to Devin,” said Williams, who started 11 games as a rookie in 2013. “Those guys groomed me because they believed in the brand of Steelers football. They’d say, ‘We’re going to need you to contribute, so why stifle you?’ We need Devin. I’m not going to be selfish and stifle him to hurt my teammates. I want him to be ready to go, so I’m going to give him everything.”

That hasn’t gone unnoticed by other Steelers veterans, even though some of Bush’s success has come at Williams’ expense. After starting 30 games the past two seasons, Williams has started only six this year (he missed two with a hamstring injury) and has 39 tackles while sharing snaps with Bush and Mark Barron.

Where some veterans would balk at bringing along Bush, Williams has taken him under his wing.

“Vinny would be the biggest attribute to (Bush), just helping him out. From what I see, he’s always giving him nuggets,” Steelers cornerback Joe Haden said. “You have veterans trying to keep stuff away from those dudes because they play the same position. I see Vinny giving him everything he has, just trying to help him.

“He’s a great teammate. He leads by example. He preaches that to everyone else on the team: ‘Make sure you’re accountable, whatever you’ve got to do.’ And he practices what he preaches. He’s a special dude on the team, a special dude in the locker room. You can tell he knows his role and excels in it. He wants everybody to excel in their roles, and he does a good job of supporting everybody and keeping the energy up, no matter what.”

That’s the very definition of a leader, and a role veteran Vince Williams is starring in for the Steelers.

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