Steelers' Mike Tomlin on radio failures at Gillette Stadium: 'That's always the case'

Pittsburgh Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin was visibly livid after Thursday's 28-21 defeat to the New England Patriots, hinting that radio failures are a persistent problem at Gillette Stadium.

Tomlin was irate postgame about the Patriots' and Steelers' radios malfunctioning during the first half of the contest.

"We were listening to the Patriots radio broadcast for the majority of the first half," Tomlin said in his postgame press conference.

Asked if radio disruption is a persistent problem in New England, Tomlin didn't hold back.

"That's always the case," Tomlin said.

The NFL released a statement regarding the communication failure:

In the first quarter of tonight's game, the Pittsburgh coaches experienced interference in their headsets caused by a stadium power infrastructure issue, which was exacerbated by the inclement weather. The coaches' communication equipment, including the headsets, is provided by the NFL for both clubs use on game day. Once the power issue was addressed, the equipment functioned properly with no additional issues.

Patriots head coach Bill Belichick minimized the significance of the headset problems.

"We had a lot of problems," Belichick told reporters. "We had to switch headphones a couple of times. The communication system wasn't very good. We deal with that, it seems, weekly.

"They told us they were on the verge of shutting it off but then I guess they got it working. I don't know, but it was a problem the whole game. We almost had to switch helmets with (Tom) Brady there at the end. Couldn't get the plays into him. It was a problem all night."

Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger also didn't believe that the headset failure was much of an impediment.

"There were a few plays (without the radio) ... but that happens. I didn't think there were too many issues with communication," Roethlisberger said, according to Sports Illustrated's Chris Burke.