Pee-wee and high school coaches aren’t strangers to getting guidance from the fathers of their players. NFL coaches, probably not so much.

But Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver George Pickens’ dad had some suggestions for his son’s NFL coaches. It was part of an out-of-the-ordinary week for the former Hoover High School star after Pickens played the fewest snaps of his career in the Steelers’ 20-17 loss to Dallas Cowboys on Sunday night.

Pickens chalked it up to the game plan, and Pittsburgh coach Mike Tomlin explained it as snap management. But there also was a report that questioned Pickens’ effort, and the wide receiver incurred a pair of fines from the NFL.

In his second NFL season, Pickens had 63 receptions for 1,140 yards and five touchdowns as he led the NFL in average yards per catch at 18.1 in 2023. Pickens was coming off a seven-reception, 113-yard game in a 27-24 loss to the Indianapolis Colts when he had three receptions for 26 yards on 34 snaps in the loss to the Cowboys.

Pickens’ father reacted on social media: “This offense don’t play to win. They try to play not to (lose). I watched the Ravens and Bengals today. Sheesh! We got to be better.”

He followed that with some suggestions: “George Pickens the Athlete. A very fiery competitor that wants to win. He’s a very talented young guy that has definitely been misunderstood. He has the Super Competitive Gene. Guys with that gene have to be involved early and often. It’s a engaged tactic. Involve him early.”

While there was speculation that Pickens’ reduction in playing time was due to a lack of effort, Tomlin indicated that wasn’t the case.

“I didn’t have any outlying issue with his effort,” Tomlin said on Tuesday. “As I mentioned after the game — I think someone asked about a reduction in his total number of snaps — that’s just a snap-management thing and an effort to be more productive. In today’s game regarding analytics, we do it across a lot of positions, particularly when you look at the totality of a 17-game schedule. I’d imagine Cam Heyward, for example, is playing less snaps than he has just trying to grow and trying to get optimum productivity among some individuals and going about the best means of doing so, and so that’s probably a reflection of the snap totality of last week.”

During an appearance on “The Adam Schefter Podcast” this week, Pickens expressed admiration for Tomlin, but the wide receiver might need to rely on Tomlin’s advice to “cut your eyelids off” after the Athletic’s Mike DeFabo reported, “There are players who are, like, sick of” Pickens’ level of effort.

“He’s probably one of the, if not, the greatest coach I’ve ever been around or in the NFL, in my eyes,” Pickens said of Tomlin, “just because of his mentality, how the way he thinks of things. You guys probably hear all the wild phrases that he says all the time. But those are like real true things that uphold to life if you really get, like, what he’s saying. I feel like overall he’s a life person more than he is a coach, so that really helps a lot. …

“My rookie year, he used to say, ‘Cut your eyelids off.’ That might sound crazy, but in terms of everything, when you go out to a game, cut your eyelids off. Just focus on yourself. Cut the noise out. Don’t think about anything else that’s going on. And that kind of portrays in life, too. You doing certain stuff, don’t overdo stuff. Just think about yourself, get what you got to get done and everything else will handle itself.”

On Sunday night, Pickens was on the field for 59 percent of the Steelers’ offense snaps after playing 86 percent in the previous game.

“It was just part of a game structure, game plan,” Pickens said. “You know, (offensive coordinator) Art (Smith) wants to do a certain type of play or certain type of game plan, then it’s going to be different.”

Smith is a former offensive coordinator of the Tennessee Titans and head coach of the Atlanta Falcons.

“You’re going into any game plan, certain players and how we package things, you’re trying to maximize snaps,” Smith said. “Different lifetime, but certainly done it with other premium players. Done it with Derrick Henry. He wanted to be out there to play, and he wasn’t out there in all the third downs, and he got plenty of touches. Did it with A.J. Brown early. Certain things and trying to mix and match and maximize things or set things up.”

Pickens was on the field for the final play of the game. After the Cowboys scored a touchdown with 20 seconds to play, Pittsburgh engaged in a series of desperation laterals on the last snap.

As Pickens walked off the field when that failed, Dallas cornerback Jourdan Lewis appeared to taunt the Pittsburgh wide receiver as he ran past. Without showing any agitation, Pickens flicked out his arm and grabbed Lewis’ facemask, and the cornerback landed on the turf.

Asked what happened with Lewis, Pickens said: “Nothing.”

The NFL announced on Saturday that Pickens had been fined $10,230 and Lewis had been fined $11,255.

NFL Network reported the league also fined Pickens $10,231 for his stick-on eye-black worn during the game against Dallas. The eye-black carried the message: “Always (expletive) open.”

NFL rules prohibit players from “wearing, displaying or otherwise conveying personal messages either in writing or illustration, unless such message has been approved in advance by the league office.”

The Steelers play the Las Vegas Raiders at 3:05 p.m. CDT Sunday at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Pickens will enter Pittsburgh’s sixth game of 2024 with 23 receptions for 310 yards and no touchdowns this season.

At Hoover High School, Pickens earned All-State recognition in 2017 and 2018 and was an Under Armour All-American as a senior. In Pickens’ first All-State season, the Bucs won their second AHSAA Class 7A championship in a row.

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Mark Inabinett is a sports reporter for Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter at @AMarkG1.