Welcome to Steelers Takeaways! – More than 2,000 interviews of Steelers players, coaches, front office staff PLUS interviews with Pittsburgh actors, musicians, authors and more

Exclusive with Former Steelers Safety Gerod Holliman, 2015

First off -what are you up to now?

I’m still playing – I’m, playing in the Indoor Football League for the Cincinnati Slingers. I’m playing the linebacker position for them.

How has that adjustment to indoor football been?

It’s been a big adjustment – there are lots of restrictions. Less people, smaller field and you wear regular shows. It’s a high-paced, high-scoring game. A good defense in this league holds teams to 20 points- not like in the NFL or college where it’d be 10 or less.

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Exclusive with Former Steelers 1973 Draft Pick, Defensive Lineman Glen Nardi

First off, how did you get into the media and newspaper business and what made you so successful at it?

When I left the Navy my dad had a contact at Knight Ridder – he knew the VP of human resources there. I interviewed and got the job in 1980 working in the operations department at the Miami Herald.

I liked operations – I liked the printing work and managing people. Newspapers at that time had large staffs and large budgets and I found the work interesting.

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Exclusive with Steelers Wide Receiver Levi Wentz

How has offseason gone so far – why Seattle before Pittsburgh?

I signed with Seattle after the draft and was there until June. That was a good experience, but then they needed help with other positions so they let me go. After that I worked out for the Steelers and they signed me.

Why sign with Pittsburgh?

Being a local guy helped. They called my agent the day after I was released and had me come in for a workout. I guess I did well – they signed me the next day.

Who was there for the workout?

It was just me and most of the staff.

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Exclusive with Cartoonist and Comic Book Illustrator Jim Rugg

First off, what projects are you working on now?

I was self-employed for 20 years – I was a freelance illustrator until last Fall when Gary Vaynerchuk hired me to make comics for him. Now I’m working for him at VeeFriends. He has 250 characters he’s developing in cards and stickers and now we’re working on building stories around them in comic books.

I’m also working with Steven Bissette on Tyrant – a comic book he wrote years ago about the life of a T-Rex that we’re turning into a collection. It was one of the most beautifully done comics I had ever seen. I’d bring comics to my art teacher at college who would dismiss them until they say Tyrant – they said it was beautiful. So I’m excited to help put that together.

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Exclusive with Former Steelers Wide Receiver/Kick Returner Kenzel Doe, 2015

First off can you share what you’ve been up to since your playing career?

Once I was done playing I went and played for a year in Canada – then I went into marketing and did a bit of marketing for athletes like Melvin Gordon.

I did that for a short while then went into real estate and did that full-time. I did that for a while then went to work as a sales rep for a tea company – that’s what I’m doing now.

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Exclusive with Steelers Wide Receiver Cole Burgess

First off, what’s the offseason and OTAs been like for you?

It’s been good – it was different than being in Cincinnati. Mike {McCarthy} ran a tougher program – practices have been harder and longer than what we ran in Cincinnati. It was good though – with a new offense and me getting the chance to get to know those guys, it was great to be there and work on my craft and to get ready for camp.

Why did you decide to sign with Pittsburgh versus other teams?

I thought it was a good fit. I looked at the roster – they made a lot of moves in the receivers room and I thought I might have some opportunities there. It was also closer to home – and I love AFC North football.

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Exclusive with Former Steelers Quarterback Kurt Kittner, 2004

First off, what have you been up to since your time playing football?

Now I’m a senior manager at a publicly traded global real estate company. I’m a tenant rep and broker here in Chicago – working on commercial real estate on behalf of my clients. It keeps me on my toes.

Was the post-NFL transition diffcult?

It was difficult. I wanted my career to be longer – I didn’t want to give it up. I was cut from a lot of tams over my three years in the NFL – but I was also one of 96 guys at my position those years. Competing after that against a bunch of kids who just graduated college for jobs was humbling. I had to show that my experience as a quarterback was valuable – all those kids did was go to school. I got a finance degree from Illinois as well – I didn’t go to Illinois for my grades. I had to work hard to compete in the classroom and win games.

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Exclusive with Former Pitt/Steelers WR Tre Tipton

First off, how did you get started as a coach now?

I got started because I fell in love with wanting to help kids become the best version of themselves. That’s why I started my organization L.O.V.E, or Living Out Victoriously Everyday – to help kids get better every day – by doing it the proper way.

What does that mean – the proper way?

We teach them how to watch film the right way. A lot of kids don’t know how to watch football – they are smart but aren’t taught how to watch film in high school. Some schools do it better than others – like Pine-Richland, Woodland Hills, Thomas Jefferson… but it doesn’t happen everywhere in the WPIAL. We used to be dogs in this state but not as much now. We have a lot of good guys coming through the state – we want to help them take that next step.

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Exclusive with Executive Chef for Pittsburgh Sports Stadiums, Gabor Kovats

First off, what got you interesting in being a chef – even as a kid in Hungary?

My grandmother was a chef in Hungary – I grew up in a tough, Communist country and had to take care of my siblings. I was the oldest of three and cooked at home a lot for myself and siblings. I spent a lot of time with my grandmother and cooked with her – she was a professional chef and I learned a lot from her.

I’ve been cooking since I was five – I never went to culinary school. I went to university for business. I’ve always enjoyed cooking for others – I hosted events in high school and college and eventually dropped out of college to be a chef.

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Exclusive with Former Steelers Linebacker Thaddeus Gibson, 2010

First off- what have you been up to since football?

Well – I have a 10 year-old daughter – I love working with her. She’s really become great at tennis and when she’s with me I really have a goos time working with her and seeing her get better!

For me – after the NFL I went to the CFL for a bit then I found my niche. I’m working with kids – I started with after school programs, helping others utilize my knowledge while I realized that I have a great passion for working with people. I started that 10-12 years ago.

Continue reading “Exclusive with Former Steelers Linebacker Thaddeus Gibson, 2010”