First, can you let me know what you’ve bene doing with yourself since playing – including your coaching career?
Well, after retiring I moved to Florida – I’m getting used to playing a lot of golf now. I was still coaching at RMU actually when I bought my place – I knew when coaching was over I’d park it here.
Who helped shape the way you coached – your approach?
A lot of people. I had good coaches since high school and I had Tom Coughlin as a coach in college. My head coach from college was Frank Maloney – he just passed away. I always got along with my coaches – especially those that got involved.
Chuck Noll – he was the most imposing guy I ever met in sports. Period. He knew everything about everything. He was so well-versed in everything – from wine to being a gourmet chef. I remember once I was reading a book n the locker room while I was getting iced. He walked in and looked at the book and proceeded to tell me about the author and the book. Christ almighty- was there anything he didn’t know? It could be frustrating but so impressive.
Anything specific you learned from any of those guys?
My high school coach was Tucker Reddington – he was a long-time coach in Buffalo and is in the Buffalo Hall of Fame. He also coached my older brother at the University of Buffalo and my younger brother at Canesius College. He was around my family for a long time.
In college, Tom Coughlin made me a technician. If my first step was at 3:00 he’d make sure it was at 4:00 – those two inches didn’t seem like a lot but he hammered on those things. Even if you had a successful play, if your first step was at 6:00 and it was supposed to be at 7:00, even if you gained 14 yards, he’d give you a minus on the play. It became an innate thing to do things the way he wanted them to be done.
When I got to the NFL that helped me to be prepared. Lambert, Greene, Ham- they were technicians. They were so smart. If you were there for any length of time and didn’t notice how smart they were you weren’t paying attention. That elongated their career too. They were so talented physically and mentally.
Were you surprised to get drafted by the Steelers?
Back then, me, Art Monk, and Craig Wolfley were all being looked at by teams. The Seahawks, Tampa Bay and other teams would come in and have us run for them. I remember when the Steelers came. We went to the field dressed in our shorts art 8:30. ready to run. They brought three guys with them – one was Chuck Noll. I was shocked – and that was right after they won the Super Bowl!
I was ready to work out for him but instead we just talked for 20 minutes. Sone of it was about technique, but most of it was about my major, the classes I was taking, my family…it was very different from the other interviews I had.
I talked to my head coach later that day and he told me he talked to Chuck about me, Craig, and Art. he said he wanted to draft all three of us. He never had a shot at Art though – he went too early.
Were any of the players helpful once you got there – how so?
I’ll say this – all of the guys on the Steelers were very helpful. Wagner was very helpful – I was playing the same position he was, but he helped me every chance he got. He was never afraid of me – he was secure in his ability. And he was a damn good safety. On other teams, that kind of help didn’t happen a lot. But the vets in Pittsburgh – they made sure to help. Wagner told me that at some point I’ll have to play and I’ll need to know what I’m doing – the other guys will need to rely on me. That meant a lot, especially since safety was such a new position for me.
I remember going out for beers with Jack Ham too. He’d quiz me – “What do you do if it’s cover 3 and the receiver motions to the slot on the right?” That kind of thing helped make the team so successful.
Was it frustrating getting drafted on a team so deep with talent?
In ’79 all but three guys on defense made the Pro Bowl. When was drafted I did wonder how I would make the team. But the thing is, when you’re drafted, the first thing is you are very excited. Some felt that if you didn’t make the team, you would still have a good chance of making another team. They only had room for a few rookies that year. When I later went to the Saints, they had 11 rookies make the team. That’s a big difference.
Any good memories that stand out most to you of your time there?
I made some good friends with those guys – and a lot I still see at the seven-to-eight celebrity golf tournaments a year we got to.
I remember one game where I made a play. Lambert turned around to me and looked at me and said “That’s it Hurley – don’t take any shit from those mf’rs!”. It felt like “Good dog Bill!”
Tell me how you adjusted to playing safety after playing quarterback at Syracuse?
Practicing against guys like Swann, Stallworth, Smith and T-Bell every day helped. I had an inkling it would happen before I was drafted – I had teams asking me about it. Wagner, Blount, JT Thomas, Ron Johnson, Shell – they all helped you. They’d grab you and give you tips that were extremely helpful.
Wagner taught me to look at certain keys to read. As a quarterback, you are used to looking at everything. As a defensive back, you can focus on certain things. Wagner was so good at reading plays and tendencies of offenses. Me being a former quarterback, knowing how to read defenses in college – that part clicked with me.
So you were there for one year then went to New Orleans. What happened?
The day of the last cut was Sunday – we didn’t have another practice until Tuesday. I figured getting cut was a possibility – we all count the guys at our positions and how many they might keep. I went in early for treatment – I was getting iced when Chuck walked in and told me they were putting me on waivers, but not to worry. He said that every team was trying to get down to their 45 players, so not to worry, they’ll just bring me back after I cleared waivers. So, I was feeling really good.
I was in the weight room later when Dick Haley came in – and he gave me a look that wasn’t good. He signaled me to come over and then he told me New Orleans signed me off of waivers. I went in to see Chuck and he told me he tried to talk Bum out of it.
When I got to New Orleans Bum told me the story. He said Chuck told him he really wanted to keep me and Bum said ok, but then Kansas City and another team had also claimed me. New Orleans had the first option since they had the worst record – it went in draft order. Bum said he would have let Chuck keep me but Kansas City said take a hike when asked, so Bum told Chuck that if he and Chuck both wouldn’t get me if he passed on me, there was no reason to not claim me after all. So he was taking me after all.
Any thoughts on the NFL today?
I enjoy watching college football more than the NFL. I like watching Brady play. I like what I hear about him – I went to school with Gordy Gronkoski – Rob’s father – and you know Rob and Tom are joined at the hip, so I hear a lot about Tom. And I like Belichick too. He reminds me a lot of Chuck, to be honest.
What I don’t like is the chest beating when guys tackle guys after a six-yard gain, or after a four-yard run. I don’t like that.
I do like watching when two good teams are playing. That’s really the same with any sport though.
I was just fortunate to have great coaches and teammates, I mean great guys – not just players. Especially with the Steelers. They weren’t afraid to help you – you didn’t see that with every team.
Read more by former Steelers via the book Steelers Takeaways: Player Memories Through the Decades. To order, just click on the book:
