First, can you let me know what you’ve been doing with yourself since your time playing football?
I started the Chuck Dukes Football Academy 15-20 years go. I came back and started working with the youth programs here when my two boys got started playing football. Most of those guys were volunteers doing the best they could – I could tell they needed more help. So I started the academy and helped the kids with full contact drills – with pads – and helping them to train. Agility, strength, explosiveness – that kind of thing. That’s how I got started.
I now expanded into high school and college – and not just football – basketball, lacrosse – you can train across any sport really.
I also did a couple of other jobs. Did some stuff with my brother who also played pro football and I coached some at the high school level as well.
Who helped influence the way you coach and mentor kids now?
In high school it was all about comradery. I had good coaches in high school – we had three kids go on to the pros – it was a good team.
When I got to college – my coach at Boston College was Tom Coughlin. He made sure we paid attention to details and we did a lot of visualization. Use our brain to train – to expect the unexpected. Before that I relied on talent but at that level you had to prepare and hone in on the other team – study film and know your opponents. I teach that now to my kids to this day. I wish I had that as a high school kid – when I was kid we didn’t train like that. We worked out and practiced then went home.
When I got to Pittsburgh it really helped me. I was already good at blitz pickups and had solid footwork. A couple of guys asked me how I was able to pick it up so quickly in camp – I told them this is what we did in college.
How did you end up in Pittsburgh?
I was a free agent – released by the Redskins. Before that, going back to the draft, on day two I got a call from a guy at the Steelers – I don’t remember who. He was on the phone with me for the final two rounds of the draft chit-chatting. We’d be talking, then he’d say hold on, then come back… Then at their last pick he told me hold on they might be taking me then. But they didn’t pick me. Right after that he said “Good luck – I hope you have a good career” and hung up!
So what happened after that?
Well after the draft you wait a day or so for free agency – I must have gotten 15-20 calls. Not one from Pittsburgh. Now, I was a childhood fan of the Steelers – I had Bradshaw stuff all over my room. I loved the Pirates, Pens, Steelers – I loved the colors. My brother ended up going to Pitt, and I went to BC – if you can figure that out!
Well, I signed with the Redskins. It didn’t work out there – I honestly don’t think I was good enough to make the team. I didn’t have the mental part down yet – I saw why they went a different way.
I went and worked out with the Vikings – they asked me to stay overnight there but I just wanted to get home. As soon as I got to my house my agent called and said the Steelers wanted to sign me. I said that’s where I wanted to go but I just landed. He said to turn around and head to Pittsburgh. I thought they wanted to try me out first but they signed me right away.
Anyone take you under their wing and show you the ropes there?
I’m not sure about taking me under their wing but Levon Kirkland and I became friends. We just got along well. I got there later – around week five. I ended up in the ghetto – I’m not sure if you know about that. It was the part of the locker room where the younger guys – the free agents and first year guys had their lockers. Me, Leslie Shepherd, Tim Simpson – guys like that. It was chaos in the ghetto – we joked around a lot and made cracks at each other. Some guys got mad but it was fun.
We’d all go out together. One night we went out to a club and me and Levon were on the curb waiting for Leon Searcy to come pick us up. He pulled up in a Mercedes Coupe! He was a huge guy and here he comes in this little car – his knees were up to his eyes! He had no business driving that car. So of course we had to crack jokes on him all week in practice!
Me, Figures, Hastings – we all got along. My roommate was Dave Hoffman who was very quiet. I was too. We were all cool and a lot of us just talked and laughed together. And no one cooked – we all went out.
Everyone had their own routine if they were there a while. The Steelers were a young team for the most part though and we did a lot together. In Washington most of the guys were vets and had families. Once practice was over they went home to their families. O’Donnell and Woodson were the two real vets in Pittsburgh, and O’Donnell didn’t speak to many guys and Woodson did his own thing.
Any of the coaches help?
The coaches were good to me. Marvin Lewis lived in the same building I did and I saw him a lot. He actually helped me with special teams. I never played on special teams before – I had no idea what I was doing.
I watched a lot of film with the guys and asked questions. If they saw you being attentive they’d come up and talk to you and help you. Cowher said little – he may have said 50 words to me. But not in a bad way. He had a team to run. It was my job to ask questions and learn. I loved that about it. They gave it to me – it was up to me to go get it.
Leslie Shepherd told me – it was his second year there – you have to work for it there. You had no choice but to work. You can’t complain – you just have to come and work. I think that’s what I did.
What happened after that season?
I got released after a good preseason. I had a couple of fumbles and lost one. I wasn’t a fumbler in college – I was pissed!
They asked me to stick around. They said I did a good job but they wanted more film on me. I went to the World League – it just started up. I thought it would help me get more film but I ended up blowing out my knee. I should have stayed and trained instead. The injury may have happened anyway, but I needed to get bigger. I was 190 pounds but I didn’t work out a lot.
The next season Coughlin took the head coaching job in Jacksonville along with my college running backs coach. They had come for two weeks to the Steelers camp that season – they were invited by the Steelers to watch and learn how to run an NFL camp. They talked to me some then – I may have been able to catch on in Jacksonville.
Any fun stories of your time in Pittsburgh?
Oh yeah. I wasn’t a gambler but a lot of the guys liked to play cards. I introduced them to Acey-Deucy – it’s a high-low card game where you bet the middle. There would be five-to-ten guys that would play cards in the lounge and they’d call me over and tell me to set up a game. Now with that many guys you had to play with three decks – it’s not easy – it’s like a casino game! And guys would put a lot of money in. The young guys – we didn’t have a lot of money. Pots would get up over $2,000 sometimes – some guys would bet a lot and that’s not something you do in those types of games.
Once we came back from a road game and were on the plane, and Lloyd and Woodson decided to jump in. Woodson lost and told us his wife handled all of the money and he didn’t know how to get the money to us. Some guys wrote I.O.U.s.. It was crazy. Kirkland got upset.
The next week we were in the lounge getting ready to play and Kirkland walked in and put a gun down on the table. He said he wanted his money! I was like “What is this?” It wasn’t my fault he didn’t get it! He was like, slash joking, slash serious. The pot got up to thousands of dollars. He just said let’s get serious this time!
Any on-field stuff that you remember?
We used to go to a high school once a year and have a live scrimmage. It was tackling but not supposed to be hard-hitting. It was a lot of goal line offense vs defense.
Foster was out so Huntley was the first guy up. It was ones versus ones and I was standing behind the play watching everything. I saw the play called – it was a boss toss which is a run to the edge. I watched the blocking develop and a crease opened up. They tell you to run through the alley – the crease. I heard a whistle then a huge pop! The whistle was Huntley running through the alley. The pop was Greg Lloyd fucking him up with a huge hit. This is why I realized goal line running was so hard – why they have guys who do just that.
Huntley got up slowly and walked back to the line and the next group went in. He walked over to me and I asked if he was alright. He told me his body felt like it was on fire! I was like “Damn. Are you okay!” He told me he couldn’t move – that I needed to stand there with him but he didn’t want Lloyd to know he hurt him. I just looked at him and hoped I didn’t get called in.
He didn’t practice that week after that.
Any other thoughts on your time there?
I really enjoyed my time there. It was a good experience. All the guys were good guys. It was a better experience than when I was in Washington just because the Steelers were younger. We all went out together – Tuesdays we went to clubs and went out to dinner at this diner on the Hill. I actually met Barry Bonds there – he had the biggest forearms I ever saw on a person!
The guys just took care of us in Pittsburgh. It was a good atmosphere. I can’t complain about any of it.
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