First, a lot of Coach Daniel’s approach seemed to focus on the in-person, one-on-one discussions and relationships he fosters with his players.. In terms of his focus on you as a person – how did that approach and mentorship help you – both on and off the field?
I was extremely fortunate to have Coach JD as my position coach for my 11 years with the Steelers. I feel like his guidance and mentorship made an invaluable impact on my career both on and off the field. Often times people notice that position groups take on the identity of their coach. With Coach JD, that was definitely the case. He was a great example of a no-nonsense, team-first leader.
Coach earned respect with players, coaches, and peers through his commitment, hard work, dedication, loyalty, and selflessness. His daily approach to his craft was something that I really looked up to and admired. Because of this, our relationship was very seamless in a lot of ways and our bond was very strong. So much of our relationship and communication were often times unspoken but always understood.
Off the field, Coach JD uses all of the same traits that make him a great coach to be a great friend and mentor. I know that my family and I feel very fortunate to count Coach JD and his wife, Ms. Myrtis, as friends.
Do you think that’s a rare approach in today’s NFL coaching circles – and is this part of what makes the coaching in Pittsburgh unique from many other teams?
One thing that always stuck out to me about Coach JD was his commitment and loyalty to his players. He is such a stand up guy, always taking the blame for the group when for some coaches it’s easier to place the blame on the player. If you were willing to buy-in and commit to the team like he did, he would always have your back. I know myself and other tight ends really valued that about Coach and in return we wanted to give our best for him.
As a rookie, what your biggest “on-field” learning curve was entering the NFL and how Coach Daniel was able to help you adjust to that?
I think Coach JD helped me a lot by setting the expectations high while not putting a ton of pressure on me as a first round pick. He showed me early on what he expected from me and also that we was willing to put in as much time, effort, and resources as I needed to succeed. His no-nonsense approach was very similar to my coaching in college, so that was very familiar for me and helped make the transition as smooth as possible.
At the same time, he knew when to offer encouragement and affirmation to help me be the best player that I was capable of being.
Did Coach Daniel help scout you pre-draft- and what were those initial interactions with him like as a rookie pre and post draft? How did he begin his work with you to bring you along?
I don’t remember a lot about the pre-draft process. I do know that I took a visit to Pittsburgh for a medical re-check because I wasn’t able to work out before the draft. I remember meeting with Coach and him offering encouragement in not worrying about the workouts and just to focus on getting healthy.
Who else on the team helped mentor you as a younger player – and how did they do so?
There were so many leaders and true professionals to learn from that were on the 2005 team. So many guys that were great players. All you had to do was pay attention and watch how they approached the game and went about their business. I could list so many guys and tell you something that I learned and admired about each of them.
I’ll just mention a couple. One of them was Jerame Tuman. Despite the fact that I was a first round pick at the position he played, he was always there to help me whenever I needed, both on and off the field. And in hopes of hearing some good news soon about the next guy, I’ll mention Alan Faneca. I learned a great deal from him by the example he set on a daily basis. Not only was he consistently one of the best and most talented offensive lineman in the league but he was always one of the hardest workers and most prepared players on the team. I’m glad he finally got his well deserved gold jacket this year!
Coach Daniel talked a lot about focusing more on technique and fundamentals than on “X’s and O’s”. Were there any times you do remember working on certain strategies/”X’s and O’s” that impacted games?
Coach always made a big emphasis on playing with the proper fundamentals and setting the tone with effort but he always had his position prepared from an assignment standpoint. He was very thorough and detailed so that as a player, you knew exactly what to do and how he expected you to do it.
As a veteran player, you became a mentor to many of the younger tight ends in Pittsburgh. Many talked about the impact you had on them. What did you learn that helped you become such an effective mentor and how aware were you that you were having this effect on newer players?
I just tried to follow Coach Daniel’s lead in being true to your individual personality and doing things the right way. In my case, that mostly meant leading by example.
Coach Daniel talked about the fact he felt the tight end position really hadn’t changed much over the 15+ years he coached. Do you agree – and is that more about how Pittsburgh used it’s tight ends or do you think it’s a league-wide truth?
I would say that Coach is more tuned in to give a better answer to that question than me. But I do know that as long as Coach JD was leading the group of tight ends in Pittsburgh he was going to expect his players to be fully committed to being a complete tight end because that is what he felt was best for the team.
Lastly – everyone has one or two fun stories to share about the coaches they worked with for so many years. Can you share a fun/poignant story that stands out to you over your time working with Coach Daniel?
There were a lot of good memories but it’s hard to come up with just one. The main thing that stands out to me is the amount of respect that I have for him not only as a coach but a human being. He is one of the best!
Read more by former Steelers via the book Steelers Takeaways: Player Memories Through the Decades. To order, just click on the book:
