First, can you let me know what you’ve been up to since you retired from the NFL?
I’ve been helping out my son’s football team a bit – I was an assistant coach last year. I just did it because they asked me to come in and help. I’m just there to give advice – they have a coach and an offensive coordinator.
Give you the coaching bug at all?
No – I’m happy to be home with my family and wouldn’t want to coach. Coaching takes a lot of time and energy and I just wanted to stay home and focus on my kids and family after football. My career took a lot of time and focus away from my family so I just wanted to make sure to spend time with them now.
Was the post-NFL adjustment difficult?
I’ll tell you what – the adjustment was initially difficult. You’re used to seeing that big paycheck and then you’re out of the league and don’t see those anymore!
The getting adjusted to life itself wasn’t that hard. I was able to focus on my children – that keeps you busy, especially when you’re very involved with their lives. And helping to coach a bit with my son kept me close to the game for a while.
Do you give him a lot of advice or let him find his own way?
He’s a quarterback so I try and give him advice – teach him all that I learned from being around other great quarterbacks and from my own experiences. If I see him doing things I’ll tell him what I saw others do if I think it will help, and then let him work on that as he matures as a quarterback.
Stepping back – why did you sign with Pittsburgh as an undrafted free agent?
Pittsburgh called after the draft and offered me the best opportunity. I was able to shine in camp which is why they kept four quarterbacks that year. I was very appreciative of that.
When I was done with school it was a tough time. We had a terrible season and I was coming off of an injury. They gave me a chance to come in and prove myself.
Did anyone help you out – to adjust to the team and NFL?
Not really to be honest. I just paid attention to the situation and learned the best I could by watching. I played in the SEC – as a major division playing there helped me to learn the game.
But I learned in Pittsburgh as I went along. I watched the older guys – how they did things. Jerome and Kordell – I watched how they dealt with the media and handled the hype of the NFL. How they handled the business of the NFL. Learning how that worked was helpful to me – seeing how they prepared and took care of their bodies. I was just trying to be a sponge when I got there.
I knew I was better than my Senior season record showed I was. I did well at the combine – I knew I had the talent to do it. I believed in myself – I just needed an opportunity. I needed a chance to be able to show what I could do.
Do you remember when they told you you had made the team as the fourth quarterback?
I remember going into the last preseason game. It was late in the game and Tomczak and Pete Gonzalez were battling it out for a spot. I looked at Coach Gilbride to see if I was going to get a chance to go in and play. He looked back at me and said “You’re not going in. But don’t worry – that’s a good thing.”
So I learned mid-game that I had made the team. I remember how much of a load off of may shoulders that was.
Any other memories stand out to you?
Making the team of course. And scoring my first touchdown against the Redskins in a scrimmage. It was a 40-yard run. So I remember that performance and playing for Coach Cowher – seeing how he operated.
Mr. Rooney I remember too – how he appreciated me. He was comforting. He pulled me aside and told me that I was a good player and was supportive of me. To have an owner do that – especially as an undrafted free agent – telling me he had high hopes for me was big.
Any other fun memories stand out?
Oh yeah I do remember one. It was a preseason game. I was in the huddle and the call was a short hitch. I came to the line of scrimmage and assessed the defense and decided I wanted to throw to the left side. Over there was a wide receiver who just came in and hadn’t played much. He was a long shot to make the team.
Well, I look back over to him and in the middle of my cadence he’s just vomiting on the field. Clearly the moment was too big for him. That was the side I wanted to go to but after seeing that I just thought “Oh my God, I’m not throwing to him!”
After that season what happened that caused you to find yourself in Dallas the following season?
What happened was I had a knee issue. In the offseason I had surgery on my knee to drain it. That’s why they ended up drafting Tee Martin who ended up having a good preseason. When I was in college I had surgery on my knee – I tore it up – and the college surgeon didn’t properly do the surgery. That’s why I didn’t get drafted. I did well in the drills at the combine but I didn’t pass the physical.
So at the end of the season my knee was swollen and I had surgery to drain it. When the team found out they decided to draft Tee and that was it for me.
You ended up playing for rivals like the Ravens and Bengals. When you came back to play the Steelers did you get any good natured grief?
I got some acknowledgment and approval from fans more than anything. Just them saying they wish they kept me – those kinds of things.
There are players you get close to that you see again – I roomed with Joey Porter and got close with him. So when you see guys again you show love for each other. But it’s also a business and when we’re playing they want to sack and intercept me and I want to avoid getting sacked and throw touchdowns. That’s the game.
How did the Steelers differ from those other teams?
Pittsburgh and Baltimore were top notch organizations – the Giants too. I rate those as the top three that I played for. They treated players like humans and talked to you about what was going on. They were transparent with you. That stood out to me about those three teams.
Lastly, what do you think of the way the game has changed today – especially as a quarterback?
The RPO and some other things are different than when I played. But at the end of the day it about throwing the ball accurately and getting the ball downfield. I would have loved to play today with the rules that protect quarterbacks. That’s the biggest difference to me. But even so, it’s still all about throwing the ball well.
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