First, can you tell me a bit about your post-NFL coaching career and how you got started?
When I was out of the Steelers I was offered an assistant coaching job at Babylon High School in New York. When the head coach retired I took his job and coached 17 years there. Then I retired so I could coach my son who’s now at Northwestern.
Any insight you were able to offer your son as a former NFL player?
Oh he’s much smarter than I ever was! The game has changed so much since I played. I was just fortunate to play with some great guys like Webster, Ilkin, Rasmussen, Long…they were great guys. They – and Noll – there’s just not enough nice things I can say about those guys.
Who were some of the guys who influenced the way you coached, and how?
The guy who helped me the most was my high school coach – Tom Smyth. I went to high school in Connecticut and we had a great football team. My dad took a job with General Dynamics and had to move further away to a soccer town. So I actually stayed and lived with my coach for two years and then got a scholarship to play at Syracuse.
I was fortunate that all of my coaches were cut from the same mold. You had to work very hard – what you put into it was what you got out of it. There were no excuses or second chances – not like today. You got things done slowly and worked for it. There were no back doors and I appreciated that and coached like that too.
How did you end up signing with the Steelers as a free agent?
I had the same agent as Rich Erenberg who went to Cornell. That was close to Syracuse and he introduced the two of us. Rich and I met and had lunch and he told me about how the Steelers would be a good place to play. I met with one of the Steelers front office guys and he talked about the opportunity I would have there, so I decided to sign with them.
Unfortunately, I signed with them at the wrong time. They had drafted John Rienstra round one – and he was also a guard.
Any mentors in Pittsburgh that helped you adjust to the NFL and the team?
They all helped. Randy Rasmussen – he was a guy that was just really nice. Webster was quiet – they were all nice. Terry Long was very accommodating – they all just helped with the day-to-day type of things.
What was your biggest learning curve?
It was mostly just the little things – technique type stuff. We didn’t have a lot of “Just hang in there” type stuff – those types of guys weren’t there – you shouldn’t need that at that level – those days were over for you as an NFL player.
The biggest thing for me was the technique. At Syracuse we ran the freeze option. The Steelers were a more North-South trap game type of team. George DeLeone was my coach at Syracuse – he is a great coach that coached for Cleveland, Ole Miss – a number of teams. Their technique in Syracuse was just different than the Steelers’. The stance, steps, hand movements. It’s all minor stuff but when it’s drummed into you in college it becomes a habit that takes time to change.
It was a difficult camp. Noll was tough to play for – tough but fair. Latrobe was hot and humid. We practiced at the bottom of a hill – it was like practicing in a bowl and we’d see people sitting at the top of the hill drinking beer. But it was a lot of fun – more of a business – not like college though.
Any good/fun experiences to share?
I’ll tell you – my roommate was from Canada – I don’t remember his name but he was a huge snorer. Chuck didn’t allow fans or AC in the dorms – it was blazing hot and I couldn’t sleep with the snoring and heat. I tried sleeping with a pillow over my head.
Well, no one wanted anyone released of course. But we got that knock on the door and he was told to bring his playbook and see Chuck and I was just so relieved that he was gone and I could sleep!
You were elected to a number of coaching hall of fames – Suffolk and the National High School Hall of Fame. What does that mean to you?
I’ve been lucky as a coach – I’ve had great kids and great assistant coaches. My relationship with my kids – they still call me today. We’ve helped a number of kids – Babylon has kids that go there from strong and challenging backgrounds. It’s 50 miles East of New York City, so you got a lot of different social and economic kids. We’ve helped kids and families pay their rent – one kid was sleeping in his car and we helped him out. Those are the things I remember. Forget about the championships and scores of games – we won a lot of championships – but those relationships are what stand out.
I can still tell you the entire starting lineup of the ’88 team – the first team I coached.
Do you watch the NFL today?
I do and I watch the Steelers – due to the organization. I loved the Rooneys – their father would walk around with that cigar in his mouth. And he always went and talked with the non-starters – guys trying to make the team. He talked to me about Syracuse. I just thought that was great.
I think if you had those guys around every team you wouldn’t see the nonsense you see now in the NFL. I know the Steelers have that too but they get rid of those guys and handle it the right way.
It’s hard to be a teacher or coach now – you try to instill values but the kids then see the players on TV do that stuff. I give high school coaches today so much credit. The values and decision-making they try and instill in the kids – to see players do the nonsense they do and get let off the hook and 1,000 more chances. That’s just tough for the coaches.
Read more by former Steelers via the book Steelers Takeaways: Player Memories Through the Decades. To order, just click on the book:
