First, can you let me know how you got into coaching?
I always liked to be a man of the people, so to speak. I wanted to help the younger generation but didn’t know I’d end up doing so as a coach. I followed up playing with an NFLPA coaching internship and it went from there.
I spent a year playing for Saskatchewan in Canada after Pittsburgh, but after my third shoulder surgery I thought that was enough. I joined Frostburg State as an intern and am now at the University of Richmond. I enjoy being able to impact guys on the field, but also off the field with life skills as well.
Teaching football is easy – but helping young men in that 18-to-22 year range when life comes at you quicker, being able to get in the rooms with them and helping them – it’s taken off from there.
Who helped shape your approach to coaching – and how?
There were a few that all gel.
My first was my high school basketball coach Craig Brehon. He was old school – he applied pressure to see how you would handle it – to help show you how to handle adverse situations. Challenging people like that I’d say is my style. Not in a demeaning way, but showing them how to handle adversity. He helped show how to think about constantly getting better and how to be accountable for yourself to your teammates.
Then it was Coach Foster at Virginia Tech – he was the defensive coordinator there. He was intense but creative. He’d find a way to challenge you. Even his introductions – the first thing he’d ask you was if you loved the game of football. It was all about how you treat what you love. Do you take days off? Are you fully committed to it? And not just physically – do you watch film, work out enough….How much are you willing to put in?
The last one was Cornell Brown. He was my guy. He called me when I was 20 and just taking off athletically. He helped shape my vision – how to break down a game. And it wasn’t in the old school style. He’d speak to you and through you – he talked to you not just yelled at you and treated you like an individual. I implemented that. You can’t coach everyone in a room of 12 the same way and get the most out of everyone Some coaches do that but if you’re flexible as a coach and have range to teach everyone differently, you get more out of each guy.
What brought you to Pittsburgh as a player?
After three years in Buffalo I left for Pittsburgh. I knew of Tomlin – he was a good coach that players knew they could depend on.
Dick Jauron drafted me in Buffalo – he was a player’s coach. But then they brought in Chan Gailey, and his college style of coaching didn’t adapt well to the NFL. It was a grind.
Knowing Tomlin’s pedigree – his high school played mine – I didn’t play him – we were there at different times. But we were from the same area – that 757 area code. We had a commonality – a common mindset.
What stood out to you about that Steelers team when you got there?
That 2011 team was an older team. Tomlin was still able to get the best out of an older team – he galvanized them even though most didn’t need the money. They didn’t need to play. I had never seen that before. I was a big family guy – I was feeling guilty about not seeing my wife and kids. That Steelers camp was the first time I had ever seen family present at practice. He treated everyone like adults and was a big family man himself. He just cared that you were where you were supposed to be when you were supposed to be there. I think that’s why many veteran players didn’t want to leave. Many could have taken more money to go elsewhere but they stayed. Guys enjoyed being there. The rooms were positive and they enjoyed being with one another. That experience for me was unmatched.
Anything else stand out?
Even though I wasn’t a rookie I was still wide-eyed at some of those guys. Some had played for years – like Casey Hampton. I would watch him in practice – he’d sit with his legs in a “V” and stretch – at his age and size.
And Troy. That season he may have practiced five times. Yet he could still play like he did every week on Sundays. He was nursing shoulder and toe injuries – usually guys need those reps. But with Troy – the game was so slow to him at that point that even without those reps there was no drop-off. The NFL is the top one-percent of all players, and Troy was the top one-percent of those guys!
Did any of the guys help show you the ropes as a new guy?
That was AB’s {Antonio Brown} rookie year. Jason Worilds was another Virginia Tech guy and Timmons and Woodley were more veteran guys. They put their arms around me. Clark too – he was as mature then as he is now. They weren’t shy about showing you how to prepare. Even Troy – he didn’t say much but when he did it was heartfelt and deeper. Most of those guys just led by example but they would talk to you about stuff too.
I know Buffalo had started looking at you as an outside linebacker later in your time there. Was Pittsburgh looking at you as a linebacker or defensive lineman?
I was more of an outside linebacker than a defensive lineman there. I backed Woodley up – transitioned from a 4-3 lineman to a 3-4 outside linebacker. That’s when Dick LeBeau was there and he was another guy that coached with confidence – he knew his system well. When you do, you don’t have to scream and yell to get your message across.
Any fun memories stand out most?
Larry Foote was the pool hustler there. We had pool and ping-pong tables, and Foote would always hustle the new guys. He’d let you beat him throughout the week and slowly jump the bets, then on Tuesday paydays he’d challenge them and come in Wednesdays with his own pool stick and beat you. That’s when you knew you’d been hustled!’
He get you?
Yeah! My ego got the better of me. We were 50-50 through the week then he upped the price and beat me. That’s when I found out he was just baiting me in!
The locker room in general. Most locker rooms, after practice, guys would go home. In Pittsburgh it was like college – guys would hang out later afterwards. It was a great environment.
As a coach now, what do you see as a big difference between how guys are coached in college now and the way you guys were when you played?
I think a big part is access to resources. Those can validate what coaches say. When I played Facebook was just starting and you had to be in college to have an account. We didn’t have the resources like kids have today. Now you can use social media to be a sounding board for what you’re being taught – to help you. Of course it can expose coaches too if you don’t know what you’re talking about.
But, if it’s used in a healthy way it can help coaches to teach players in ways they learn best. Tomlin said it in Ryan Clark’s podcast when he talked about his frustration with coaches who say they can’t teach certain guys because they don’t know how to learn. He talked about how that’s really just a reflection of the coach’s ability to teach. Different guys learn and respond in different ways. To get the most out of them you have to be able to reach each one individually the way they need to learn. Good coaches – successful coaches do that.
I wanted to circle back on your time in Pittsburgh to ask you about that Super Bowl season in Pittsburgh. What do you remember most about that season that shows how the Steelers were able to put a season like that together?
That team had so much age. Players spoke up – the locker room policed itself with those veteran players. Coaches have little time to police the locker room. The maturity of the team – that’s why that team showed up every week like it did. At one point people were talking about how the team was too old. But that leadership made sure everyone was accountable – everyone knew what they needed to do and trusted one another. They all showed up. It was a mature team but not just because of age. They walked the walk – they all held each other and themselves accountable.
Read more by former Steelers via the book Steelers Takeaways: Player Memories Through the Decades. To order, just click on the book:
