First – seems like you have a ton going on. Coaching, podcasts… What have been some of the key things you’ve found interest in post-NFL?
The biggest thing is getting to explore the different schemes that people run now on Pat McAfee’s show. I was in a Bruce Arians scheme for much of my career – now I can dive into other schemes and watch film as a coach and see the creative and different things others are doing. It’s fun to learn all of that and go talk about it.
Pat McAfee and I have been friends for years – we went to each other’s weddings. He asked me to come on and talk about offensive line stuff – to break down what was going on around the league on camera and show what I know and what allowed me to be successful over the years.
I’m also training guys too – Robert Hainsey – another Pittsburgh guy who has a promising career. The center from Minnesota too. Staying around the game and passing on my knowledge instead of coaching is something I prefer to being a coach and not being around as a dad and husband.
Why a hockey podcast?
Growing up in Pittsburgh then it was easy to be a huge Penguins fan. I was fortunate to grow up with a successful hockey team. The year I was drafted is the year they won the Stanley Cup so that was a lot of fun.
When I saw the twilight of my career coming Pat McAfee reached out and told me people liked me when I was in the media. That if I got more reps I could get better. So I did the hockey podcast – though that’s tailed off over the past year since I started coaching. In this cancel culture I didn’t want to say the wrong thing and get myself fired!
Are you still interested in pursuing coaching – what are some of the lessons you lean on most now as a coach?
If the right opportunity came by, then maybe. I guess if I got to bypass some things – to not start off as a lower-level assistant. Not taking anything away from that. I just value being with my family more. I’m fine financially and not spending that time away from my family, so why give up what I’m doing to coach?
I learned a ton from the coaches I played for. I came up under Tomlin and learned a lot from him – the way he carried himself. Bruce Arians was like a father figure to me – I learned 99% of what I know through him. Harold Goodwin and Larry Zeirlein, Clyde Christianson and Juan Castillo all helped me too.
Christianson was a mentor – he showed me the right way to handle things. Whenever you get a shit sandwich you can’t just burn bridges. You have to handle things the right way and do your job.
Juan Castillo – he is the true underdog story. He came from Mexico, and drove his car to go meet with Andy Reid and learn from him. I could have given up early in my career but he told me to keep going and to make the most of an opportunity when it came.
Harold Goodwin was the same thing. To play for him you had to have the mental part down. I played with many Hall of Fame players who never played a snap – guys who had the physical traits but mentally didn’t have it. Coaches need to trust you – they want to know you’re going to do what you’re supposed to on any given play.
Bruce – he showed me how important it was to be loyal and accountable. That you need to be respected more than liked.
Were you surprised to be drafted by the Steelers – and happy to stay local? What did they say to you?
I was super happy to be drafted by Pittsburgh when it happened. I realized soon after though that it was the worst thing for me. I enjoyed a few cocktails and going out with my friends and going home whenever I wanted. That was the worst environment for me. I needed to be on my own and away from the hometown temptations.
In fact the Steelers wanted to re-sign me, but I told Kevin I needed to go somewhere else and signed with Philly. I needed to get away.
How frustrating is it seeing the measurables hold you back when your play showed how well you can do the job? As a coach now how does that affect the way you look at players?
It put a huge chip on my shoulder. Steve Smith recently had a good quote about scouting. Its easy for a scout to pick a 6’3″ receiver who runs a 4.4 40 – but can he catch? How many guys do we see with the physical traits but who don’t make it. Physical attributes aren’t what make a player great.
Now I know players have to have some measurables – ones that you can count on. But Alex Mack had 32 inch arms and I had 30 inch arms – and somehow that dropped me down 210 picks? We ended up playing the same amount of years in the NFL.
It put a chip on my shoulder when we played. And when I watch film now I want to see guys who finish – who are pricks and who go all out and who are physical but not mechanical. Those are the guys that will make it in the NFL.
Did anyone take you under their wing in Pittsburgh on or off the field and show you the ropes?
The offensive line guys there were fantastic. They were great mentors. It was an older group which was great for me. Sometimes you go to a team where the oldest guy is a third-year veteran, like with the Giants now. We had Hartwig, Starks, Kemo, Essex…all had been around other older guys and learned from them. It was a great foundation of what things were supposed to look like and how to be a pro. I owe a lot to them – then to Jason Peters in Philadelphia and in Baltimore playing next to Marshall Yanda.
You played for seven teams over an 11-year career – how do you manage the stress of moving around like that?
I wasn’t married for most of it which helped. I got married in 2017 and started dating my wife in 2015. So much of the moving around was without her and my family.
It was stressful but one common denominator was familiarity. In Pittsburgh I knew the city and in Philadelphia I knew guys. Pat McAfee and I were friends in Indianapolis and from there I went to Baltimore where Juan Castillo was there – the same coach I had in Philadelphia. Back to Indianapolis with those coaches, then to Arizona where I knew Bruce and crew again. So all of that familiarity made it easier.
Any fun stories you can share of your time in Pittsburgh?
Oh yeah. On the practice squad as a rookie, I got reps at center and guard. One day in practice I’m at center – I’m ready to show the coaches I can be trusted and I’m ready to be bumped up if needed. I’m ready to rock n’ roll. I look in front of me when the rep starts and I see Casey Hampton there with Jordan shoes on – no cleats – on a grass field. He says to me in his way of talking “Look fella, I’m just trying to make it to Sunday. We clear?”
Later on in Arizona, I’m there with a banged up elbow and sprained MCL and I did the same thing to the guy lining up I’m front of me!
With Tom Brady’s retirement announcement – any thoughts on what it was like playing with him and what you saw that made him so special?
He was the best quarterback I’ve ever been around. I could have been there for a week and seen that. The way he operates – his attention to every detail – he had his fingerprint on everything that went on.
I had a couple of starts with him then I got hurt and went on IR the year we won the Super Bowl. Some guys on IR go home and take it easy but I stuck around. I wanted to learn and see if I could see what it took to coach – to soak it up.
I’d listen in on Saturdays in the quarterbacks room. They’d all get together on Saturdays to go over the final checklist before the game. I’d sit in there and listen to his approach – I did that for the final six weeks before the playoffs. He’d sit there with his checklist and discuss how he wanted to approach each game.
Well, the Saturday before the Super Bowl, I never saw anything like it. The backups were quizzing him and he knew every answer for every situation the defense could throw at him. He was just rattling everything off. I knew then we would win. It’s like he had all the answers to the test – he just needed to throw the ball. No mater what Steve Spagnuolo threw at him that game, he had an answer for it already.
Tom just had a need to know everything. He needed to win. I never saw a player need to win more than he did.
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