First off, I know you coached after you were done playing – how did you get started with that?
After the Steelers I went and played for the USFL but I tore my ACL. I had a lot of teams invite me to camp after that – Washington, Tampa – but I couldn’t pass their physicals – my knee wasn’t stable enough.
My high school coach from Hampton, Mike Smith, asked me in 1988 if I could help him coach. I did then stayed on another year then got another job. But that’s when my coaching career began.
But you went back?
In 2012 I went back yes and coached with Mike until 2017. Then in 2022 Mike approached me and said he wanted me to be his successor. He had been coaching for 51 years. I had my reservations – I told him today’s kids were just too different. Two days later he asked again and I told him if it meant so much to him I’d do it, and took over in 2022. I’ve been the head coach there for the last four years.
Why did you finally say yes?
It came to the point where people had helped me in the past – I wanted to do the same for others. I relate well to the kids – at my age I was worried about devoting that much time and grind to coaching. But I’m in good health so I took it on.
In 2022 we had no starters returning – we had a rough start and went 3-8. The next season we went 7-5, then 9-4. Last season we went 10-1 and won the district before losing in the playoffs.
So improvement every year!
Yes! We’re all out on Earth to do certain things I think – I work with kids well to make sure they respect me, the game and the community.
Were you surprised to be drafted by the Steelers?
I went to N.C. State on a full scholarship – I could have gone almost anywhere including Alabama. I just felt like that was too far from home – I had a girlfriend who wanted me to stay close. If I knew now what I knew then! I had a good high school friend who went to Alabama and won two championships and is now in the Hall of Fame – Dwight Stephenson. He and I are still friends.
I was a second-team All-American at N.C. State. The Steelers drafted me in 1980 – I had a good workout for them – I ran a 4.37 40. But I went to play in the CFL instead.
Why?
I was a tenth round pick and the Steelers had just won a Super Bowl – I felt I’d have a real chance to play in Canada. But after two years I had enough of Canada and my agent called the Steelers to see if they had interest in me coming back to play for them.
They said yes – and in 1982 I had a good camp but couldn’t stay healthy. I played three games for the Steelers but then went on IR. I messed up my shoulder and my knee was giving me trouble too.
Tony Dungy was my Defensive Backs Coach. I prided myself in being in the best condition. Pittsburgh had all of their players go on a treadmill and did an EKG-like test. They said I had the best test of anyone – I broke the records there. I was like a marathon runner, they said.
What happened after they put you on IR?
But they put me on IR after the injury. When George Perles went to coach for the USFL he wanted me to come play for him in Michigan – but we later learned he didn’t have the rights to me – the Boston team did. So I played for Boston and the next season they moved to Louisiana – that’s when I tore my ACL in the playoffs.
Did anyone help you most in Pittsburgh?
Donnie Shell took my under his wing the most. They moved me to cornerback from safety and I had never played cornerback before. So Mel Blount also helped me. I went up against the best receivers in the NFL – Swann, Stallworth and Jim Smith – who was a very under-rated receiver. He and I played against each other in the USFL. So lining up against those guys made me very ready for the other teams we played.
How did they help you?
We all went to Bible study together. They showed me and the rookies how to take care of our bodies and how to watch film – how to study receivers to get a sense of what the play would be before it began.
Any good memories from your time there?
I remember one guy from Howard announcing that he hated lifting. They told him he was on the wrong team then – everybody lifted weights there at the time.
I also remember the 11 on 11 practice when Lambert blitzed and Bradshaw hit his hand on Lambert’s helmet. Chuck screamed not to hit the quarterback – thats when Lambert yelled “Put him in a fucking skirt then!” But Lambert – nobody was allowed to do anything to his teammates.
Chuck used to tell us – if you can’t get it done in two hours you’re wasting your time. You have to watch film – you have to be prepared. I stress that to the kids today.
Are you a Steelers fan now?
Absolutely! They drafted me – they got to be my team! They believed in me, so I’ll always be a Steeler for the rest of my life!
One other interesting thing. When I went there I did so knowing it was going to be a physical camp. But I’ll tell you – we did Oklahoma drills and that stuff – but we only had maybe 15 live plays all camp. That really surprised me. I expected it was going to be all about hitting. But we did a lot of walk-throughs. We had Oklahoma drills – but we didn’t do many live plays at all.