First, can you let readers know what you’ve been doing with yourself since your time in the NFL?

Well, now I’m the Vice President for Sullivan Insurance Group here in Massachusetts. It’s near Holy Cross. I grew up in New Jersey and got recruited at Holy Cross and moved and stayed here since. I started the business with my old roommate’s brother, oddly enough.

How hard was the post-football adjustment for you?

It was an adjustment – I did it really on two tracks. My first year in Pittsburgh I tried to make the team but unfortunately did not. Then I went to Buffalo … I played as many preseason games as a guy can over those years but didn’t make it over that final hump.

I kept in shape – mentally and physically after Buffalo just in case I got another call.

Then I started coaching – I coached linebackers for Glassboro College which is now Rowan. I coached with former Eagle John Bunning. I did that for a year and tried to figure out if coaching was the role I wanted to take. I had a child and decided I needed to enter that next phase in life. Should I go play in Canada? Enter the business world? I was figuring out my options.

I coached and worked as a substitute teacher and got my real estate license – all things many players end up doing. I got interested in insurance and got started in that, This all happened over the course of a year or so – and I got married and we had a baby! It was a very busy but sweet time of my life.

Speaking of coaching – I know you continued to coach. What about coaching appealed to you and who helped influence you as a coach?

I’m the father of three children – my oldest son is 28, my daughter who is 20 and my other son who is 13.

Coaching was great because I was involved with my kids. I coached my oldest son’s flag football, wrestling, tackle football teams…Baseball…in fact his team made it to the Little League World Series and lost to Louisville, who later beat Japan to win it all. It was a bittersweet experience! He later ended up coaching with me after he graduated, and is now getting is PhD.

I coached some of my daughter’s sports, and now coach my youngest son’s wrestling, baseball, football teams. I’ve been very involved in youth sports.

Any specific coaching influences?

Having gotten to a fairly high level in sports, it can go one of two ways as a coach. You can have too high expectations for kids, or be more rational. I was always more rational about what to expect from kids and talking to parents who expect scholarships for their kids.

From my coaches I always had a common thread I guess. Focus on the fundamentals and drills. Making practices efficient so you embed those skills in the kids. That comes out in games. Some coaches like to stress the strategy, playcalling and trickery, but it all comes back to tackling and blocking. The same in baseball with catching and running the bases. If you do those things you’ll b successful. Sure there are some kids that have great athletic ability – but you just shake those kids hands and say congratulations.

I tell kids – what I was taught – that there’s a price to be paid for success. You’re not guaranteed a place on the team. You have to sacrifice and pay a price. Coaches pushed me to my limits – they were great mentors. You have to have a desire to excel. And you have to have the belief that’s its ok to win and want to win. And that converts over to other areas of life as well, You get knocked down but you have to have the grit and work hard to be successful.

Tell us a bit about being drafted by the Steelers? A surprise? What did they say to you?

I was brought in as a running back. It was a blessing and a curse to play both ways in college. In high school and college. Teams and coaches get different views of on what you’re suited to do. At Holy Cross I played running back, receiver, defensive back…

Pittsburgh had me come in as a running back. It was a good opportunity. Rich Erenberg was on his way out and the team wasn’t in it’s strongest era of it’s history then, But the offense really wasn’t suited for me. I played in a spread, West Coast offense at Holy Cross. The pro set didn’t suit me as well. I took a shot at it though, and it was great playing for Chuck Noll and watching another legend like Tony Dungy on the defensive side of the ball.

How frustrating was it being asked to play so many different roles without getting to hone in and focus on just one?

It wasn’t frustrating. I wanted to play and win. It was exciting to get those opportunities. I was athletic and intelligent enough to know the schemes and learn the plays. The coaches spent a lot of time with me and I had the acumen to do it.

In Buffalo I just got squeezed out early at running back when they brought Kenneth Davis in. So they moved me to defensive back and I got to stay on longer because of that. They had Kelso and Tasker there though so there wasn’t really a spot on special teams for me.

I saw myself as a slot receiver. But offenses just didn’t run those offenses then.

Who helped you adjust to the NFL in Pittsburgh?

Merril Hoge helped me. He was a nice guy. He helped me navigate camp and my expectations. Where to be when…Noll had been around quite a while and had one way of doing things.. His way. Merril gave me insight on that.

Any fun memories of your time there?

We went to New York to play the Giants. I looked across the field and saw a close friend of mine from Holy Cross on the Giants sideline. I remember staring at him from across the field. That was really cool.

I was more focused on working out and the playbook then – trying to perform and make the team. I wasn’t paying a lot of attention to some of that other stuff

Oh – I do remember being a backup holder for field goals and extra points. I think they were just seeing what I could do. Webster was snapping the ball back to me and asked me if the laces were hitting my hands. He was adjusting the spin of the ball to help make sure I caught it on the laces. You know he’s been there a long time when he knows how to spin the ball just the right way for me.

One more as I remember. We would run blitz pickup drills between running backs and blitzing linebackers. I was in line and saw Lloyd in line across for me. I felt like a little kid having to go against him. I was counting his place in line – one… two… .three.. four… five…trying to see if I would face him…where was he in line? Should I pretend to tie my shoelaces and move back in line!

Any advice for kids trying to make rosters today?

Great question. You have to believe you belong there. You stepped up at every level before – from Pop Warner to high school. You have to believe you can do that now.

Secondly, you can’t believe there’s another option. I had the education and could have pursued business opportunities. But it was all off the table. It’s the opportunity of a lifetime and not because of the money. We didn’t get paid much then. It’s for the love of the sport. You have got to claw and scrape to make it happen. They chose you for a reason.

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