First, what are the next steps for you as you enter into your eleventh potential season?

Well I’m definitely keeping my eyes open and hope for the opportunity to come back this way to Miami. I’ve been enjoying time with my family. I don’t worry about much of the things that are out of my control. I’m hopeful that Miami will bring me back and am still preparing my body to play.

Any thoughts about what your next steps are, even if Miami brings you back. What’s next after playing in the NFL?

After my playing career I’d like to stay in football and coach. At what level I don’t know. I’ve spoken to my wife and agent about it and we’re still discussing it now. But I would definitely like to stick around football.

Any coaches or coaching lessons stand out to you? Any of those you think would shape how you coached?

I’ve been around some great coaches. Coach Mitchell, Tomsula, Gulagowski… I’ve taken different aspects from all of them and want to turn them into something that I can help kids with. I’ve played for 10 years – that’s a lot longer than most relationships people have.

I didn’t get the Pro Bowls and accolades a guy like Aaron Donald gets, but the good and bad I learned can help kids and men take that next step.

Stepping back – and talking about next steps. The draft was your big step in your NFL career of course. Were you surprised Pittsburgh drafted you?

I was yes – I didn’t really get a lot of interest before the draft from them. They were a 3-4 team and I was a 4-3 guy. I had interest from Atlanta and Detroit – and earlier from Indy. I got calls early in the draft from guys who I thought were calling to draft me but they were just calling to check in with me. They were playing with my emotions before the Steelers called!

Did anyone help you as a rookie to adjust to life on and off the field in Pittsburgh?

I’ll tell you, it couldn’t have been a better group of men. Hampton, Harrison, Eason, Keisel, Travis – all of the guys took me in and embraced me. Of course I had to prove myself and show them I belonged. But they showed me how to win.

I had those guys to follow and I cherished that. I was able to sit behind those guys and learn and understand what it took to succeed.

Clark, Ike, Farrior, Woodley, Deshea – all of them showed me that hard work is what would take me where you wanted to go.

Anything specific you learned that rookie year that helped you most?

To find your niche. Whether it’s as a run stopper, a speed guy, a weight room guy – whatever it is – do that. I followed James Harrison around. His weightlifting prolonged his career and that was my thing too. So I stuck to that and that helped me.

I’m glad you brought up the 3-4 defense Pittsburgh ran. How hard was it adjusting to the 3-4 as a 4-3 guy in college?

It was hard. In college I got to make a lot of plays and to change so that you’re now the reason others do was hard. You have to be a team guy and let yourself loose and understand it’s bigger than me. You want to put yourself in the best situation to make a play but you don’t want to be the reason something gets messed up on a play. It’s just a shame in a way that by the time I got established as a 3-4 end I went to Jacksonville.

Why did you leave?

It was an opportunity to go play in a 4-3 again. To get freed up to rush the passer. It was the opportunity I took for my career and it was a great decision for me at the time.

The guys I left -Heyward, McLendon – they were all young guys coming up. I didn’t want to leave when the team showed me so much love and was patient with me. But it was what I needed to do and I left on good terms. I had no ill will to the team and city.

How was Coach Mitchell to play for? I know he can be rough on guys early on.

For the first two years he rode me hard. He had Aaron Smith and Brett Keisel. I don’t think he wanted to coach a guy from scratch all over again. He liked to critique the older guys but he didn’t want to deal with a hotshot first round pick. Now, he had to get back to coaching. After my first two years it got better. He opened up and got softer. At the end it all worked out.

He taught me how to play with my hands more. To use my hands like a stab motion. The 3-4 is a man’s game. It’s one-on-one and talking on double-teams that you didn’t see coming. Especially with that defense under LeBeau, that was a man’s defense. You’re not just jetting upfield. You’re trying to move guys against their will – hands in their chest trying to drive 320 pound men where they don’t want to go.

Any fun memories of your time in Pittsburgh you can share?

I remember – I think this was before a Cincinnati game. I was getting ready and Hines Ward was getting a flu shot right before the game. Why he chose then to do it I have no idea. But he was running around patting his backside yelling a line from the Will Farrell movie “Ma! The meatloaf!” with his full gear on and his pants halfway down! I still laugh when I tell that story.

Any thoughts on the way the NFL rule changes have affected your play as a defensive lineman?

Yeah – it’s easier said than done trying not to hit the quarterback the wrong way now. I don’t know how to avoid it sometimes when you can’t always control how you get to them. If you stumble or hit them after a spin move – I guess it’s a judgment call by the refs. It’s frustrating sometimes, but it doesn’t matter in the end. You have to take it upon yourself to find a way.

As a future coach, what thoughts do you have for guys trying to follow your footsteps and succeed in the NFL?

I’d tell them to take a step back. Don’t just program yourself to play like a robot. Try to play freer – within the framework of the defense – but try not to be so robotic. You can still be yourself and make plays within the confines of the defense. You don’t want to walk away from a game or practice thinking you did everything right but still regret not making plays you could have made. That can snowball, and it’s a hard habit to break.

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