Welcome to Steelers Takeaways!
More than 2,000 interviews of Steelers players, coaches, front office staff PLUS interviews with Pittsburgh actors, musicians, authors and more
First, why hockey? Why did that become your first love?
It inexplicably started as a kid – seemingly centuries ago. Baseball and football were the big sports in Western PA at the time but for whatever reason, even before Pittsburgh had an NHL team, I gravitated towards hockey. We had an AHL team at the time – the Hornets – and I followed them. I can’t tell you what attracted me to the sport. But the attraction arrived early and stayed strong – and is still strong.
First off, what are you up to now?
Well, Fountains of Wayne have reformed -so we’re prepping for shows now. I also have a home recording studio and do remote drum tracks for people. I’m doing album producing and engineering so I’m still busy.
Since Covid I haven’t toured for years – but with the production and engineering work I get to still stay busy and be at home, which is nice.
First off, how has the UFL been going for you?
Since I was out of college in 2018 my goal was to play in the NFL. I was hesitant at first to play in sub-NFL leagues – I didn’t want to kick in the CFL. But in 2020 my agent presented me with the opportunity to kick in the UFL for the New York team and I took that, and it enabled me to get a job afterwards to kick for the Browns.
Playing in the UFL can help you get an NFL opportunity – it did again when I kicked for Detroit in 2024.
Continue reading “Exclusive with Former Steelers Kicker Matt McCrane, 2018”
First off, what have you been up to since your playing career?
I didn’t play football until I was a Senior in high school. After the Steelers I became a graduate assistant for Tom Osborne at Nebraska for two years. It’s a funny fork-in-the-road story – after that second year Coach Osborne told me he liked the work I was doing with the tight ends and wingbacks and said he wanted me to stay on and coach more and start recruiting.
Continue reading “Exclusive with Former Steelers Tight End Mark Dufresne, 1978”
First off – what are you up to now?
I pray a lot! I keep in shape – I walk 12 miles a day. When I was in television my schedule was so different – I’d get home at one am. Now, I’m up at four a.m. shoveling snow!
I have two sons who are pro baseball players. Their offseasons are crazy as they gear up for Spring Training. Christian got messed up with the Covid draft which was insane – it was only five rounds. The following season was the deepest draft in years and he got drafted in the 12th round. He now plays for the Shaumburg Boomers in the Frontier League. They have a great management team and stadium – it’s a replica of Wrigley Field!
Continue reading “Exclusive With Pittsburgh Sportscaster John Fedko”
First off, what are you up to now?
Well, I was the son of an NFL referee and now my son is an NFL referee. I’m retired now from my time as a referee and I used to own a mobile imaging company I sold off to Appollo Management – to Josh Harris who now owns the Washington Commanders. We got close over the years.
I also still train college officials for the Big 10 and MidAmerican Conference. Bill Carroll is the Supervisor of Officials there and asked me to come in and lend my expertise on how to watch film and understand the game itself better.
Continue reading “Exclusive with Pittsburgh Born NFL Referee Jeff Bergman”
First off, what are you up to now?
I work for a company called 3S – we handle fire suppression safety for companies who make high hazard materials. We provide equipment for companies who make things like aluminum foil where the processes are highly flammable.
I’ve bene here for seven years now and am working on becoming a certified engineer as well.
Continue reading “Exclusive with Former Steelers Linebacker Brian Rolle, 2013”
First off, can you let me know what you’ve been up to since your playing days?
I’m an educator now at a private institution here in Atlanta. I’m the Student Success Coordinator for kids K-12.
After I stopped playing I became a restauranteur. I did that for five years. After that I moved to Atlanta and settled there with my college sweetheart. Life after football was challenging – I was lucky to find that next thing quickly. I took that love of football and redirected that. I was able to do that and work with youth to help them navigate this world.
Steelers Nation,
It is great to sit down and write about all things Steelers. My time in Pittsburgh, current state of the NFL and life after Pittsburgh are all things that I will try and cover here. Wish I could cover everything, but I am sure that I will miss some things. So Here We Go!
Time In Pittsburgh
I was fortunate or unfortunate, however you want to look at it, to play in a few different cities. None of these cities compare to The Burgh. I try so many ways to explain to people how special of a place it is, but words do not do it justice. The city, the fans and the team are all something that I will remember forever. Obviously, my teammates and coaches are on top of the list of the great memories that I have of my time in Pittsburgh. Being able to play with all of the great men was unbelievable. I always say that most of our success came from within the locker room. We enjoyed being around each other, we enjoyed working together and we enjoyed the competition of practicing against each other. We made each other better. Going up against Dick LeBeau and his group every day in camp prepared us for everything we could possibly see during the season. I do not miss playing, but I miss the guys. I was fortunate to have two great roommates during my time on the road. Alan Faneca and Mark Bruener were great players, great men and great friends. Thinking back on all the conversations we had during camp and on the road are times that I will forever remember. Throwing to and handing the ball off to Hines Ward, Plaxico Burress, Jerome Bettis and Antwaan Randle El made the game fun to play. There are too many teammates to name them all, but it was an honor to suit up with each and every one of them.
Continue reading “In His Own Words: Tommy Maddox”
First off, what have you been up to since playing for the Steelers?
I’ve been doing a lot. I’ve been coaching, doing payroll sales, training people full-time with Grind U and building homes.
I did a lot of college and high school coaching – I coached at Arkansas State which is funny because I just heard Mike Tomlin talk about his first coaching job being at Arkansas State as a special teams coach. He said his first game as coach the other team ran a kickoff against his unit for a touchdown – it’s one of those things he remembers most!
Continue reading “Exclusive with Former Steelers Linebacker Matt Galambos, 2018-2019”