Author: pittsburghsportsdailybulletin

First, can you tell readers what got you started in coaching – what you enjoy most about the job?

I got into coaching because of a dislocated shoulder.  I had one year of eligibility remaining when I got out of the Marine Corps in 1968 so I enrolled at Fort Hays State in Kansas and played my final year.  I was majoring in geology (which I didn’t like) because I was told that would be a good field due to its connection to oil exploration.

The winter after my final season, I was working construction and going to school when I dislocated my shoulder playing basketball.  It had dislocated a few times during the season so the doctors determined I should have surgery.  Since construction work was out of the question while the shoulder healed, the coaches asked if I would like to help during spring practice.  The first day on the field as a coach, I knew that’s what I wanted to do so I got out of geology and into physical education and was a graduate assistant for two years before going to Texas to coach and teach in high school.

Continue reading “Larry Zierlein, Steelers Offensive Line Coach, 2007-2009”

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

Since 1995 I have been working in the Investment and Financial Planning industry. Presently I am a Banker with J.P. Morgan here in Tulsa, OK working with high net worth clients.

How hard was it to adjust to life after football and how did you do prepare for it while in the NFL? 

It was pretty difficult especially measuring yourself against the success you attain as a NFL player.  I started playing in the NFL when salaries were very low and most guys worked in the off-season.

Continue reading “Steve August, Steelers Offensive Lineman, 1984”

First, can you let readers know what you are doing with yourself these days and how you got involved with DCI?

I am currently in sales with DCI selling construction related products.

You were born in Kingston, Jamaica. How important is the Jamaican heritage to you and what about that background (if anything) do you think has influenced your approach as a football player?

My Jamaican heritage is VERY important to me. My parents always taught my siblings and I to always work hard…especially when we came stateside. I still have lots of relatives there. As for what influence it had relating to “American football” I’m not sure. In the Islands, we call soccer football. One kicks a ball with one’s foot…I suppose there in lies the name. Continue reading “Craig Bingham, Steelers Linebacker, 1982-1984, 1987”

First, can you let readers know what you are doing now post-NFL?

I enjoy my work as a financial advisor with Merrill Lynch and The Clark-Combs Group in Durham, NC.

I don’t have a lot of time outside of work these days but I’m involved in my church and with community work through the Durham Rotary Club, the Durham Rescue Mission, and Duke University.

Continue reading “Chris Combs, Steelers Defensive Lineman, 2000-2001”

First, can you let readers know about Youth Empowerment Sports – what your role is in the organization and what sets it apart from other sports training?

Y.E.S. is an organization whose mission is to engage and equip young people with the necessary tools to reach their life’s goals. Sports is a reflection of life, and as such, is used to show youth how to navigate life’s challenges and to help youth understand their purpose, as well as cultivate good character.

Continue reading “Myron Bell, Steelers Safety, 1994-1997, 2000-2001”

First, can you let readers know about The Mastery Team and other ventures you’ve had since your playing days?

I knew my NFL career would be short (three+ yrs) because I was not drafted and I was the smallest LB (5’11 1/2″ / 210 lbs) in the NFL.  Knowing time was short, I worked during the off-season and read dozens of books on owning real estate.  In June 1977, I ventured out and bought a 69 unit apartment community in suburbs of Cincinnati, OH.

When my pro career ended in 1979 I went on to earn a Certified Property Manager (CPM) designation and over the next 15 years I managed over $500 million in Investment grade Real Estate including hi-rise office towers, suburban office parks, retail centers, industrial parks, & large apartment communities.

Continue reading “Brad Cousino, Steelers Linebacker, 1977-1978”

Dennis Kuno on the Continental Football League:

First, can you describe what the Continental Football League was and what it’s place in football history is?

The league was formed on the same day as that of the Professional Football League of America. The significance of this I will go into detail later. The Continental Football League was formed by taking the five best franchises of the top minor league of its day, the United Football League, the Quebec Rifles (soon to move from Montreal to become the Toronto Rifles ), the Canton Bulldogs (last champions of the United Football League, soon to move to become the Philadelphia Bulldogs), the Indianapolis Warriors (soon to be moved to become the Fort Wayne Warriors ), the Charleston (West Virginia) Rockets, and the Wheeling ( West Virginia ) Ironmen.

The other five teams came from the second best minor league of its day, the Atlantic Coast Football League, Newark Bears, Hartford Charter Oaks, Richmond Rebels, Springfield Acorns (which soon moved to become the Norfolk Neptunes), and the Providence Steamrollers (whose owner refused to join the new Continental League, the replacement owners formed the Rhode Island Indians in its place and went to Federal Court successfully to unfreeze the contracts of the 1964 team members for the Continental Football League entry). 

It was formed from day one to become the third league of major professional football behind the then American and National Football Leagues.

Albert “Happy” Chandler, former Governor and Senator of Kentucky and former major league baseball commissioner became the first commissioner of the Continental Football League in 1965.  
 
How did you get involved in research of the league and form the Booster Club of the Continental Football League?

As a very young amateur researcher of pro football, I found out that the new league did not have a draft its first season. The reason was its rosters already had veteran players, many with major league experience. The only room that could be made for the new league teams was to hold try out camps.

Much of your research is based on the issues the league had battling the NFL. Do you have any examples of this?
 
It seemed very unusual that a new major league did not have a national television package. I learned later, that for its second season, Monday Night football for ABC was to have originally gone for the Continental Football League with other ABC contracts to follow. The NFL  coerced ABC to not follow through with is contract.

Happy Chandler in the meantime had resigned as commissioner, and had he still be in charge, the NFL would never have tried it, not with all his connections to Washington, D.C.. The league also tried to gain a national contract with the United Network-Overmeyer Network, which was quickly absorbed by NBC to also prevent national exposure of the young league.
 
Other roadblocks were consistently put in the way of the league to gain a national television contract, limiting it to regional coverage.
 
The NFL after its merger with the AFL, did everything it could to keep the Continental from gaining major league recognition. Many of the players of the new league remained loyal to the league, and despite playing for less (due to no national television contract) remained with their teams. Many Continental players did go to the NFL, AFL, and Canadian teams for more money.
 
The new NFL  teams tried to get the Continental to hide some of its best prospects from rival teams by paying the Continental to allow these players to ride their benches so they did not have to put them onto their taxi rosters. More often than not, they were not good enough to crack the line-ups for the Continental teams, so they did ride the benches for purported six figures just to keep them away from other NFL member teams!

What happened to many of the league’s players after the league folded?
 
First, there were some great players that played in the Continental Football League. Bill Walsh was the head coach of the San Jose Apaches in 1967. Ken Stabler was a third-string quarterback on a 3-9 team.  Otis Sistrunk, Jeff Van Note, Tom Dempsey and former Steeler John Foruria all played in the Continental Football League, and so many others as well.

If you take the time to go through the players section, you can find Pittsburgh Steelers that began their careers in the Continental Football League.

What would surprise people most about the Continental Football League and the football played in general during those days? 

Art Rooney was good friends with Wheeling Ironmen owner Mike Lynn. In fact, in 1965, when Wheeling ran out of funds, Art Rooney gave Wheeling his teams’ extra uniforms to use that season.

Another interesting fact – when Brooklyn and Richmond played in 1966, Richmond was trailing 20-14 when Richmond used the sleeper play to beat Brooklyn. The very next day the NFL called a meeting and outlawed that play.

Any last thoughts for readers?

No matter what some antagonists say, the league was a major professional football league. It absorbed the Professional Football League of America before the 1968 seaosn, and the Texas professional Football League beforr the 1969 season, and for four out of five seasons was international in scope. In 1965, with the Toronto Rifles, in 1966 with the Toronto Rifles and Montreal Beavers, in 1967 with the Toronto Rifles, Montreal Beavers, and Victoria Steelers, and in 1969 with the Monterrey Mexico-Mexico Golden Aztecs.

First, can you let readers know about your coaching career – how you got started and what you’ve enjoyed (and not enjoyed) about it so far?

I began my coaching career in 1982 working for Bobby Bowden at FSU, working with quarterbacks. I coached at FSU for two years and then got the “itch” to play again, so I signed a contract to play for the Jacksonville Bulls in the USFL in 1984.

During training camp I injured my knee and ended up coaching the quarterbacks during that season. In 1985, I became the offensive coordinator/quarterbacks coach at The University of Central Florida (UCF). In 1998 I became the Head Football Coach at UCF. That lasted six years thru 2003. From 2004 thru 2006 I was the quarterbacks coach with the Arizona Cardinals under Dennis Green.

Continue reading “Mike Kruczek, Steelers Quarterback, 1976-1979”