pittsburghsportsdailybulletin – Page 15 – Welcome to Steelers Takeaways!

Exclusive with Todd Flanagan of Pro Football Consulting

First off, why did you start Pro football Consulting and how is it different from others?

We work primarily with the agents and assist them in their work with clubs. We won’t say no to working with a player but most of our work is in assisting agents with legal and cap issues.

Mark Levin here has worked on contracts before there was a cap and I started in ’95 working in marketing then spent eight years working on cap issues. After that I went to law school and for essentially 19 years did work with the NFLPA, representing players in their disputes with clubs.

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Exclusive with Steelers Cornerback Kyler McMichael

First off, what’s the offseason regimen been like for you?

It’s going well – I’m back at my home base outside of Atlanta, training to get in the best possible shape I can be in for training camp. I’m doing speed training, running, conditioning and weights – I want to come in at 205 – that’s my optimal weight.

I want to come in and be as fast as possible this year. I’m studying the playbook now – I want to be able to move and react faster this year.

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Exclusive with Former Steelers Offensive Lineman Jerry Quick, 1986-1988

First, can you let me know what you’ve been up to since your playing days?

I was pretty banged up when I was done playing. But I always knew I wanted to be a cop. In college we had police officers that helped handle the security and I got to know them. They told me that when I was done playing I should give them a holler. When I was done I reached out to them and they helped work with me to show me how to get on the Wichita police force. I started the academy in February of ’89 and retired as a Sergeant after 27 years.

After that I did some coaching but I got bored of that, so I started working as a policeman for the local school district and I really enjoyed that. I liked working with the kids there.

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Exclusive with Former Steelers Quarterback Chris Dieker, 2011

First off, what have you been up to since your playing days?

I stopped playing in 2017 and bounced around different jobs for a bit. I’m now a project manager for The Pulte Group doing new home builds. I was a carpenter for a while and wanted to do more and get out of the field and came across the opportunity at Pulte, and here I am now.

What made that adjustment to post-NFL easier or harder for you?

My work ethic. My wife was a college athlete as well and we’ve found that in both of our jobs, people who played sports seem to have strong work ethics. They hold themselves accountable and get the job done.

I feel like I’m still competitive – I carry that competitiveness in my work like I did on the football field.

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Exclusive with Pittsburgh screenwriter, producer and documentary filmmaker Carl Kurlander

First off, what projects do you have coming up?

I’m not allowed to talk about a lot of the things coming up! But I can say I’m doing a bunch of stuff including a movie on August Wilson and a movie on the impact of educational television and AI.

How/why did you get started in screenwriting and working on well-known movies and tv shows like St. Elmo’s Fire and Saved by the Bell?

Pittsburgh has always been a tempestuous muse. There’s a great quote by August Wilson next to my desk that says”I love Pittsburgh and can’t wait to come back and the minute I’m here I can’t wait to take the first thing with four wheels out of here.”

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Exclusive with Steelers Wide Receiver Montana Lemonious-Craig

First off – how did you end up getting signed by the Steelers?

It’s been an amazing experience – it’s great to get the opportunity to be a part of the Steelers organization! It started when I was invited to go to the rookie mini-camp for the Steelers and Seahawks – they called my agent and invited me.

I showed the Steelers I was coachable and learned the scheme quickly. I put my best foot forward and had great communication with the coaching staff. I made the most of my opportunities I think. Nothing huge – but I showed that I could contribute to the team.

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Exclusive with Former Steelers Tight End Theo Young, 1987-1988

First off, can you let us know how you got started as a coach?

I just gave up coaching this year to become the Athletic Coordinator here in Houston for Stephen F. Austin High School.

When the Steelers released me in 1988, I had a couple of tryouts with Buffalo and Cleveland but those didn’t work out. I did a couple of Summer camps in Arkansas when Jack Crowe was the head coach and got to know him. After that I became a graduate assistant there for two years.

After that I got a job at Chatanooga under Buddy Nix – we played Clemson that year. Well, we did not win that game!

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Exclusive with Former Steelers Offensive Lineman Alejandro Villanueva, 2014-2020

First off, what’s been the plan post-football for you – what’s next?

I’m farming now here in Florida. My family in Southern Spain were farmers – they farmed avocados and fruit. Now I’m here in Homestead, Florida – I bought a bunch of property with fruit trees and sell them to restaurants and also do import-export as well. Farming in the United States is very different – you have to think outside of the box to succeed.

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Exclusive with ESPN Analytics Analyst Seth Walder

First – how did you get started in analytics coverage?

I started off as a traditional newspaper beat writer. I covered the Jets mostly – some Giants coverage too – for the New York Daily News. I always had a quantitative interest though and paid attention to what football analysts were doing. In the press box my fellow writers would remember me as being the crazy guy who said they should always go for it on fourth downs.

In 2017 I left for ESPN. I didn’t have the technical skills for a job in analytics- that ruled out 99% of the jobs I wanted. But I was lucky to find that one-percent job that opened up at ESPN. I didn’t have to do the modeling there – I used ESPN’s metrics to write stories instead.

It was exactly what I wanted. I shifted now to covering the NFL only which was what I wanted. I’ve been able to expand my own technical abilities too. I’m not as skilled as the analytics guys but I can do some analysis for myself now.

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Exclusive with Former Steelers Wide Receiver Tyler Vaughns, 2021-2022

First off, after a successful UFL season, what’s next for you?

Well right now I’m headed back to California and continuing to train and rehab. I’m just waiting to get a call really – waiting to hear from an NFL team.

What went right for you in the UFL this season to cause you to have such a big season?

I felt like I would have a good year. It was my third year in the system and I felt great. I gained confidence over the years and improved my pass catching and route running. I started producing more because of that.

I also think I’m attacking the ball more now – getting it at it’s high point now. That’s led to me getting a lot more catches and yards after the catch. Teams were changing the way they were covering me after a while.

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