pittsburghsportsdailybulletin – Page 18 – Welcome to Steelers Takeaways!

Exclusive with Former Steelers Offensive Lineman Kris Farris, 1999

First, what have you been up to since football and how did you get started in this work?

When I played for the Steelers, I broke my ankle two years in a row. After Pittsburgh I went to Buffalo then broke my leg playing against the Steelers – I didn’t have great luck with Pittsburgh! I played in the league a couple of more years with Green Bay and Atlanta then retired in 2003.

After that I joined a steel company that produced structured steel and worked my way up to running the company when I was 33. I’m still in that business now though with a different company – Brown Strauss Steel. I’m the President there and we’re pushing our way East. Who knows, maybe we’ll be in Pittsburgh soon – it’ll come full circle.

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Exclusive with Former Bills Wide Receiver Don Beebe

First off, I know you’ve been coaching for a while now – can you let me know how you got started and what excited you about coaching?

When I retired after playing in Green Bay in 1998, I started up the House of Speed and trained professional athletes – we had 24 franchises and I did that for 23 years. Mostly though I kept feeling like I really wanted to go coach and mentor young men.

So I started coaching high school football at Aurora Christian High School and did that for 14 years – 10 as a head coach then four as an assistant coach helping out my brother. Then I went on and became the head coach at Aurora University.

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Exclusive with Former Steelers Linebacker Akil Blount, 2017

First off, can you let me know how you got started working with the Falcons?

This is my second season working for the Atlanta Falcons. It’s been a great opportunity to see the other side of the game, working with a great owner like Arthur Blank. I’m thankful for the opportunity.

How did that get started?

I grew up in a football family of course – but growing up I never knew the role my dad had in life was so impactful as it was. We never placed that much emphasis on it as a family – I didn’t appreciate it until I got older.

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Exclusive with Former Ravens Linebacker Adalius Thomas

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

A little of this and a little of that. I and a partner opened upon some restaurants – in Raleigh-Durham and Baltimore. I’m also daddy-Uber – talkng my daughter to practices and school. I’m enjoying taking her to school and spending time with her while she’s still here.

How hard has the post-NFL adjustment been for you?

It was tough – it’s what you’ve been doing most of your life as a player – since I was eight years old. Then you get into your early 30’s and all of the sudden you can’t do it anymore – it’s taken away from you. Some have the chance to retire when they want and plan for their retirement but I had to retire abruptly. It was different – I didn’t get the chance to plan for it. So it was a tough adjustment.

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Exclusive with Former Baltimore Nosetackle Kelly Gregg

First, what you have you been up to since football?

Now that I’m retired my three boys run me ragged. One’s a Freshman in college, one’s a Senior in high school and one’s an eighth-grader.

I have my farm I work on and do sports radio as well. It’s just two hours a day so that’s easy – I work on the farm in the mornings then go into town and do the radio show. I’m not very good but it’s just like talking about sports in a bar anyway. It’s like I’m sitting on a barstool talking sports, which I do anyway! I’m lucky and blessed to have all of this.

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Who we lost in 2023:

The Steelers family lost a number of players and others closely associated with the team. Here is a list of those players:

Sidney Thornton (September 2, 1954 – January 29, 2023)
“I didn’t understand how fortunate I was to be a part of a situation and organization like the one in Pittsburgh. People play so many years without ever getting to a Super Bowl and I got to two.”
https://steelerstakeaways.com/sydney-thornton-steelers-running-back-1977-1982/

Marv Kellum (June 23, 1952 – February 4, 2023)
“It’s humbling. You don’t realize how lucky you are. I was talking to former Steeler Craig Bingham – I’d do it all again for free to make it to the Super Bowl.”
https://steelerstakeaways.com/marv-kellum-steelers-linebacker-1974-1976/

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Exclusive with Steelers Running Back Godwin Igwebuike

First off, what prompted you to sign with the Steelers – why Pittsburgh?

To be honest I didn’t have that many choices. I was on the practice squad in Atlanta and they grabbed me. I’m thankful they did – all the teammates I met around the league that played for Pittsburgh spoke highly of the team. When my agent hit me up and told me Pittsburgh wanted to sign me I was super-excited.

Did the 2021 Lions game where you had success against the Steelers play into it?

You’re 100% right – it definitely was a big factor I think in why I’m here. Mike T. harps on it all the time: “Own your film. You never know where it will take you.” We were struggling in Detroit that year but I played with grit and was fortunate to make plays against Pittsburgh. The conversations I had with Mike T. – I think that’s a big reason why I’m here. They have a long memory and I am happy I got their attention.

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Exclusive with WWE Announcer and Pittsburgh Native Corey Graves

First off, can you let me know what made you decide to get involved in professional wrestling?

Growing up wrestling was the number one bonding activity between my dad and I. He was a big-time fan and we used to go to live shows together, There are pictures if me with my wrestling figures growing up. So wrestling was important to me.

I wanted to ask about how much of a grind the WWE can be – how do you navigate that constant travel especially with a family and kids?

Very carefully! I can honestly say that I wish I would have done it better from the start – I’m reprioritizing my life now though. The grind never stops especially as we travel more and do more international shows. I always joke that we would all do the work for free – it’s the travel we get paid for. Dealing with the messed-up flights and hotel reservations – that happens all the time.

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Exclusive with Former Seattle Center Robbie Tobeck

First – tell me a bit about what you’ve been doing with yourself since retirement from the NFL?

Well, I’m an insurance broker here in Seattle. I’ve been doing that since I retired – really before I retired. I was doing that in the offseason for about five years before I retired. I retired right after the playoffs – went to Costa Rica and fished for two weeks – then came back and continued to work.

Jumping into the Super Bowl against Pittsburgh – how did you guys prepare for that game?

I think we approached it as we did most games. We got Pittsburgh when they were hot – they got hot at the right time and won some road games in the playoffs. But we prepared like we always prepared. We looked at it as “We do what we do and know how we want to prepare for games.”

‘We knew Pittsburgh had their exotic blitzes and were strong upfront – they had guys you had to account for of course. But we prepared they way we felt we should have and didn’t worry so much about what Pittsburgh did. That’s how we approached the season and we felt like we had a good week of practice.
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Exclusive with Former Bengals Quarterback Akili Smith

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

When my career was over I still felt like I could contribute to the game and help others. I wanted to be a mentor for others and help them reach their goals to play in the NFL. That has always been my mission – to help guys make it to the league. So I’ve been training young players now.

What do you focus on most with them, do you find?

I teach them that it’s all about choices. I did way too much partying when I played and you can’t do that if you want to be a top-tier athlete. I see kids today allowing social media to raise them and see them doing too much partying. That will catch up to you. It’s my job to teach them that.

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