Exclusive with Dallas Cowboys Safety Cliff Harris

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You won Super Bowls, are in the Hall of Fame, and now have an award and a football field named after you, wrote two books…. you made a big impact on the game. Do you think about that a lot?

First, it’s such a weird time now. I went to a small, Baptist college in Arkansas. When I played there we may have had at most 5,000 people at the stadium, and that’s including people packing in on the side of the stadium.  I remember one time playing in Texas Stadium backpeddling during a play and thinking “I don’t hear any noise. It was quiet.” Then I pulled myself back together and focused on the play.”

As for my career. Wow. It creeps up on you. Life is so strange. My junior year at Hot Springs High School I was  second-string  JV quarterback. My dad got re-assigned to a different town and I ended up being the starting quarterback and our team went undefeated. From there – five Super Bowls, Hall of Fame,… I think to myself “What?” If you polled the guys from that Hot Spring team and asked which player they thought would go to the NFL, I guarantee it wasn’t going to be me!

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Exclusive: Former Dallas Cowboys Linebacker Thomas “Hollywood” Henderson

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First, can you let us know what you’re up to now and how you’re doing?

I’ve been doing the speaking and motivational thing now for 35 years, though the pandemic has dried things up a little. I also manage a non-profit – I helped build a football stadium for the community I grew up in so do fundraising for that.

I also wrote  two books – Out of Control, and In Control.

And most importantly. as of the eight of this month, it’ll be my anniversary of staying clean and sober for over two decades now.

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Exclusive with Former Steelers Offensive Coordinator & Wide Receivers Coach Ray Sherman (1998, 2013)

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First, can you let us know what you’ve been doing with yourself lately?

I’ve been staying busy – trying to get my workouts in and spending time with my family. I train guys too as they get ready for the combine and training camps – I work with a group of guys that call me when they have some guys they want me to work with.

Still want to coach?

I’ll tell you, I still feel like I can coach. I feel great and follow the game to keep my mind sharp. If somebody wanted me I think I could help. I feel that way still – I love the game and have a lot left to give to the game.

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Exclusive with Ravens Wire’s Matt Stevens

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First off, what do you see as potential surprises for Steelers fans about this Ravens team coming into of this matchup?

Offensively, this Ravens team hasn’t sorted out it’s identity yet this year. They’ve been trying to throw deep more than last year – they still rely on the run offense but they’ve bene throwing deep more and despite Jackson saying he worked on this a lot in the offseason, it hasn’t been working.

There have been more mental errors by Jackson this year. I think because of that Baltimore gets back to trying to pound the ball more this week against Pittsburgh. I think they try to grind down the clock and keep the Steelers offense on the sidelines. I can see them trying to throw a lot early over the linebackers to the tight ends in the seam, and maybe hit Marquis Brown on some slants and see if he can break one with the Steelers loading the box.

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Exclusive with Former Ravens Offensive Lineman Ed Mulitalo

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First, let’s talk about your coaching career – how did you get started?

I’m now in my third year as a head coach at a division III school – Southern Virginia University. I’m really enjoying it. I started off as the defensive line coach, then the defensive coordinator and now the head coach. It wasn’t exactly the way I thought my coaching career would go but It’s been rewarding and very exciting.

After I retired in 2009, I got into high school coaching and dabbled in volunteer coaching for other schools. I moved my family to Samoa after that and went off the grid for a few years before coming coming back in 2015. I looked for a coaching job and helped out at Southern Utah with Ed Mann. I worked with him for one year then he went to BYU and I went to Southern Virginia.

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Exclusive with Steelers Running Back Jack Deloplaine, 1976-1979

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First, can you let me know what you’ve been doing with yourself since your time in the NFL?

Well I stayed in Pittsburgh and ended up working in the penitentiary after I was cut again and couldn’t make a team. At first I worked in construction and did a lot of projects – like the Greentree Mall. But the Winters were pretty lean – in January and February especially they’d lay me off as I was still one of the younger guys there.

A friend of mine told me I should work at the penitentiary so I applied there and ended up working there for 21 years. When it closed down I retired. My wife worked at Allegheny General and we didn’t want to move and I didn’t want to drive to the other penitentiaries they offered me jobs to work at as they were too far away. We had two boys and my work made it easy for me to be around them and be there for my kids. I even coached football at North Catholic for a couple of years.

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Exclusive with Mike Mortaitis of The Titans Wire

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So – what’s behind the big start for the Titans – what’s been the biggest factor driving the success of the team?

First you have to say Ryan Tannehill. He’s proven that last year wasn’t a fluke. He’s playing at an MVP caliber right now – he’s the biggest reason they are 5-0.

Of course Derrick Henry too – he had a huge game last week with over 200 yards rushing and took over. But Tannehill is on the top of the list.

What’s changed for him?

It’s a better system for him. It’s a run-first offense. They throw quite a bit but it fits into his strengths, with play-action to Henry. The system has elevated his game – it’s just been a great fit for him.

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Exclusive with Hall of Fame Sportswriter Vito Stellino

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So what are you doing now – projects etc.?

Now I have my own blog at https://vitostellino.com/   I occasionally write about whatever interests me – no regular schedule. And during the season I’ll write about my observations before and after games. I still stay involved.

Tony Dungy bemoaned writers not getting the chance to sit down with players anymore and to get to know them -do you agree?

There’s so much more media now. Now it’s all about press conferences. There’s no chance for one-on-one with players. We used to be able to go into the locker rooms and get to know players and talk to them one-on-one. Now key players are held back for press conferences. It’s hard to do any follow-up questions. That’s the biggest change. It’s more difficult to do your job.

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Exclusive with Former Bengals Quarterback and Steelers Quarterback Coach (2007-2009) Ken Anderson

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First, tell me a bit about what you’ve been up to since your time in the NFL – including your Ken Anderson Foundation?

Well, the foundation started about six-to-seven years ago to help adults with Autism. I have a nephew who has autism and he needs care 24/7. So as I was working on going through all the things that it takes to provide that care, for people with Autism, I got a call from the Mayor of Cincinnati who told me about another group that was doing a similar thing for people with Down Syndrome.  So we merged and formed the Ken Anderson Alliance.

Now we do over 20 programs a month for over 200 adults – from hockey games and Reds games to dinners and going to the mall.

We also have an aquaponics project where we grow leafy vegetables and have eight people working there, and own three acres where we are building an inclusive community that’s a safe and secure environment for them.

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Exclusive with Former Oilers/Titans Running Back Eddie George

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First, can you let us know what you’re doing with yourself now?

Well, the first thing is that I work in wealth management  – I’m fully licensed with for over four years now working with athletes, corporations and banks – helping people manage their wealth.

I’ve also been acting. On stage, I’ve been acting live and in front of a camera now for some time. I’ve done Chicago the Musical, Othello and other plays  – a lot of Shakespeare – and have been on shows like CSI LA and Ballers.

So, I’ve been dividing my time between being a husband and father and those other things as well.

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