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

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.

My job is mostly fundraising of course – we did a big dinner last year with Super Bowl legends from my Bengals team and this year we’ll include Boomers as well!

I wanted to talk with you about those Steelers rivalries as well. What stands out to you most about those games -any memories stand out most?

I think during my time there as a starter we played the Steelers tougher than any other team in the league. I think we had a better record against them than any other team.

I remember when they came to Cincinnati and they were 7-0 and we were 0-7, and we beat them 34-7. I don’t think they crossed midfield until the fourth quarter. I remember Noll telling his team that if he didn’t know them better he’d have thought they threw the game!

Our Super Bowl season was exceptionally special because, as we heard, all roads to the Super Bowl went through Pittsburgh. Well, we clinched the division in Pittsburgh in the second to last game of the season in Pittsburgh. I also remember a third down and short play and we were running a quarterback sneak. Well, Lambert yells at everyone to watch for the sneak, and I thought, this isn’t going to be good! But we got the first down. Of course, Lambert was screaming that he was held. He always did that when he didn’t make a tackle!

Any good ones of Chuck Noll?

Oh yeah. In my second Pro Bowl in ’76, Noll was coaching the AFC. It was a Monday in Seattle – Bert Jones started that game for us and I came in in the fourth quarter. We were winning but Noll had us throwing the ball. The NFC guys were giving me a lot of grief and I told them Noll just wanted to show you that we had passes in our playbook too!

That same game the NFC was blitzing and doing stunts early on defense, which you weren’t allowed to do then in the Pro Bowl game. So Noll got upset and called all of his Steelers defensive players who were in the game over had them to all go in at the same time and run what they usually ran on the Steelers.  Now, there like nine Steelers defensive players in the Pro Bowl then. He told those guys to go in there and show the other couple of guys what to do.

And of course I remember in ’83 – the Monday Night game in Cincinnati when I had a big game early, and in the fourth quarter Keith Gary grabbed my facemask and dragged me to the ground. It was the scariest moment I ever had playing – I had no feeling from my neck down for a while.

But I look at the rivalry now and think about the Burfict games. When we played the games were heated but we had respect for each other. They were hard-fought, but we shook hands at the end of the game.

And years later, you end up as the Steelers Quarterback Coach of all places. How did that happen?

I was looking for a job – I was just let go in Jacksonville and Pittsburgh was the only job opening I knew about. I knew they were supposed to give the head coaching job to Grimm or Wisenhunt most likely, and Bruce Arians called me and said we should go play golf. He told me then he would likely end up as the offensive coordinator and thought I would be good for the quarterback coach job.

Well, I had no idea Tomlin would get the job.  But he ended up calling me and asked me to take the job. It was one of the most respectable organizations I ever worked for – I really enjoyed it. The Rooneys were very good to me – it was such a pleasure to be there. The atmosphere was that if you didn’t win a Super Bowl it was a bad year. But when we went it was a great experience – especially being able to take my kids there with us.

I remember getting off of the bus at the hotel for our Super Bowl party. The kids weren’t there yet and my wife and I were at the bar. Joe Greene and Lynn Swann walked up to us, and Joe congratulated me and told me I finally got my Super Bowl ring – I just had to  come to Pittsburgh to get it!

I told Mike Tomlin when I retired that I regret that I couldn’t have coached for him sooner. I have the upmost respect for him – as a coach and as a person. He is such a good person.

How was it working with Ben – especially working with a guy that liked to freelance as much as he did without curtailing his playmaking ability?

Ben and I had a great working relationship. When I got there, I knew that if there was one quarterback I wanted to start a franchise with, it would be Ben. He could stand in the pocket and be successful there, but was also so good at extending plays. The year I got there Bruce had asked me to work on cutting down Ben’s turnovers – they happened a lot when he tried to extend plays.  We trusted him and handed over the offense to him so he could call protections and run the no-huddle. He showed he could handle it- he won a lot of games running the no-huddle. Even at the end of the Super Bowl after Arizona scored and we had just two minutes left we had confidence in him. Even after that holding penalty. Ben handled the whole thing so well. He is a tremendous player and was a pleasure to work with.

How did you help him cut down the turnovers?

To be honest he just learned the system. It wasn’t my teaching, it was his playing. He is a special, special player.

How involved were Bruce and Mike in your work with the quarterbacks?

As I remember, Bruce I think sat in one meeting and never did after that.

Mike never attended any but came to one. I remember I put my phone on the window ledge – it was the first window office I ever had and it was next to Mike’s office! I was in the middle of the quarterbacks meeting when my phone rang.  The guys all gave me grief because they weren’t allowed to have their phones in the room with them.  Then it rang again and Ben really started getting on me – they were going crazy. Then Mike walks in with a smile on his face – he was the one calling me and starting trouble!

Mike – he showed confidence in me to do the job. He was honest and open with players – with praise and criticism. We had so many injuries on those teams but he didn’t care about them. There would be 11 guys on the field – and they’d all be wearing Steelers helmets. So as he says, the standard is the standard!

Any last thoughts before I let you go?

I’m just working hard on the foundation and chasing my six grandkids. I just went to Missouri where one of my sons lives – my grandkid had his career day and he wanted me to come in and wear my Super Bowl ring! I can do that in Missouri. But I can’t wear that Super Bowl ring in Cincinnati!

Read more by former Steelers via the book Steelers Takeaways: Player Memories Through the Decades.  To order, just click on the book: