First, can you let me know what you’ve been up to since football?
Now I’m back in Moses Lake, Wisconsin – my hometown. I have a cattle ranch and also do some real estate. I wear many hats. I have eight daughters so that of course takes up the lion’s share of my time! I’ve coached them in soccer and softball in high school.
It’s controlled chaos – I just go where I’m told. My lovely wife and I have been married for 19 years – we got married young. I just do what I’m told – she tells me what to do and where to go.
Any of those coaches and players over your career influence the way you’ve coached?
Absolutely – I’m so blessed to have had so many great coaches over my career and great player-coaches too – guys who played in the NFL a long time. I took something from each coach and player and have used that as I’ve coached everything from three and four year olds to high school kids.
Randy Hart – my coach at the University of Washington – he found ways to push people to be better than they thought they could be. Guys think they are giving it all they got and he would push them further. You’d ask yourself “What more does he want from me?” But he could pull that extra effort from you – that extra motivation. That was something he showed me that he used to get people past that wall.
And Dick LeBeau. I was a nobody in Pittsburgh but he treated me like a somebody. It didn’t matter if you were the number one guy on defense or a practice squad guy – he made you feel important. I carry that with me. That’s why he’s a Hall of Fame coach and why Pittsburgh was so special.
What about Coach Mitchell?
LeBeau and Mitchell were great for different reasons. Hoke, Keisel – they told me Mitchell wouldn’t even talk to me until I was three of four years in the league.
I remember that 2008 Super Bowl year. We were about to have our second daughter and my wife was at home in Moses Lake – across the country. It was the beginning of training camp and I was so nervous to ask to go home for the birth of my daughter. Mitchell was mean as a cuss – he was larger than life to me. But he made sure I got back and told me to take as long as I needed. It was a totally different side of him. He was a family man. Mean, tough – he had to be as the first African American captain in the SEC. But Hoke told me that he was soft-hearted when it came to family. You take your ups and downs from him in practice and film study but he was a big family guy.
If he knew I was telling this story he’d be mad as heck too!
What about that defensive line group was so special?
That defensive line room was legendary. There were guys in there that were Steelers and NFL legends – Casey, Aaron Smith, Keisel…they meshed so well. The way those guys went about their business – the expectations were raised by everyone. There were guys from different backgrounds. Guys like me – Keisel and Aaron Smith who were farm boys and hunters. Guys like Casey from Texas and Kirchske from California. They were all professionals and supported each other though. Expectations were high in practices and in games. There was no in-fighting – guys cared about each other and Coach Mitch was the maestro behind it all.
Hokie – he told me about how Coach Mitchell loved a good bottle of wine! People joked that that’s how Hoke stayed on the team so long – he’d get Coach Mitchell bottles of wine! The whole group was just so close and helpful though. They stayed together a long time which was unique. There were no issues – no money problems. I was a fly on the wall and heard those contract discussions – there was no in-fighting.
When James Harrison got his big contract everyone was so happy for him. Some of us were still scared of him! But we were all happy knowing all he had to go through – being cut and out of the league so many times.
When he and then Potsie (James Farrior) got their contracts, we all went out and celebrated together.
People ask me if I wouldn’t have rather played for a team like the Raiders or Texans and gotten more playing time. I thought about that but I got to learn from some of the best humans in the NFL. I was lucky to be there.
How did you end up in Pittsburgh after college?
I really wanted to go to a 3-4 team – I thought that was where I fit well. I was a 4-tech guy – I wasn’t a big interior defensive lineman. I modeled my game after Aaron Smith. There were six or seven teams that were ready to sign me after the draft. I thought Seattle was actually going to draft me, but they ended up taking a punter.
Well, I had heard great things about the Steelers – my agent’s partner was Mike Tomlin’s agent so I heard a lot of good things about the team.
How was he to play for?
He didn’t pull any punches – he was honest and professional. That was unique. He was straightforward with you. When they released me he told me they liked me but didn’t have a spot for me on the team then, but that they wanted to bring me back. And they did. He was great with players and they had an embarrassment of riches in the coaches they had there.
How did the players help you since you got there?
Hokie was the greatest dude – he and Keisel and Aaron Smith were way better to me than I probably deserved. Hoke was undrafted too – he and I were similar guys. We weren’t the best athletes or workout warriors- but we were the first ones in and the last ones out. He looked after me. Brett Keisel too. We were both farm and hunting guys – they showed me what to do to impress Coach Mitchell.
Like what?
First of all – get him a nice bottle of wine!
And, you just had to take it from him. He could be mean, but you had to learn how to channel that criticism and not to take it personally. Not everyone can do that. My dad was that way with me – he raised me well. So it was easier for me I think.
Any other guys help you?
I didn’t know Troy Polamalu well – but he was one of the nicest guys I ever met. He was a massive superstar but he was just so humble and nice.
When I first got there as a rookie, my locker was a couple lockers down from his. I was there setting up my locker when he handed me a flier. He asked me if I wanted to go to his son’s Christening – they’d have food and other players would be there. I was thinking to myself “Is this really happening?”
Any memories of your time there stand out most for you?
One I remember one was at a golf tournament. Heath Miller had just bought these new golf clubs and I broke one – a $300 club. I was a rookie at the time – he was so nice about it though.
And we used to have those Steelers basketball games then. I played with Keisel, Dixon, Mundy and some of the older guys. Well, I went up for a dunk and was rim-checked! They poked a lot of fun at me for that!
And me and Doug Legursky were roommates – we shared a townhouse my second year there. We thought it was this really nice place – but it turns out we were these two football players living in a really bad part of town!
What happened that last season there?
Well, guys stayed healthy, which was a good thing. But then they drafted Ziggy Hood and brought in Steve McLendon. That’s the way it goes – they are always bringing in guys to take your spot. They ended up letting me go after that.
Coach Tomlin told me then that they may call me if they needed me. But I had strained my pec – I tore it my Senior year in college. As they say, “You don’t make the club from the tub!”
By then I had two daughters and had a plan for what I wanted to do after football. The writing was on the wall – it made the decision easier for me to start working on my business.
Do you follow the NFL today? Any thoughts on the game?
I’ll always root for Pittsburgh – I’m also a Seattle fan.
The game has changed so much. I think coaches coddle guys more today. Back then coaches were the boss – there was no mistaking it. I played for a lot of personalities and they ran a tight ship.
Also – you can’t hit anyone anymore on defense. There are some amazing athletes in the game today, but the defense has a major disadvantage. I don’t like that.
Read more by former Steelers via the book Steelers Takeaways: Player Memories Through the Decades. To order, just click on the book:
